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FORT WORTH | When the Kathy Whitworth Invitational tees off today at Fort Worth’s Mira Vista Country Club, the tournament enters its third decade of girls’ amateur competition with a field that might stack up with any in its history. That includes a strong group of players from the Legends Junior Tour, each of whom is intent to keep the prestigious title on Lone Star State soil.
The Whitworth tournament honors the Texas-born World Golf Hall of Famer who is the all-time victory leader on male or female professional tours. The 80-year-old tournament namesake, who spoke at a pre-event dinner with locally based LPGA winner Cheyenne Knight, said she is thrilled to see so many top Texas players entered this year.
“In our 21st year it’s a great event for junior golf and perhaps our best field ever,” said Whitworth of the early-season event that will be staged on Mira Vista’s championship course, which has hosted the U.S. Girls’ Junior among other high-level tournaments.
Among the players entered this year is Austin’s Makenzie Niblett (above), who has been a major factor on the LJT. She enters the event tied for seventh in the rankings for the circuit’s player-of-the-year award. Niblett, who has signed a letter of intent to play collegiately at Texas A&M, won the LJT’s Texas Girls’ Invitational in 2018 and holds down the No. 49 spot in the national Rolex/AJGA rankings.
Fellow Texas A&M signee Ellie Szeryk from Allen, whose sister, Maddie, also played for the Aggies, is expected to be a factor as well. The younger Szeryk sits 12th in the LJT’s player-of-the-year standings after finishing third in the season-opening winter classic at Dallas Athletic Club.
Another longtime LJT/TGA participant expected to make an impact is defending champion Bohyun Park, a native of South Korea from Farmers Branch. She is the two-time Class 4A state high school champion from Carrollton’s Ranchview High School and already has committed to play at the University of Texas after she graduates in 2021. She is No. 8 on the Rolex/AJGA list.
Also among the players entered are two who have be invited to next month’s Augusta National Women’s Amateur, Paris Hilinski of La Quinta Calif., and Alexa Pano of Lake Worth, Fla.
The winner of this year’s Whitworth tournament will earn a spot in the LPGA’s Volunteers of America Classic, to be played Oct. 1-4 at Old American Golf Club in The Colony. Knight topped Brittany Altomare and Jaye Marie Green by two strokes in last year’s edition of that event to claim her first LPGA Tour title.
With a recent college victory that will lead to an appearance in a professional event, Plano’s Parker Coody served notice he could claim a spot in the long line of Long Star State golfers who have made their mark at the next level.
The University of Texas sophomore, who plays for the Longhorns along with twin brother Pierceson, won the individual championship at the Southern Highlands Collegiate last Tuesday in Las Vegas.
In overcoming Southern California’s Lin Yuxin in a playoff after shooting 5 under on the final day of the 54-hole event to force the extra hole, Coody earned a sponsor exemption into the PGA Tour’s Shriners Hospitals for Children Open this fall at nearby TPC Summerlin.
“It means a lot to be able to come back from so far behind, just gives me the confidence to know I can do it again,” Coody said. “The PGA Tour exemption is awesome. The goal is to play on the PGA Tour and this is a great opportunity to play against the best in the world.”
Coody is an alumnus of the Legends Junior Tour, where he won the Boys 14-under title at the Texas Junior Amateur in 2014 at Horseshoe Bay Resort. He and his brother are the grandsons of Charles Coody, the 1971 Masters champion, and the sons of Kyle Coody, who played for the Longhorns in the mid-1980s.
“From junior golf to now, I hadn’t really played the way I wanted to,” Coody said. “This is a great start.”
One of the legendary names in Texas golf was honored recently when Abilene Christian University opened the doors to the Byron Nelson Clubhouse. The building, christened with a grand opening ceremony on Feb. 22, upgrades the Wildcats’ facilities and highlights the trophies, awards and various memorabilia collected by its namesake.
Nelson’s widow, Peggy, donated a number of one-of-a-kind items from his career for display during the opening weekend, including his Congressional Gold Medal, a replica of the U.S. Open trophy, and items representing two Masters Tournament victories and three Ryder Cup appearances.
Display cases in the clubhouse also include equipment Nelson used in his record-setting career, personal memorabilia and rare artifacts from the history of the game.
“We started the ACU golf endowment to make sure we didn’t lose the legacy of golf at ACU and Byron Nelson’s connection,” said Jon Bradley, a member of the school’s Sports Hall of Fame. “This clubhouse is going to keep Byron Nelson’s legacy alive a long time. ”
Although Nelson did not attend Abilene Christian, he was a lifelong friend and avid supporter of the university. He served as a member of its Board of Trustees from 1965 to 1974 and chaired the Fort Worth region of its National Development Council.
In May 1984, the university raised more than $350,000 to establish the Byron and Louise Nelson Golf Endowment Fund in their honor. Since then, the Byron Nelson tournaments held each year in the Dallas/Fort Worth area have benefited the endowment.
The Texas Cup Invitational tees off today for its 13th edition, returning to the Dye Course at Stonebridge Ranch Country Club. The boys-only event – a 54-hole, stroke-play tournament – is the first big event of the 2020 LJT season.
“The Texas Cup Invitational is a great challenge for all and one of the three major championships on the LJT schedule for boys,” LJT tournament director Kevin Porter said. “The past champions of this event have gone on to have successful collegiate careers and have credited the Texas Cup Invitational for helping them learn to compete.”
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