If two lessons were taken from Monday’s Southern Texas PGA Titleist Junior Tour at Redstone Golf Club, they were:

First, in a tournament featuring golfers from ages 12-18, the oldest players don’t necessarily shoot the best.

Second, talent from the Golden Triangle is more than willing to take center stage in the big city.

The best round and three of the top five scores came from the Boys 14-15 group, and two winners hailed from the Beaumont area at Redstone’s Member Course.

Hayden Cortez, a sophomore-to-be at Beaumont Kelly, shot a day-best 3-over par 75. In the Girls 15-18 competition, Bailey Chesser, a senior-to-be at Hamshire-Fannett, recovered from a late three-shot deficit and edged The Woodlands’ Colleen Fal by one shot in a sudden-death playoff.

Both finished regulation at 16-over 88.

Cortez’s own group was solid – one playing partner, Patrick Bailey of Houston, shot 5-over 77.

“I started off pretty well; I shot a 36 on the front, then on the back it was getting hot and the heat got to me a bit,” said Cortez, who admitted that the sometimes-wet course played into his favor. “It kind of mattered because I got a better lie than what I really did in some places, then it started drying out so everything got better.”

Chesser trailed Fal by three shots after 16 holes and by one entering 18, but pulled into a tie and made a better approach shot at 18. Chesser made her putt and Fal two-putted, saving the day for Chesser, who simultaneously thrived from and was frustrated with her mid-range game late.

“I hit a tee shot into the trees (on No. 17) and hit another shot into the trees but I was able to make the green,” Chesser said. “This is my first tournament of the summer. I just thought this would be a nice course to play. I’m hoping to play in college.”

Ryan Lyons, a junior-to-be at Klein Collins, carded a 77 to win Boys 16-18. Lyons shot the same score last week but finished second to Preston Moore for the second time in as many weeks.

Moore, who defeated Lyons at The Woodlands and Houston Country Club in the Titleist Junior Tour’s first two events, withdrew Monday because of a hand injury.

Lyons birdied three holes, two par-3s and a par-4, and parred every par-5.

“I started strong mentally,” he said. “I’ve been struggling lately with my iron shots mostly. I just tried to get my shot back and hit to the right part of the green.”

Lyons called a 160-foot second-shot on No. 2 that stopped two feet of the cup “my biggest shot of the day. … I felt like I had everything going today.”

In an all-The Woodlands threesome, Daniela Fuentes shot 11-over 83 to win Girls 12-14. Diana Wohl shot 90 and Laken Trahan 94. This was Fuentes’ second straight Southern Texas event victory; she shot 6-over 78 to win a tournament at Wildcat Golf Course last Wednesday.

Brandon Reed of Houston won the Boys 12-13 with a 9-over 81.
***
Southern Texas PGA Titleist Junior Tour
at Redstone Golf Course, Humble (member course)

Boys 16-18: Ryan Lyons (Spring), 77; Joseph Pirozzolo (The Woodlands), 78; Zach Walgamuth (Missouri City), 82; Richard Gibbs (Tomball), 84; Trey Patronella (Houston), 87; Cody Baker (Sugar Land) 94; Diego Narvaez (College Station), 95.

Boys 14-15: Hayden Cortez (Vidor), 75; Patrick Bailey (Houston) and Kirk Williams (Rockdale), 77; Sam Harker (Bellaire), 81; Garrett Gunter (Houston), 88; Stephen Gould (Huntsville), 93; Jonathan Evans (Lumberton), 79; Tommy Cazares (Atascocita), 97; Michael Fasci (Linn-San Manuel), 103.

Girls 15-18: Bailey Chesser (Beaumont)* and Colleen Fal (The Woodlands), 88; Kelsey Haynie (Houston), 99.
* Chesser won on the first hole of a playoff.

Boys 12-13: Brandon Reed (Houston), 81; Thomas Roberson (Sugar Land), 87; David Schack (The Woodlands), 90.

Girls 12-14: Daniela Fuentes (The Woodlands), 83; Diana Wohl (The Woodlands), 90; Laken Trahan (The Woodlands), 94.

Subscribe to this comment's feed