HOUSTON, Texas (June 8, 2008)--The best viewing spot for the final round of the 2008 Texas State Amateur at Houston Country Club was behind the 18th green watching the electronic scoreboard. The name at the top was changing almost every hole. Five different people either led or shared the lead at various points during the final round, and the 18th green was also the spot to see Kelly Kraft seal the victory with a 12 foot birdie putt.

Kraft, from Denton, has just completed his freshman year at SMU. It was a good one as he was named Conference USA Freshman of the Year, and earned both All Conference and All Region honors. Now he can add Texas State Amateur Champion to his 2008 resume.

The one word that every player in contention used throughout the week was patience, and Kraft said that was the key to his win.

“Patience was definitely the key,” Kraft said. “I wasn’t putting that well coming into the tournament so I had to stay patient. The putts finally started falling at the end.”

After an opening round 75 left Kraft six shots off the lead, he posted rounds of 69 and 71 to move into contention, only two shots back going into the final round. His named moved to the top of the ever changing leader board with back to back birdies on #10 & #11 to start his final nine holes. Kraft finished just as strong with a birdie at #16 as well as the one at #18 for a final round of four under par 68 and a 72 hole total of 5-under-par 283.

The 5-under-par total was good enough for a two-stroke margin of victory over runner-up John Peterson of Fort Worth, a member of the LSU golf team. That means the trend of youth continues as a college player has won six of the last seven State Amateurs, and the other was won by Paul Haley just weeks after graduating from high school.

Three players tied for third at one under par. That list included two players – Will Hanna and Travis Woolf – who were among the five different leaders during the final round. The other player tied for third was second round leader and 2006 champion Paul Haley. Jon Mathias, who led going into the final round, struggled to a final-round 75 to finish alone in sixth place.

--Courtesy TXGA

Full results from the 6,996-yard, par-72 Houston Country Club follow:

Pos	Name	Hometown	Rd.1	Rd.2	Rd.3	Rd.4	Tot.
1	Kraft, K.	Denton	75	69	71	68	283
2	Peterson, J.	Fort Worth	73	72	71	69	285
T3	Haley, P.	Dallas	73	67	75	72	287
T3	Hanna, W.	The Woodlands	74	74	67	72	287
T3	Woolf, T.	Fort Worth	69	73	72	73	287
6	Mathias, J.	San Antonio	73	68	72	75	288
7	Clendenon, C.	Nederland	77	71	70	72	290
T8	Trimble, B.	Houston	69	76	77	69	291
T8	Ward, C.	McKinney	75	72	73	71	291
T8	Osborne, W.	Wichita Falls	77	66	72	76	291
T11	Dowdall, J.	Houston	73	72	73	74	292
T11	Vegas, J.	Austin	78	68	71	75	292
T13	Minahan, J.	Spring	76	76	74	67	293
T13	McGraw, T.	Montgomery	74	73	75	71	293
T13	Joyner, O.	The Woodlands	76	72	73	72	293
T13	Shindler, C.	Westlake	77	72	71	73	293
T13	Mason, B.	Dallas	75	71	72	75	293
T18	Chiles, L.	Granbury	71	76	75	72	294
T18	Hickman, A.	Tyler	76	75	70	73	294
T18	Morley, D.	Houston	74	67	77	76	294
T21	Fallon, P.	Waco	76	74	74	71	295
T21	Massa, B.	Grand Prairie	74	77	73	71	295
T21	Paolucci, A.	Dallas	75	70	77	73	295
T21	Berkovsky, A.	Aledo	73	72	77	73	295
T21	Couture, R.	Dallas	74	73	73	75	295
T21	Workman, A.	The Woodlands	75	75	70	75	295
T21	Landry, A.	Groves	73	72	74	76	295
T28	Fawcett, S.	Dallas	72	73	76	75	296
T28	Miskell, T.	New Braunfels	69	73	75	79	296
T30	Allcorn, B.	Abilene	77	72	74	74	297
T30	Roudebush, S.	Fort Worth	77	73	73	74	297
T32	Holland, C.	Dallas	76	73	78	71	298
T32	Harris, T.	Houston	71	75	79	73	298
T32	Mccabe, A.	Dallas	76	76	72	74	298
T35	Cristea, N.	Cypress	77	75	76	71	299
T35	Sheen, N.	Denton	75	74	75	75	299
T37	Willis, B.	Weatherford	75	75	74	76	300
T37	Gann, T.	Houston	78	73	73	76	300
T39	Moore, J.	Southlake	80	72	77	72	301
T39	Kelly, S.	Kingwood	73	76	76	76	301
T39	Pocknall, D.	Katy	75	75	72	79	301
T42	Williams, C.	Waco	75	76	77	74	302
T42	Whitehead, M.	Sugar Land	76	76	74	76	302
T44	Guidry, K.	Missouri City	76	73	76	78	303
T44	Thomas, P.	Austin	79	71	73	80	303
T46	Williams, J.	Houston	78	73	79	74	304
T46	Schultz, K.	Richardson	76	74	79	75	304
T46	Barfield, N.	Dallas	72	76	75	81	304
49	Cooper, A.	The Woodlands	78	73	78	76	305
50	Robbins, K.	Southlake	80	72	82	72	306
51	Oelfke, D.	Houston	72	80	80	75	307
52	Mitzner, C.	Fort Worth	77	74	79	78	308
T53	McGee, M.	Midland	73	77	83	76	309
T53	Mizell, R.	The Woodlands	78	74	79	78	309
55	Fisher, H.	The Woodlands	73	78	75	86	312
	Lopez, L.	Houston	75	73	72		DQ
	Cashman, K.	Montgomery	80	72	83		WD

 

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