Scott R Chilcutt, Cypress, TX (August 16, 2015) Bringing a close to the year, setting up for National and Senior National Championship bids in September, marks another historic chapter with the Golf Channel AM Tour on the Houston Tour.
The 2015 Points Campaign in Houston came to a close on Sunday at Blackhorse Golf Club in Cypress, TX. Beginning the points year in October 2014 nearby at Cypress Lakes, 15 events made up the local schedule with a couple of excursions to New Ulm and Port Aransas and nearly 2,500 competitive rounds were played from players around the country.
Competing for year end awards, this year included a customized and personalized staff bag from Club Glove. This season in addition to the Flight Champion awards, a special Player of the Year bag was also given.
FLIGHT CHAMPIONS (ORDER OF MERIT POINTS The Journey to Better), awards presented by Clipper Wealth Management, Compressor Designs, Inc. and Universal Pressure Pumping.
Championship Flight Champion: Josh Stout of Houston, TX made a run at the points Championship at Blackhorse, but wasn't able to catch the points leader. Vidor, TX player, Aaron Pickering, ended the season with a 120 points advantage. Pickering, not able to join us for the Tour Championship, had his best season on tour, picking up three wins early on the season to make it seven on tour. Aaron, added a third place finish at the Srixon Championship @ La Cantera in June for his best Major finish on tour to take Flight Champion honors.
Senior Championship Flight Champion: Seemingly locked into the points Championship when the top two were not looking to play the last event, Gordon Wagner of Sugar Land, TX got snuffed out with a change of plans and late arrival of Spring, TX, player David Ortego. Ortego made an early exit from a weekend event out of town to play the Tour Championship and secure his eligibility for the Senior National Championship. In six events, during his first year on tour, David, won two, had a third place finish at Battle for Homstead IV Major Championship and finished ten points ahead of Wagner for the Club Glove Staff Bag.
Palmer Flight Champion: Heading into the Tour Championship, James Shepeard of Tomball, TX and Spring, TX, player Aaron Brougher were tied at the top. Sheppeard with eighteen events on the year has a distinct disadvantage with a flight change adjustment and Brougher's eleven events. At the end of the day, the net points, swung towards Aaron for the Flight Championship award. Both players, self promoted at different times of the year were looking to get better, and play has proven that. Brougher the 2015 Flight Champion winner, won the Srixon Championship @ La Cantera in late June to go with previous wins, including Major Championships.
Senior Palmer Flight Champion: Local tour player, Traylor Sells of Cypress, TX had a slim, 100 point lead heading into the Tour Championship at Blackhorse. Self promoted during the season to the Senior Championship Flight, Robert Corbello of Vidor, TX, found the number of Senior Championship Flight contests were going to be tough to find and with an eligible Palmer Tournament Index, Corbello moved back to the flight. On Tour Championship weekend, Robert, did just enough plus more, shooting the low round of the flight on Saturday and solidifying the Flight Champion award by winning the Tour Championship.
Hogan Flight Champion: Sugar Land, TX, resident, Derke Matta, started the Tour Championship with a 150 points lead, but had to hold off a surging Gus Aldana, from Houston, TX, to collect the Flight Champion award. Aldana jumped into the runner up finish over Steve Nagy of Sugar Land, TX with his weekend performance and finished just 60 points behind the top spot. Playing in his first year on tour, Matta, didn't get to the winners circle, but gained points on the field with a runner up at the Texas Open at Horseshoe Bay in March and fourth place finish at the Texas Masters at Barton Creek in August.
Senior Hogan Flight Champion: Never far out of the top spot, George Smith of Magnolia, TX showed perseverance would win a Championship. Fourth place at The Fall Classic at Dancing Rabbit, a T3 at the Texas Open at Horseshoe Bay, a runner up at the Red River Shootout at Winstar, and a third at the Srixon Championship at La Cantera. Smith, led wire to wire at the Texas Masters at Barton Creek the first of August to propel him into the top points spot for the Club Glove staff bag, customized with his name on top of a Flight Champion moniker.
