Abilene, TX – It came down to the wire in the 2011 West Texas Amateur Championship hosted by the Abilene Country Club’s Fairway Course. At the conclusion of the exciting 83rd playing of the event, players witnessed a come from behind victory by Beau Davis in the Open division, as well as Tom Doughtie and Michael Hastings repeating as champions in the Senior and Super Senior divisions, respectively.
At the start of the final round in the Open division, Abilene’s own Beau Davis sat seven strokes back of 2nd round leader Brenden Redfern. Playing on his home course, Davis navigated the front nine with two birdies and a bogey to turn at 1-under 35. Knowing that it would take a strong number to apply the pressure to the final group, Davis turned on the birdie machine with four birdies over his final nine holes to record a 5-under par 67 for the day and a three-day total of 9-under par 207. At the end of the final round, Beau Davis was all smiles as he walked away with a one-shot victory in the Open divison.
Austin’s Brenden Redfern entered the final round with a five stroke lead, and seemed to be in control for most of his round. Registering a birdie and bogey on his front nine, Redfern ran into trouble over his final nine holes. A costly double-bogey on his 17th hole put Redfern into a share with Davis entering the par five 18th hole. The Arizona Wildcat missed his par putt that would have forced a playoff while shooting a 3-over par final round 75. Redfern instead earned a very respectable runner-up finish with a three-day total of 8-under par 208.
Nathan Anderson, of Burleson, stayed in contention throughout the final round, finishing with a 1-under par 71 and a third place score of 7-under par 209. Trophy Club’s Thomas Birdsey and San Antonio’s Will Griffin finished the West Texas Amateur in a fourth place tie at 6-under par 210.
Tom Doughtie is becoming a regular name among the trophies available to win at the West Texas Amateur. The three-time Open division champion can now add back-to-back Senior division champion to the growing list of accolades. Entering the final round tied with Horseshoe Bay’s Aaron Billings at even-par 144, the Amarillo native carded a final round 1-under par 71 to finish as the only Senior division player to break par for the championship. Billings went back and forth with Doughtie, only to come up short with a 1-over par 73 and a runner-up finish in the Senior division.
Defending champion in the Super Senior division, Michael Hastings, had his work cut out for him at the start of the day. Sitting just off of Coy Jones’ lead, Hastings fired a 1-over par 73 for a 9-over par 225 championship. The Waxahachie resident won last year’s Super Senior division at Amarillo Country Club. Longview’s Jones finished in second place with a 13-over par 229.
The Texas Golf Association would like to extend its appreciation to the Abilene Country Club and its staff for hosting the 2011 West Texas Amateur Championship.
View results for West Texas Amateur
ABOUT THE West Texas Amateur
Eligibility: Entries are open to male amateur golfers
who reside in either region (North/South) of the
state of Texas.
Applicants must have a certified GHIN Handicap
Index of 10.0 or less. Senior division players must be
55 years of
age as of the first round of tournament play. Super
Senior players must be 65 years of age as of the first
round of
tournament play.
Format/Field Size and Cut: The championship will be
contested over 54 holes of stroke play with three (3)
divisions;
Championship, Senior and Super Senior. Each
division will play from separate tees/yardages and
separate
champions will be recognized in each division.
At the conclusion of 36 holes the field will be cut to
the low 72 players (and ties), with a pro-rated
representation
from each division. The pro-rated allocation of
players making the cut from each division will be
reflective of the
number of players in each division, relative to the
total field size. The determination of total field size,
number of
players in each division and pro-rated representation
of players making the cut (before ties) will be
announced in
conjunction with pairings being posted.
The field is limited to 144, as outlined below:
Championship: Open (84 players)
Senior: 55 & Over (42
players)
Super Senior: 65 & Over (18 players)
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