Sainz Jr. Claims Win at 2020 Memorial Championship; Celebrates Fifth STPGA Win in a Row

Both Sainz Jr. & Uresti claim their fifth Section tournament wins.

HOCKLEY, TEXAS (August 18, 2020) — Carlos Sainz Jr., Teaching Professional at GolfTEC – Upper Kirby has claimed his fifth consecutive STPGA tournament win at the Memorial Championship with a final score of 130 (-12).

“The guys I played with today played well, it was really close,” said Sainz Jr. “Eric was playing really good today and Pablo is a great player. We had a group where we were able to feed off each other throughout the day.”

Heading into today’s final round, Sainz Jr. was tied for first with Erik Knudsen, PGA Member at Caddiemaster LLC and Pablo del Olmo, Teaching Professional at The Woodlands Country Club (Palmer Course). Today, Sainz. Jr. fired a bogey-free round with 6 birdies to secure the win. Knudsen and del Olmo finished in second and third at 133 (-9) and 134 (-8) respectively.

“Every tournament our pros are shooting lower scores and playing better,” said Sainz Jr. “It was nice to come out today and know it would be tough to win. There was a turning point for me on hole #11, when Eric did not birdie and that gave me a little bit of breathing room.”

Today’s win marks the fourth Section Major and fifth Southern Texas PGA tournament win in a row this year for Sainz Jr. who previously won the Open Division at the TPx Communications Championship and the National Car Rental Southern Texas Assistant PGA Professional Championship in May, as well as the Open Division of the Spring Classic in June and the Tradition Championship in July.

“Winning these five Section events was a goal of mine coming into this year,” said Sainz Jr. “It is nice to see it come to fruition. I’m fortunate to have an employer like GolfTEC where I’m allowed to come out and play these events because my passion is playing competitively."

The Memorial Championship also featured a Senior Division for PGA Professionals ages 50 and older. PGA Life Member, Omar Uresti made a comeback from his 3rd place position yesterday to claim the division with rounds of 71-68 for a final score of 139 (-3). Finishing behind Uresti in second place with a score of 141 (-1) was Steve Parker, PGA Life Member.

“I figured out something this morning on the range to help me hit it a little bit better than I did yesterday,” said Uresti. “[Steve] was playing so well all morning, so going into #17 I knew I needed to buckle down and finish strong.”

Uresti, carded a birdie on #17 where Parker bogeyed, securing him the win after both players made par on #18.

Along with Sainz Jr., today’s win marks the fourth Section Major and fifth Southern Texas PGA win this year for Uresti as well. Uresti has swept all Section Senior Tournaments with wins in the Senior Division at the TPx Communications Championship and the Southern Texas Senior PGA Professional Championship in May, as well as the Senior Divisions of the Spring Classic in June and Tradition Championship in July.

“It feels pretty darn good to be able to win all the majors, plus the [Southern Texas Senior PGA Professional Championship],” said Uresti. “I’m just happy to be able to do that.”

The Memorial Championship, presented by AHEAD, Club Car, GT Golf Supplies, L.A.B. Golf, Levelwear, Hole-In-One USA, NexBelt, and PGA TOUR was contested at The Clubs at Houston Oaks, a private, 7,007-yard, par 71 course located in Hockley, Texas. This championship is the fourth and final Major Championship for the Section before the Southern Texas PGA Professional Championship next month.

Along with their tournament winnings, both Sainz Jr. and Uresti left today’s event with a crystal trophy and a PGA branded belt courtesy of presenting sponsor, NexBelt.

Several of the tournament sponsors also hosted special contests at the event during Round One. GT Golf Supplies sponsored a Longest Putt contest on hole #9; Ross Prachar, PGA Teaching Professional at Golf Club of Houston won with an 85-foot putt.

Nexbelt hosted Closest to the Hole contests on #5 and #13; the winners were Dylan Jackson, Assistant Professional at Austin Country Club at 5 feet from the hole, and Ryan Brandt, PGA Head Professional at Riverbend Country Club at 4 feet from the hole.

Finally, NFP Hole-In-One USA sponsored Closest to the Hole contests on #7 and #15; the winners were Ricky Lyons, PGA General Manager at Westwood Golf Club at 6 feet 10 inches from the hole, and Bryan Minnick, PGA Head Professional at Shadow Hawk Golf Club at 9 feet 7 inches from the hole.

The Southern Texas PGA would like to thank our host facility and all of our presenting sponsors for a successful tournament.

To view the full results from today’s tournament, please click here.