Texas Senior Amateur: Pierce and Durbin share lead after round one

Sandy Pierce and Gary Durbin of Houston each posted rounds of 4-under 67 at Amarillo Country Club and sit atop the 86th Texas Senior Amateur field after the first round. Both players are seeking another win in the Texas Golf Association’s Senior Amateur Championship.

Pierce’s round started off hot with birdies on Holes No. 1, 4, and 7 and finished the front nine with a birdie on No. 9. He added another birdie on the par-3 12th to get to 5-under but made a bogey on the par-4 No. 12.

“All-in-all, I’m thrilled,” said Pierce, following his round. “67 on this course is a great score for me.”

Pierce is defending his win from last year’s championship, which was held at Champions Golf Club in Houston. He posted rounds of 72-71-68 to get to 2-under overall and won in a playoff.

“Coming back this year and just seeing how many good players there are competing helped me realize what an achievement it was,” said Pierce. “As far as this week goes, I’m going to try and keep doing what I’m doing, and at the end of the week, we’ll see where I stand.”

Durbin made an eagle on the par-5 No. 9 to get to 4-under-par and match the low score posted on Friday.

“I hit a really good drive and had 183 yards left, hit a seven iron to five feet, and rolled it in,” said Durbin regarding his eagle on his last hole of the day.

Durbin seeks his third victory in the Texas Senior Amateur after winning in 2021 at Westwood Golf Club and in 2019 at Deerwood Club. He posted a bogey-free round in the afternoon wave, which saw heavy gusts throughout the round.

“I think it’s critical at this golf course to drive the ball well,” said Durbin. “This is my first time being up at Amarillo Country Club, and it’s a really good golf course.”

In third place is Terrence Miskell, who shot 3-under 68 in his opening round. The New Braunfels native was even-par through his first ten holes but made birdie on four of his next five holes. He dropped a shot on the par-4 No. 8 and made par on No. 9, which was his final hole, to finish at 3-under and one stroke behind the leaders.

Bobby Baugh of San Antonio made an eagle on the par-5 No. 18 to finish at 2-under 69. Baugh was one of four players to finish in red numbers on the par-71 layout at Amarillo CC, which played to 6,685 yards in the First Round.

Amarillo’s Ralph Ellis posted a score of even-par 71 and sits tied for fifth. Burleson’s Lewis Stephenson equaled his even-par score on Friday and is a two-time champion of this event (2016 & 2018).

Five players finished tied for seventh at 1-over, while four players finished tied for 12th at 2-over heading into Saturday’s second round.