Thornton/Kondra Win Texas Four-Ball
2009 TX State Four Ball Champions
Seth Thornton and Nick Kondra
THE WOODLANDS, TX (May 17, 2009)--A total of 49 teams arrived Friday morning at the Gary Player Course at The Woodlands Country Club in hopes of leaving Sunday afternoon with the title, 2009 TGA 4-Ball Champions, affixed to their names. And in the end it was team of Seth Thornton, of Houston and Nick Kondra, of West Columbia, who did just that. Sunday’s final round began with no clear-cut favorite. Despite the impressive 10-under par, 62 posted by Thornton and Kondra on Saturday they could not break free of the pack, as 6 teams still loomed in the background all within 4 strokes of the lead.
The picture became even less clear after the turn, with four teams all within 2 shots of the lead that was held by two teams - second round leaders Thornton and Kondra and fellow competitors John Bearrie and Scott Maurer.
Bearrie and Maurer made their big move on the front nine by posting a 5-under par 31 to put them in a tie for first with Thornton and Kondra.
However, a costly double bogey on the 597- yard, par 5 12th put them in a hole in which they would not be able to recover, finishing in a tie for 4th place at 15-under par with Randy Lance (The Woodlands) and David Ward (Dallas).
In the end it was the consistent play of Thornton and Kondra that brought them to victory, finishing the tournament with a 4-under par 68 to put them at 18-under par for the championship.
Defending champions Rob Couture and Blanton Hansen, who also started the day just three strokes off the lead, made it interesting by closing the gap to two after the turn, but couldn’t make a big enough run to catch the Thornton/Kondra duo and finished tied for second place with Aaron Hickman (Houston) and Dru Fenimore (Dallas) who played steady golf all weekend firing rounds 67, 67, and 66.
View results for Texas Four-Ball
ABOUT THE Texas Four-Ball
Eligibility: Entries are open to male
amateur golfers age 25 or older as of
the first round of tournament play, with
a certified USGA Handicap Index of 8.4
or less. Please reference “TGA State
Championship Eligibility” at
www.txga.org for additional eligibility
details.
Format: Scheduled for 54 holes of
Four–Ball Stroke Play.
The field is limited to 80 teams, as outlined below:
Championship: 25 & Over (48 teams)
Senior: 55 & Over (20 teams)
Super Senior: 65 & Over (12 teams)
View Complete Tournament Information