Across the country in competitive amateur golf, no two months are busier than June and July. That certainly holds true for the Texas Golf Association and Legends Junior Tour. During the six-week stretch between June 13 and July 24, three of the most celebrated statewide championships will take place in Dallas and Houston.
It all gets started with the oldest, most significant amateur championship in the state. The 110th Texas Amateur will be played June 13-16 on Dallas Athletic Club’s Jack Nicklaus-designed Blue Course. The Golden Bear won his third professional major title on the Blue Course at the 1963 PGA Championship. The club, which this year commemorates its centennial anniversary, then hired Nicklaus to come back in 1986 to renovate the iconic course.
One hundred and forty-four of the most talented male amateurs in Texas will play 72 holes of stroke play – with a 36-hole cut – to identify the state’s top player. That champion will join the list of Texas Amateur winners that includes Masters champions Ben Crenshaw and Charles Coody, PGA Championship winner Mark Brooks, as well as decorated professionals such as Bruce Lietzke, Scott Verplank, Marty Fleckman and Bob Estes.
In more recent years, current young PGA Tour pros Kelly Kraft and Will Zalatoris hoisted the H.L. Edwards Memorial Trophy as Texas Amateur champions. This June, another name will be added to the distinctive list.
About a month after the final putt drops at DAC, the best female amateurs in Texas take their turn in the spotlight at the 98th Women’s Texas Amateur. The match play-based event is set for July 16-19 at Bent Tree Country Club in Dallas. The most prestigious women’s amateur event in the southwest opens with an 18-hole, stroke play qualifying round with the top 32 scores advancing to the Championship Match Play Bracket.
From there, it takes five match play victories in three days to take the title. It can be a grueling test; only the strongest survive this championship’s grinding format.
“Especially in the afternoon matches, after you’ve already played 18 or 19 holes that morning, you really need to think about every shot,” said Prestonwood Christian Academy senior Julia Gregg, who finished runner-up in last summer’s 97th Women’s Texas Amateur. “You’re a little tired, but you have to focus on your routines and really concentrate.”
The triumvirate of statewide championships culminates with the 93rd playing of the Texas Junior Amateur, set for July 22-24 outside of Houston at the Clubs of Kingwood. For nearly a century, the Texas Junior Amateur has featured some of the nation’s strongest fields in junior golf. A quick look at some of the notable past champions – Ben Crenshaw, Jordan Spieth, Jeff Maggert, Scott Verplank, Angela Stanford and Nancy Hager among them – underscores the elite status of the event.
There are four separate divisions involved in the Texas Junior Amateur. The Boys and Girls Divisions (for juniors ages 15-18) each play 54 holes of stroke play. The younger contestants, boys and girls ages 14 and under, play 36 holes. All four divisions are ranked by Junior Golf Scoreboard and Golfweek, while the Boys and Girls 15-18 Divisions are World Amateur Golf Ranked. American Junior Golf Association Performance Stars also are awarded to top finishers of each division. LJT Player of the Year points are doubled for this event, too.
On the following pages, find out more about these three illustrious championships and what makes each one so unique and their titles so coveted.
