The South Team
(TXGA Photo)
HOUSTON, TX (October 30, 2016) -- After 54 holes and
three different forms of match play, the South Team
captured its eighth Texas Shootout victory. Following
Saturday’s Foursome and Four-Ball Matches, Captains
Mike Booker (South) and Mike Peck (North), made their
singles match selections as part of the Saturday evening
Texas Shootout festivities. With captains alternating
their selections in a strategic fashion, 24 of the state’s
best Mid-Amateur and Senior Amateur golfers were
pitted against one another for the final round at the
Cypress Creek Course at historic Champions Golf Club.
The season-ending tradition, conducted by the
Texas Golf Association, is an invitation-only event and
features the top 12 players (eight mid-amateurs and
four seniors) from North Texas squaring off against their
counterparts from South Texas in a Ryder Cup-style
competition, which uses a Nassau scoring system.
Players earn their way onto their respective teams by
accumulating points throughout the year in designated
TGA regional and statewide tournaments. North and
South regions are defined as either being above or
below the 31’ parallel, located in Salado, Texas.
Following Foursome and Four-Ball matches
Saturday, the South Team led by five points after teams
split morning Foursomes with nine points apiece. In a
race to get to 36.5 points and secure possession of the
Texas Shootout trophy, teams set out Sunday morning
in pursuit of the 36 remaining match points to be had.
Players eagerly awaited a 30-minute delay to starting
times as a result of a heavy morning fog in the Cypress
area, before clearer skies prevailed mid-morning.
Leading off for the North Team was twelve-time
Texas Shootout team member, Aaron Hickman, who
rallied yesterday to earn three points in his Four-Ball
Match with partner Rob Couture. Hickman – a quick
player in his own right – got the North out to a fast start
and earned a three-point sweep over Patrick Datz.
In the second Mid-Amateur match of the morning,
South Team rookie Seth Stuart took two-and-a-half
points out of a possible three from veteran Zach
Atkinson. Atkinson and Stuart rattled off four birdies
and three eagles on the front side to halve front nine
points. However, making the turn it was Stuart who
capitalized on the back nine, earning an additional two
points for final nine and overall victories.
With the North Team holding a marginal 3.5 to 2.5
point lead in singles matches, South Team member
Robert Evans held strong through 18 holes to split
points with Chris Wheeler. Evans, who was held off the
board in Saturday’s Four-Ball Matches, helped the South
regain a cushion on their lead with six points over the
north heading into the final Mid-Amateur match in the
morning pod.
Formidable opponents Rob Couture (North) and Jay
Reynolds (South) would complete the first wave of Mid-
Amateur matches, where Couture eventually prevailed
with a two points to one point victory. The match would
be one of the few in the early matches that saw all 18
holes.
The middle portion of the singles match draw
turned to the Senior team members who squared-off in
four matches. Steady play from South Seniors Mike
Booker and John Pierce saw both team members sweep
three points in their respective matches from North
Team counterparts Mike Peck and Wayne Wright. After
three rounds of matches, Pierce had managed all nine
possible points – three point sweeps – in each of his
matches.
In the balance of the Senior matches, Bobby Baugh
and Dave Davis, along with Gary Durbin and John Grace
kept things close, splitting all available points to earn
one and a half points for each side. Despite having a
hot hand coming off their three-point sweep in
Saturday’s Four-Ball Matches, Baugh and Durbin were
kept at bay by North team members Davis and Grace in
their respective matches.
Heading into the final wave of Mid-Amateur
matches, the North Team trailed in the singles contest
by four points – and nine overall – with 12 points still
remaining on the board. Answering the call for a late
rally by the North side were Brad Gibson, who defeated
Nicholas Cristea for 2.5 points, and Rick Sulzer who
toppled long-hitting local John Hunter by the same point
margin.
Despite the North Team having closed their trailing
margin to five after squaring up point totals in singles
matches, South Team member Danny Simmerman
provided some insurance and sealed the victory for the
South Team with a three-point sweep of CJ Brock in the
second to last match. The final match between Gary
Ezmerlian and John Dowdall saw Ezmerlian reduce the
deficit and pick-up 2.5 points for the North team.
Despite a close point race in singles matches
Sunday, the South Team proved once again that home-
field played an advantage in regaining possession of the
Texas Shootout Trophy. The North side put together
17.5 points in singles matches, one point shy of their
counterparts in the final round and six total points
short.
In 2015, the North Team bested the South Team, 38-
34, at Dallas National Golf Club. However, in the 14
year history of the annual matches between regions, the
South now leads the overall series 8-6.
View results for Texas Shootout
ABOUT THE Texas Shootout
This Ryder Cup-style team event is the final
tournament of the Texas Golf Association
competitive amateur golf season. Each team
consists of 8 players who qualify for their
respective teams via TGA State and Regional
Player of the Year points accumulated
throughout the TGA season.
Eligibility: The field will be made up of 16
competitors, 8 players from each region
(North
/ South). Of the 8 players chosen from each
region, 5 players will be selected from the
TGA
Statewide Player of the Year point standings,
and 3 players will be selected from the TGA
Regional Player of the Year point standings.
All
statewide players will have up to the
completion of the current year USGA Mid
Amateur Championship to earn points toward
the event. All Regional players will have up to
the completion of the Regional Mid Amateur
Championship to earn points towards the
event. If a player qualifies by both criteria,
he
will be selected based on the higher rank.
The
next highest ranked player from within the
Regional or Statewide points will be added to
ensure 5 players from the statewide rankings
and three players from the Regional rankings
will be chosen.
Format: Ryder Cup format: Four-ball
Matches, Foursome (Alternate shot) Matches,
and Singles Matches. 3 point system, 1 point
for the winner of each nine holes, and 1 point
for the overall match winner
View Complete Tournament Information