Southern Texas PGA

Championship tournaments bring Summer 2010 STPGA Academy Sports + Outdoors Junior Golf program to an end

Every summer, hundreds of youngsters from throughout southern Texas make themselves part of the Southern Texas PGA Academy Sports + Outdoors Junior Golf program. Each has a different reason for enrolling, but there are three common goals . . . to learn how to play golf, to compete with their peers and to have fun.

And every summer, those who have played the most consistent golf earn their ways into season-ending multiple round events. For youngsters ages 6-12, that event is the STPGA Academy Sports + Outdoors Little Linksters Championship. For those 12-18, it’s the STPGA Academy Sports + Outdoors Junior Tour Championship.

Both tournaments were held at Cypresswood Golf Club in Spring this year, with play taking place both on the facility’s Tradition Course and its Cypress Course.

The winner’s of each division in the two tournaments are awarded their group’s Academy Sports + Outdoors Cup, and a select number of the top golfers in each division receive invitations to play in the Administaff Small Business Classic Junior-Am and a chance to play a nine-hole round with a PGA Champions Tour professional.

Highlights of both tournaments can be found below . . . complete results of the STPGA Academy Sports + Outdoors Little Linksters Championship can be found here, and complete results of the STPGA Academy Sports + Outdoors Junior Tour Championship can be found here.

Boys 16-18 Division

There are many ways to win, but they don’t get much more dramatic than Andrew Minton’s path to victory in the Boys 16-18 Division of the 2010 STPGA Academy Sports + Outdoors Junior Tour Championship.

Any one of a half-dozen or so golfers were in position to challenge for the victory as the tournament drew to a close; Houstonian Minton was one of them, but had suffered a double bogey on the 15th hole and followed it with a bogy on 16. A par on 17 kept him in range of the lead, and then he struck, holing out his 5-iron approach on #18 from 170 yards to take an eagle 3. And victory was his.

“It feels good to win something this big,” said Minton, 16 and a two-year veteran of STPGA junior golf wars. “I didn’t expect it, so I’m kind of in shock."

Minton described his short game as the key to his win. “I don’t hit the ball very far, so all the holes are long, and I only hit four or five greens in regulation (in the last round), so I did a lot of scrambling."

Minton finished 36 holes on the Tradition Course at 10-over-par, 76-78—154, a single stroke better than the 77-78—155 total posted by runner-up Efrain Rojas of Brownsville and two shots up on Tanner Lowe of China, Texas, who finished at 79-77—156.

JJ Lindsay of Adkins and Kaleb Robinson of Montgomery took the fourth and fifth spots at 75-82—157 and 76-82—158, respectively

Boys 14-15 Division

The Boys 14-15 Division of the STPGA Academy Sports + Outdoors Junior Tour Championship went down to the wire and beyond. In the end, 14-year-old Michael Perras of Pasadena defeated Jake McCrory of Deer Park on the third hole of a sudden death playoff to take the victory.

Perras and McCrory had both finished regulation play on the Tradition Course at 76-73—149 to force the playoff.

“I played good on the front both days and not quite as well on the back,” said Perras, “but I kept my head in it and didn’t lose focus."

“I made a good bunker shot on the last hole,” Perras said of what he considered key to his effort. “I hit it to about 7 feet and then made the putt to save par."

With Perras and McCrory taking first and second place, two golfers posted identical totals of 72-78—150 to finish a single stroke out of the top spot. Jose Pena took third place in a scorecard playoff, leaving Nick Thornton of Boerne in fourth place.

Clay Atkinson of Calliham, Texas, finished in fifth place at 77-75—152.

Boys 10-13 Division

Patrick Rhodes, a 12-year-old from Cypress, took a 4-stroke victory in the Boys 10-13 Division of the STPGA Academy Sports + Outdoors Junior Tour Championship with rounds of 74 and 73 for a 3-over-par total of 147.

“I’m just glad all my hard work paid off,” said Rhodes. “My whole game was on, but I was hitting my irons really close and putting well. That helped . . . it feels really good to win."

Rhodes was particularly effective on the 12th through 18th holes of the Tradition Course, scoring four birdies, two pars and a bogey through that stretch in the second round.

Braden Bailey of Groves finished in second place at 72-79—151, followed by Devine’s John Tilley in third place with a score of 75-78—153.

Fourth and fifth place went to Parker Chilcoat of Klein and Dylan Godfrey of College Station, respectively. Chilcoat carded a score of 77-77—154 and Godfrey finished at 76-80—156.

Girls 15-18 Division

Kelsey Canales of Corpus Christi took a runaway victory in the Girls 15-18 Division of the STPGA Academy Sports + Outdoors Junior Tour Championship, scoring a 36-hole total of 2-over-par 72-74—146 for the top spot. The victory marked Canales fourth time to find the winner’s circle of a STPGA Academy Sports + Outdoors Junior Tour event this summer.

