The TJGT kicked off the 2017 year with two events on Jan. 21-22, the BlackHorse New Years Shootout and the Onion Creek Winter Classic. While both events were greeted with mostly sunny skies and relatively warm temperatures (warm for January, at least), it was the wind that made the headlines, as steady gales of 30-35mph wrecked havoc on both tournaments in Round 2, forcing most players to simply survive the day.
BLACKHORSE NEW YEARS SHOOTOUT
In a rather benign, calm Round 1, scores across the board were impressive. On the boys side, Pearland’s Alec Brown shot the low round of the tournament with a Day 1 4-under 68, punctuated by an eagle on the par-5 third hole, and two straight birdies to close his round on 17 and 18. Right behind him was Conroe senior Chad Sewell, who had four birdies on the back nine, including his own birdie-birdie finish on the last two holes. All in all, 13 boys shot 76 or better on Day 1, and nearly 2/3 of the field broke 80.
On the girls side, Spring resident Amelia McKee opened up a four-shot lead on Day 1, shooting 75 with an eagle of her own on the par-5 11th. Denise Pan of Houston was the only other girls to break 80 in the first round, and senior Erin Xu was one shot behind her with an even 80.
Then came Day 2, and winds blowing so hard that it was difficult to keep balls steady on the greens and hats on top of heads. Conditions were so difficult that play was halted after 9 holes, as play ground to a halt as players attempted to stay upright in the breeze. Sewell took the title with a second round 39 (3 over), and Brown took second, struggling to finish his 9 holes in 44 shots. Sophomore Matthew Riedel was impressive on Day 2, carding a birdie, a bogey and a double en-route to a 38 and a T3 finish with Laurence Crea, but the round of the day went to senior Brandon Barry, who had a birdie and only two bogeys on the front 9, carding an extremely impressive 1-over 37.
It was a struggle for the girls as well, and McKee took home the title with a Round 2 score of 44. Pan finished six shots back in second place, tied with Xu and Sugar Land’s Natalie Cao.
ONION CREEK WINTER CLASSIC
In Austin, the weather was just as pretty as it was in Houston, and scores reflected it. On the girl’s side, senior Morgan Lay fired an extremely impressive even-par 70 during Round 1 to take a four-shot lead over two others. Lay’s rather clean scorecard was marked by three birdies and three bogeys. Just behind her, shooting 4-over rounds of 74 were junior Olivia Stokes and Class of 2022 graduate Ally Black.
On the boys side, sophomore Hayes Hayond of Austin held a one-shot lead after round one with an opening 74. Four players sat one shot back of Hayes after the first day – sophomore Zachary Slayton, junior Grayson Litowitz and seniors Parker Love and Reese Gorman. All in all, 16 players shot 80 or better in Round 1.
Round 2 was a blustery affair, and while players were able to complete 18 holes, the scores reflected a very tough, draining day. In the girls division, Lay was able to hold onto her lead and claim the title, shooting 84 the second day. Lakeway’s Estelle Beck shot the low round of the day (81) and vaulted herself up into solo second, followed by McKinney’s Avery Zweig, who took solo third with a Day 2 83.
For the boys, Slayton busted out of the log jam in second place with a Day 2 79, tied for the lowest round of the day. Nicholas Hoisington of Austin fired a Day 2 80, good enough to grab second place, and Buda’s Jacob Sosa captured solo third with a second round 79.