Scott R Chilcutt, The Woodlands, TX (June 12, 2017) The Tournament Course at The Woodlands is rich with history at the highest level of golf. PGA Tour wins from the likes of David Duval ('98), Hal Sutton ('01) and Vijay Singh ('02) go with more recent Insperity Invitational, presented by United Healthcare on the Champions Tour with wins from Bernard Langer ('08,'14), John Cook ('09), Fred Couples ('10) and Jesper Parnevik ('16). Most recently, the 2017 version crowned the rough and tumble John Daly a first-time winner on the Champions tour, to make it ten professional wins.
With that history, during 2016 The Woodlands Open, we set the course up with the final day pin placements of the Insperity. This year we opted for a more docile location, the Saturday round, but docile it wasn't it. Simply different. While the healing process of the greens from an almost three-week-old punch, made them look bad and rough, with even some players complaining of the bounces, the scores told a different story. 2016, recorded 0 eagles and 60 birdies with a scoring average of 91.89. This time around, players took almost 1 1/2 strokes off for an average round of 90.5, two eagles and 86 birdies, played from the same distances.
The winner of the Feherty's Troops First Foundation 50/50 raffle, took home $590, bringing the Texas Tour local events total to $12,440 in contributions to the Foundation in 2017.
RESULTS:
Championship Flight: With a new eight-month-old addition to the family, Scott Waltrip of Montgomery, TX, stated, "It's changed my life". One part that it didn't change was his ability to go low. Waltrip, rolled in eight birdies on his round, to command his sixth win on Tour and second of the points season in as many attempts. The Woodlands, TX, local David Ortego, the 2015 Senior National Champion, carded his second runner-up of the season, with three birdies of his own on the back nine. Playing in his first season on tour, Ashton Brewer of Tomball, TX, rounded out the top three, with three birdies in the round.
Palmer Flight: Al Campo of Deer Park, TX, was out the door, thinking his round wouldn't be in the hunt. Friendswood, TX, player Jon Colvard, hung around for lunch but didn't think his +7 on the last three holes would hold up. Low and behold, the two would end up in a playoff, just like the South Houston Championship at Bay Oaks. Back to the extra holes, the outcome would remain the same, Colvard picked up the sudden death playoff win, his second of the season. Behind the pair, Mike Karlin of Houston, TX, endured a brutal par 4 - 17th to round out the top three.
Senior Palmer Flight: Orange, TX, player Ernie Dyer took a -1 - two-stroke lead to the back nine with the help of a pair of birdies when Carl Christoph of Friendswood, TX, added to his two previous birdies with one on the par 4 - 12th to even the score and force playoff holes. Back to the front side, the pair would take two holes, where Christoph would birdie the par 4 - 2nd for his second win on tour. Traveling DFW Tour player Michael Fyfe of McKinney, TX,, would come out of the gate with an eagle on his first hole, then limp along the front nine where he turned up the heat on the back. Fyfe would roll in five birdies in a six-hole span to share the third place honors with Robert Corbello of Vidor, TX, with four birdies on his round.
Hogan Flight: Competing in his third year on tour, Charles Kirk of Nacogdoches, TX, started on the day on the par 4 - 10th, and was down two strokes at the turn. Coming to the clubhouse, Kirk took four strokes off his final nine tallies to pick up his first win on Tour. On stroke back, Steve Nagy, of Sugar Land, TX, with a questionable ruling on the eighteenth hole, finished in the runner-up spot, with San Antonio, TX, traveler John Heintz, Houston, TX, resident Rick Houchins and Kyle Young of Bellaire, TX, sharing the third place finish.
Senior Hogan Flight: Jimmie Chambers of Wharton, TX, played his final nine holes of the day in +1 with the help of a birdie on tough par 4 - 17th to pick up his third win on Tour and second of the points season. One stroke back, Spring, TX, player Chris Neeley, with an eagle 2 on the par 4 - 12th, added two other birdies to split the runner-up finish with David Evans of Lumberton, TX with three birdies of his own over the round.
Sarazen Flight: Playing on his third tour of the season after a recent relocation to the Houston area, Brandon Casella used the nine-hole scoring to gauge what he needed to do coming to the clubhouse. Casella, took off seven strokes go pick up his fifth win on Tour, third win of the season and first on Texas soil. Three strokes back, Southlake, TX, player Scott Striegel with a short turn around from his win the previous day in Fort Worth, recorded the runner-up spot with Katy, TX, player Adam Bray and Patrick Richardson of nearby The Woodlands, TX, sharing the third place honors.
