TJGT Elite-Mini Tour Kickoff held at Castle Hills
The TJGT Elite Mini Tour kicked off it’s third season with the Mini Tour Kickoff held at Castle Hills Golf Club in Carrollton. This 36-hole event was played September 5th-6th, 2010 with the Boys 12-13 playing 5,723 yards; the Boys 10-11 playing 5,263 yards; and the Boys & Girls 8-9 playing 3,695 yards. Fourteen mini tour players teed it up in near perfect conditions each day. The mini tour players were greeted at registration with a dozen Titleist ProV1 golf balls, a cap, a golf shirt, and a T-shirt. Not only were the mini tour players showered with registration gifts, but as part of the Tour’s ‘Beat the Heat’ special, all players were allowed to ride in carts. Can’t think of a better way to spend the Labor Day holiday.
The play was remarkable as well. In the boys 12-13 division, there were two players that posted rounds of under par. Mason Greenberg posted two of those rounds by firing two under par 70’s each day. For the tournament, Greenberg totaled an amazing 10 birdies. Greenberg won the event for his age division, but keeping it close was another soon to be Southlake Dragon. Hunter Glenn posted the other round under par with a second round 71. The difference between the two future Dragons was the number of birdies. Glenn only had one birdie in his opening round 75, but blistered the front nine on day two with four birdies on his opening nine. Finishing in third place was Chase Fritz. Fritz opened with an 84, but recovered nicely in round two to post a 77. Jack Connor also rebounded nicely from a tough opening round to post a 79 in round two. Almost every player in this age group improved on their opening round score.
In the boys 10-11 division, young Mark Reppe played two great rounds of golf to win the division. Reppe posted a three over par total for the 36 hole event. Reppe recorded a total of seven birdies over the two day event. He had an 18 hole stretch where his total was even par. Keeping the heat on Reppe was tour veteran Noah Goodwin. Goodwin recorded rounds of 78-76 to finish in second. Goodwin recorded a total of five birdies over the two days. In third place was Chandler Nicholas, who recorded four birdies over the two rounds and improved on day two by three strokes.
There was only one player in the boys 8-9 division and the girls 8-9 division, but each player represented themselves well. Ben Poland opened with a 96, then struggled to a 112 in round two to earn his trophy. Felisa Sejulga fired rounds of 108-117 to win her division. The highlight of the tournament for Felisa was the back to back pars she recorded on holes 4 and 5 in round 1. This was the first time for these two young players to play 36 holes over two over days and they handled themselves quite nicely.
This was a great start to the season for the mini tour. Thirty six holes in carts and a dozen ProV1 golf balls, it’s hard to beat a deal like that. Next up for the mini tour will be the first major of the year this upcoming weekend at Cottonwood Creek in Waco. The mini tour will play 36 holes on the same course that the Starburst is held. Hope to see you there!
Boys 12-13:
1 Mason Greenberg Southlake, TX 2016 70 70 140
2 Hunter Glenn Grapevine, TX 2015 76 71 147
3 Chase Fritz Plano, TX 2016 84 77 161
Boys 10-11:
1 Mark Reppe Dallas, TX 2017 74 73 147
2 Noah Goodwin Corinth, TX 2018 78 76 154
3 Chandler Nicholas Lewisville, TX 2017 85 82 167
Boys 8-9:
1 Ben Poland Argyle, TX 2019 96 112 208
Girls 8-9:
1 Felisa Sajulga Conroe, TX 2021 108 117 225