TJGT Tyler Rose Invitational
The UT Tyler Rose Invitational was played May 22 -23, 2010 in Tyler, Texas with the older boys and all girls playing at the Eagles Bluff Golf Club and the 12-15 boys playing at the Garden Valley Golf Club. Several college coaches from schools like DBU, Tyler Jr. College, University of Louisiana Monroe, SFA, were in attendance scouting players from Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Arkansas, Pennsylvania, and Beijing China. The Boys 16-18 played 6,977 yards and the Girls 12-18 5,577 yards at Eagles Bluff, and the Boys 12-15 played 6,269 yards at Garden Valley. Temperatures were in the 90’s both days with winds averaging 10-20 mph.
The Boys 12-15 division of the UT Tyler Rose Invitational was held at a different venue than the Boys 16-18 division and the girls divisions for the second year in a row. Garden Valley Golf Club in Lindale is a must see and must play course. Garden Valley is ranked as the #10 ranked public golf course in Texas. It was definitely a stern test of golf for the younger boys, most especially the back nine. Action began with the players being greeted by the TJGT staff handing out famous Tyler roses and a gift from Sport Tyler. As with all TJGT Invitationals, there was a banquet to attend on Saturday…well sort of. In lieu of a banquet, the tour hosted an informal pool party at the UT Tyler Rec Center on the campus of UT Tyler. The players were treated to a hamburger supper, swimming, ping pong, beach volleyball, and incredible door prizes from the Westin Galleria and numerous Galleria retailers. Each player also received a select Nike golf shirt from the tour on Saturday night as well. On Sunday the players were greeted with two sleeves of premium Nike golf balls as well as a blue camouflage cap. There was some stellar play in the younger boys division. After the first 18 holes, there 10 players within six strokes of the lead. Andrew Liu and Austin Duhon led the way with opening rounds of 74 each. Hot on their heels was Johnny Jones, who opened with a 75. Matt Gilchrist, Corbin Kasten, and Stephen Chambers all opened with 77’s and would be in the second to last pairing for round 2. Fernando Cruz also opened with a 77, and would be paired with Carson Scitern and Michael Hodson, who each shot 78. In other words, the competition for round 2 was going to be heated, and the players definitely delivered. All totaled, out of 23 players, 20 players posted rounds in the 70’s, with several of those being in the low 70’s. Almost all of those in contention posted rounds of 38 or better on the front nine. Just like they say the Masters doesn’t start until the back nine on Sunday, the same could be said for UT Tyler Rose tournament as well. Going in to the back nine, Austin Duhon had a three stroke lead on Jones and a four stroke lead on Liu after posting a front nine 34. Max Miller made up ground as well with a 34 on the front as well. Jones came from three down at the turn to win the event with a stellar two under par on the back nine for a two under total for the day. Jones recorded 16 pars and two birdies on his round. Outstanding play from one of the top juniors in the Dallas area. Austin Duhon struggled to a four over on the back nine, but still finished at two over for the day to claim second place over first round co-leader Andrew Liu, who fired a solid 75 to take third place by a stroke. This was a very well played event for all of these young men. It was a strong field as evidenced by the scores. Congratulations to each of these young men, and best of luck on your summer tournaments. We hope to see you playing TJGT events this summer. The Tour will be back in action June 7-8 at three different venues. The Tour will host the Dallas Baptist Invitational at The Golf Club of Dallas. Sign up now as that tournament will fill up rather quickly. The tour will also be at Falconhead in Austin, as well as Sienna Plantation in the Houston area. The Sienna Plantation is one of the popular team events, so grab a partner and come on. Please continue to check the website for upcoming events on the Tour.
The AJGA PBE Award winners are:
Boys – Brandon Lau, Suger Land TX, 2011, 73-74-147
Girls- Haley Haught, Austin TX, 2011, 73-71-144
Girls JAS (12-15) – Maggie Byers, San Antonio TX, 2013
BOYS 16-18
1. Brandon Lau, Suger Land TX, 2011, 73-74-147
2. Charles Neel White, Austin TX, 2012, 75-73-148
3. *Robert Schimmles, Killeen TX, 2010, 73-77=150
4. Charley Graves, Plan TX, 2011,, 73-77-150
5. **Dylan McClure, Argyle TX, 2011, 76-75=151
*Robert Schimmles beat Charley Graves on the 1st play off hole with a par for 3rd place.
**Dylan McClure won play off for 5th place.
GIRLS 16-18
1. Haley Haught, Austin TX, 2011, 73-71-144
2. April McCoy, Carrollton TX, 2011, 76-78-154
3. Rachel Mulkey, Flower Mound, TX, 2011, 74-81=155
GIRLS 12-15
1 Maggie Byers San Antonio, TX, 2013 80-79-159
2 Taylor Coleman San Antonio, TX, 2015 85-77-162
3 Emily Campbell Carrollton, TX, 2015 79-85-164
4 Ariel Tidwell Rockwall, TX, 2012 84-87-171
5 Kristen Gillman Austin, TX, 2016 91-85-176
Boys 12-15:
1st Place: Johnny Jones, The Colony, TX; 2015; 75-70-145
2nd Place: Austin Duhon, Orange, TX; 2015; 74-74-148
3rd Place: Andrew Liu, Austin, TX; 2014; 74-75-149
PBE Award Winners:
Johnny Jones – Junior All Star fully exempt
Austin Duhon & Andrew Liu – each earn one Junior All Star Exemption