Canales, 15 years old, played the back nine of the final round in 33 strokes to seal the deal, scoring birdies on three of the nine’s last five holes.

Kassandra Rivera of Donna was the division’s runner-up, scoring an 8-over-par total of 71-71—152. Rivera’s second round 71 was the only score under par recorded in the division.

Corpus Christi’s Allison Flores took third place with a score of 72-76—158. She was followed in fourth place by Ana Paredes of San Antonio at 80-79—159 and Bastrop’s Adriana Trevino in fifth at 85-85—160.

Girls 10-14 Division

Emma Ballard of Humble won a hard-fought Girls 10-14 Division with a score of 77-79—156, one stroke better than a pair of golfers. Morgan McClaugherty of Harlingen finished with a score of 81-76—157 and Nikki Long of San Antonio posted a total of 76-81—157. McLaugherty took the runner-up spot in a scorecard playoff that settled Long in third place.

“I tried really hard and I drove the ball straight instead of poking it around,” said Ballard, 13."

“It feels very, very good to win,” she added, “because I played in it last year and got fourth place."

Sabina Pena of Sharyland took fourth place, scoring a 79-80—159 total, and Lake Jackson’s Madison Kidd tallied a score of 85-76—161 for fifth place.

Boys 10-12 Red Division

Tyler Ford of Lumberton posted a 3-under-par score of 32-37—69 on Cypresswood Golf Club’s Cypress Course for a wire-to-wore win in the Boys 10-12 Red Tees Division of the 2010 STPGA Academy Sports _+ Outdoors Little Linksters Championship.

Ford birdied the opening holes of both nines on his way to the victory, his seventh in Little Linksters competition this summer.

“I can’t describe how it feels . . .. just really, really great, “ said Ford, 12 years old. “It’s my biggest win."

Ford finished 3 strokes ahead of Kyle Logan of Cypress, who won 13 Little Linksters competitions through the summer.. Logan finished second at 37-35—72. San Antonio’s McClure Meissner took third place with a score of 36-37—73.

Houston’s Travis Vick, Cade Kiser of Katy and Madisonville’s Sam Bennett all posted scores of 74. Kiser, who gained the playoff with nine-hole scores of 38 and 36, won a scorecard playoff for fourth place honors, with Vick (38-36) and Bennett finishing fifth and sixth, respectively.

Girls 10-12 Red Tee Division

Ariana Saenz of Porter and Julie Lucio of Brownsville both finished 18 holes of regulation play with scores of 83 and then headed back out for a sudden-death playoff; Saenz won the overtime to take first place in the Girls 10-12 Red Tees Division of the STPGA Academy Sports _+ Outdoors Little Linksters Championship.

Saenz, 11 years old, had won 10 Summer 2010 Little Linksters tournaments prior to the championship (including one first-place tie). She finished in second place in the only other tournament she played in this summer.

“My dad’s birthday was yesterday (the first day of the tournament), and I wanted to give him a good present,” said Saenz, who went 38-45 for 18 holes. “I had a lot of help from my cousin, Nicholas Arcos, who has been babysitting me so my mom and dad could work."

With Lucio taking second place with her card of 43-40, Kelly Xac of Corpus Christi and Gurleen Kaur of Houston went 44-42—86 and 43-43—86; Xac took third place honors in a sudden-death playoff that left Kaur in fourth place.

Tori Gatling of Kingwood finished in fifth place at 44-45—89.

Co-Ed 6-9 Modified Tees Division

Houston’s Mason Nome, 9 years old, just about lapped the field on his way to first place in the Co-Ed 6-9 Modified Tees Division of the STPGA Academy Sports _+ Outdoors Little Linksters Championship. Nome posted a total of 36-35—71 on the Cypress Course to finish 7 strokes ahead of runner-up William Moll.

Nome was dominant on the Little Linksters Summer 2010 schedule, winning all 19 Little Linksters tournaments he entered this summer (including one first-place tie and the Little Linksters Championship).

“It feels great . . . I always wanted to win this tournament,” said Nome, “especially since I lost in a playoff last year."

Nome had dedicated his entire season to his mother, who is recovering from a serious stroke suffered early in 2010.

Houston’s Moll posted a 40-38—78 total for the runner-up spot and was followed in third place by Jonathan Luczon of Spring at 40-39—79.

Garrett Martin of San Antonio finished in fourth place with a score of 39-42—81, and Grace Ni of Houston took the fifth spot at 42-40—82.

Collin Todora of Port Arthur, who finished in a ninth-place tie, made news with his first eagle. Todora, 9, scored the eagle on the Cypress Course’s par-4 sixth hole during his second day of competition, using a 7-iron from 72 yards out.