Sarazen Flight Champion: Entering the final event, Blake Barnes of Deer Park, TX, held a slight lead over Houston, TX, player Rick Houchins, but that lead faded at the Tour Championship. Houchins, with a fifth place finish was just enough to grab the flight champion award by twenty points. Playing in 18 events on the points season, Rick was in the top five on thirteen occasions and had two wins, including the Hill Country Tour Championship at TPC San Antonio bringing his total wins on tour to twelve.
Senior Sarazen Flight Champion: Playing in nineteen events on the season, Jim Craig of San Felipe, TX, started out his his winning ways in March in Hawaii. Added a top three at the Western Masters weeks later to solidify his Senior National Championship qualification. With eleven top fives on the season, Craig snatched another win at the tough, AT&T Oaks Course at TPC San Antionio for the Hill Country Tour Championship before finishing the Houston Tour Championship at Blackhorse with a T3 to bring home the Flight Championship.
Jones Flight Champion: Wayne Waldrep of Spring, TX, wasn't able to compete at the Tour Championship with a scheduled trip to Florida at the end of the weekend, but it didn't matter. Waldrep, in his first year on tour was able to put together three wins on the local level, a top three at the Arkansas Championship in Hot Springs and a runner up finish at Srixon Championship @ La Cantera. Over his eleven event campaign on the season, Wayne carded finishes, more that half (6), in the top five to win the points championship by 115 points.
Senior Jones Flight Champion: Traveling, Huntsville, TX, player Neil Macdonald made his rounds this year. Competing in 37 events on the points year, Macdonald made the starting times at 10 Major Championships. With a T3 at the Battle for Homestead IV, then followed up for third place finish at the Srixon Championship @ La Cantera, Neil set up his National Championship qualification on a few fronts and he added a win at the March event in Galveston for a 75 points lead over Mike Murphy of Corrigan, TX.
Snead Flight Champion: Javier Quintero from Houston, TX, playing on tour since 2009, grabbed his National Championship qualification with a third place showing at the Red River Shootout at Winstar in May, followed up with a win at the Friendswood Challenge his next time out at Timber Creek in June and finished the season never out of the top four. It was Quintero's third points championship and second in as many years.
Senior Snead Flight: With a Major Championship under his belt on the points season, Conroe, TX, resident, Carl Eaton made the call at fifteen events. A win at the Masters @ Magnolia on the local schedule, Eaton sat on the top of the podium at the Srixon Champion @ La Cantera. A runner up in the next two events, Carl then grabbed a third place finish at the Texas Masters @ Barton Creek to finish 195 points ahead of a surging Robert Haddon.
Hill Country Tour, PLAYER OF THE YEAR, presented by HIGGINBOTHAM: The special award was set up and presented by Higgenbotham, a Business Insurance and Financial Services Company that services the state of Texas with home offices in Fort Worth. The player from each tour in the state selected by the committee, with feedback from the membership that met a series of criteria, including having been promoted and continued The Journey to Better by excelling in the new flight.
Facing a certain promotion from the Hogan Flight, James Sheppeard of Tomball, TX, opted for the self promotion route before the three day Major swing in Oklahoma. Coming off a win at The Masters @ Magnolia, his third of the new year, Sheppeard won his first event as a Palmer on the special Friday tournament at Dornick Hills in Ardmore, OK. Since that swing, James went on to win four more local tour events, while placing second at the Srixon Championship @ La Cantera. Just short of the Flight Championship points lead, Sheppeard was clearly the Player of the Year on the Houston Tour.
Upcoming Texas Events:
Dallas crowns the year end champions at the Tour Championship. The Tribute Golf Links, closed since the floods in late May, should be in excellent conditions for the Dallas Tour Championship on August 22nd and 23rd.
For More Information:
Scott R Chilcutt
Director - Texas Tours
Dallas Tour - Hill Country Tour - Houston Tour
GOLF CHANNEL Amateur Tour
405.513.1467
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