A two-putt par on the first playoff hole gave the 59-year-old Ron Kilby of McAllen, Texas his second Texas Senior title in four years
FORT WORTH, Texas (Sept. 28, 2014 — With a
two-putt par on the first playoff hole, Ron
Kilby won the State Senior Amateur
Championship for the second time in four years.
The 59-
year-old from McAllen also won the 2011 State
Senior Amateur when it was played at Bent
Tree Country Club in Dallas.
This time, Kilby defeated Ken Coutant from
Dallas at historic Shady Oaks Country Club by
easing in a three-footer for par on the 435-yard,
par-4 18th hole. It came minutes after Kilby
bogeyed the same hole in regulation play to fall
back into a tie with Coutant. Kilby and
Coutant finished the three-day, 54-hole
championship at 2-over-par 215. Kilby shot
rounds of
72-71-72; Coutant recorded scores of 70-73-72.
“To win the Texas State Senior Amateur is a
special because there are so many good seniors
in Texas—more than in any other state,” said
Kilby, who owns a McAllen-based commercial
real estate company that leases office space to
the State of Texas. “I’ve played in many TGA
events, and when I won this the first time my
wife Becky wasn’t there. To have her here
with me today makes this extra special.”
The victory also gets Kilby into the field for the
2015 Texas Amateur, which will be played at
Bent Tree. Kilby previously hadn’t qualified for
that championship, and going back to the
course where he won his first State Senior
Amateur title was heavy on his mind this week
at
Shady Oaks.
“You bet,” he said. “I’m looking forward to going
back to Bent Tree. That’s a golf course
that’s somewhat like this one. You have to
position yourself and putt really well. I feel like I
can be competitive on that course.”
Kilby was more than competitive at Shady Oaks,
the club where iconic Ben Hogan made his
home before he passed away in 1997. The
recently remodeled clubhouse contains several
shrines to the nine-time major champion from
Fort Worth, including his double locker, which
is kept behind glass in the same pristine
condition as it was the last time he visited the
club.
“It doesn’t get any better than winning here at
Mr. Hogan’s club,” said Kilby, who made eight
birdies during the State Senior Amateur.
Coutant, a lifelong amateur who plays out of
Sherrill Park Golf Course in Richardson, was
cheerful in defeat. Down three shots at one point
on the final nine holes, Coutant rolled in
20-foot birdies on the 14th and 15th holes to put
pressure on Kilby.
“I’m so proud of the way I played today,” said
Coutant, a 55-year-old CPA. “I really hung in
there and finished strong. My hat’s off to Ron,
though. He played great and stepped up and
piped one down the fairway on the playoff
hole.”
Houston’s Bob Kearney, winner of the 2001
Texas Amateur and 1998 State Mid-Amateur,
finished in third place at 3-over 216. He shot an
impressive 1-under par 70 in the final
round. Scott Smith from Houston took fourth
place at 5-over 218. Tim Carlton from Cypress
was fifth at 6-over 219.
With its massive greens and tree-lined fairways,
Shady Oaks played as a par 71 at 6,780
yards for the Senior Division. For the 54-hole
event, the course had a stroke average of
76.80.
In the Super Senior Division, Aledo’s Jody
Vasquez ran away with the title after shooting 1-
under 70 in the final round. A former range ball
shagger of Hogan, Vasquez shot rounds of
75-74-70 to post 6-over 219, which was good for
a five-shot victory over Harold Speer from
Mansfield.
“To win anywhere matters, but I knew Mr.
Hogan pretty well,” he said. “So it’s always nice
to come over and visit Shady Oaks.”
Vasquez, 67, worked as one of Hogan’s ball
shaggers from 1964-69.
“I was the kid out there holding the shag bag,”
Vasquez said with a smile.
Speer finished at 11-over 224 to take second
place. Chip Stewart from Dallas placed third
with a three-day total of 14-over 227. The Super
Seniors played Shady Oaks at a length of
6,435 yards. The three-day course average was
79.99.
About the Texas Senior Amateur
The State Senior Amateur is the second oldest event of all the TGA tournaments, having first been played in 1937. Eligibility: Entries are open to male amateur golfers with a GHIN Handicap Index of 6.4 or less and who are 55 years of age or older as ...
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