Senior Sarazen Flight: Montgomery, TX, resident Doyle Wofford, coming off a win in the Hill Country at Tapatio Springs, made it two in a row. Wofford, edged out the second place finisher, Robert Hayter of Houston, TX, by one stroke for his eighth win on Tour. Hayter, a winner at the 2017 San Antonio Open at Sonterra Major Championship cleared a trio of players knotted in the final podium finish by five strokes. Houston, TX, member L.P. Jones shared the third place honors with the pair of Richmond, TX, residents, Greg Faubion and Marty Hodges.
Jones Flight: John Pickens of Montgomery, TX, a four-time winner in 2016, thought he'd never get back to the winner's circle. In seventeen attempts since his last win at Woodforest last July, Pickens has recorded seven top-three finishes to finally grab his sixth win on Tour. Two strokes back, with three birdies on his round, Houston, TX, player Jose Rivera, picked up the runner-up finish with Neil MacDonald of Huntsville, TX, rounding out the top three.
Snead Flight: Playing in his first year on tour, Allen Gumpenberger of Conroe, TX, carded his second win in as many attempts after picking up his first Tour win at Lake Jackson. Gumpenberger, with steady play on the round, cleared second place finisher Stephen Sater of Sugar Land, TX, by four strokes. Katy, TX, member Mike Lane, playing on Saturday at the Fort Worth Championship, showed a little wear and tear after grabbing the third place finish eight strokes back.
SKINS:
Giant SKINS: ($320/each) 1 -- Michael Fyfe, Mckinney, TX; Jimmie Chambers, Wharton, TX.
Championship / Palmer: ($40/each) 4 -- Scott Waltrip, Montgomery, TX. 1 -- David Ortego, The Woodlands, TX.
Senior Palmer: ($18/each) 5 -- Michael Fyfe, Mckinney, TX. 3 -- Robert Corbello, Vidor, TX. 1 -- Ernie Dyer, Orange, TX; Bo Kirkwood, Pasadena, TX.
Hogan: ($66/each) 2 -- Kyle Young, Bellaire, TX. 1 -- Rick Smalley, College Station, TX.
Senior Hogan: ($64/each) 2 -- Chris Neelley, Spring, TX. 1 -- Jimmie Chambers, Wharton, TX; David Evans, Lumberton, TX; Rick Swanson, Carrollton, TX.
Sarazen: ($40/each) 1 -- Cuauhtemoc Caballero, Dickinson, TX; Joe Michetti, Montgomery, TX; Scott Striegel, Southlake, TX; Joe Armstrong, Spring, TX.
Senior Sarazen: ($56/each) 2 -- John Scott, Houston, TX. 1 -- Bruce LeGrand, Houston, TX; Robert Hayter, Houston, TX; David Sipe, Houston, TX.
Jones / Snead: ($60/each) 2 -- Neil Macdonald, Huntsville, TX; Jose Rivera, Houston, TX; Carl Eaton, Conroe, TX.
CLOSEST TO THE HOLE:
$167/each
#3 - Mark Colwell - 1 Foot 1/4 Inch; #8 - Rick Swanson - 3' 8"; #14 - David Evans - 3' 1/2"; #16 - Grant Faulconer - 5' 8 1/2".
NEXT UP:
Nearly 60 Texas Tour Members have already registered and will make the trip East to Choctaw, MS, for the Ole Miss Open at Dancing Rabbit Major Championship on Saturday, June, 25th and Sunday, June, 26th. Registrations will close, this Friday, June 10th.
Dallas Tour members will take on Tangle Ridge Golf Club for the Grand Prairie Classic on Saturday, July 1st. Sold OUT with waiting list spots available. Closes Friday, June 23rd.
Onion Creek is back on the Hill Country schedule for The Legends of Golf Classic - Sunday, July 2nd, with a registration deadline of Friday, June 23rd.
The Houston Tour, will break for Major Championship season and get back into action again a The Woodlands for the Player Championship on Wednesday, July 19th, with entries closing on Friday, July, 7th.
For More Information:
Scott R Chilcutt
Director - Texas Tours
Dallas Tour - Hill Country Tour - Houston Tour
GOLF CHANNEL Amateur Tour
405.513.1467
