The Women’s Stroke Play has been held in Central Texas on several occasions in its relatively short history. And when the 11th edition of the championship returns to the region this summer it will make its maiden visit to Tapatio Springs Hill Country Resort in Boerne from July 11-13.
This will be the first TGA women’s major to be staged at Tapatio Springs, which has become a highly regarded venue over the years. Among the TGA championships the resort has hosted include the Texas Senior Amateur, Texas Father-Son, Texas Junior Amateur and, most recently, last month’s Texas League Play Championship Playoffs. Additionally, the resort has also served as the host site for the Texas Shamble, a fun-focused team competition, since the event’s inception in 2016.
“Tapatio Springs Hill Country Resort has played a significant role in supporting amateur golf at all levels, and we are very proud to have the opportunity to bring this year’s Women’s Stroke Play to this incredible facility,” said Kristi Knight, TGA Director of Women’s Golf. “We are appreciative of the invitation, and we know the players in championship will thoroughly enjoy the golf course and hospitality.”
One of the top scenic golf destinations in Texas, Tapatio Springs is nestled in a picturesque river valley on hundreds of acres of tall, rugged hills of limestone and granite, natural springs, and sweeping vistas. Located 35 miles northwest of San Antonio, the resort’s championship course was originally designed by Bill Johnston and opened for play in 1981. In the mid-2010s, renowned architect Tripp Davis led an extensive renovation of the course that included repositioning tee boxes and bunkers, reshaping putting surfaces and surrounds, and enhancing mounding and contours in the playing areas.
The result of Davis’ handiwork is an imaginative par-72 course, which measures nearly 6,500 yards from the back tees and just under 5,000 yards from the forward tees, that is not only welcoming to recreational golfers but has also proven to be a formidable challenge for elite competitive players as well.
“There is wonderful variety at Tapatio Springs, with holes moving in each direction and a mix of wide-open tee shots and approaches and others that are quite narrow,” Knight said. “The course is a great test of strategy and execution, and we are confident it will be an ideal setting for an exciting championship.”
This year’s 54-hole stroke play competition gets underway with a practice round on Thursday, July 10, and championship rounds beginning on Friday, July 11, at 8:00 a.m. off both No. 1 and No. 10 tees. The top 30 players with the lowest WHS™ Handicap Indexes will compete in the Championship Flight, plus those players who opted into the Championship Flight at the time entries were submitted. The remaining players will compete in additional flights.
Since it was first introduced in 2015, the Women’s Stroke Play has provided a platform for the best female amateurs from around the state to compete at the highest level and showcase their talents.
The 2024 edition saw a last-minute change of dates and courses due to the impact of Hurricane Beryl. Originally slated to be contested July 12-14 on the Player Course at The Woodlands Country Club in The Woodlands, the championship was rescheduled for September 13-15 and moved to the club’s North Course.
The reshuffle didn’t faze Emma McMyler of San Antonio one bit, who continued her remarkable run of superlative competitive golf. A recent Duke graduate, McMyler carded a 5-under-par 67 in the final round on the North Course to finish at 207 (-9) to win the 10th Women’s Stroke Play by five strokes over 2020 Women’s Texas Amateur champion Bentley Cotton of Austin.
In doing so, McMyler captured her second Stroke Play title and fourth overall major championship in four years. During that stretch, she won the Women’s Texas Amateur back-to-back in 2021 and 2022 and the Stroke Play previously in 2021. McMyler was also runner-up in the 2024 Women’s Texas Amateur, held earlier in the summer at Spanish Oaks Golf Club in Austin.
Rounding out the top five were Maye Huang of Katy (3rd), who entered UCLA as a freshman this January; Shyla Brown of McKinney (4th), a two-year member of the U.S. National Development Program; and Honorine Nobuta Ferry of Flower Mound (5th), who would in December go on to win the 98th Texas Junior Amateur Girls 15-18 Division which was also held at Tapatio Springs Hill Country Resort. Stephanie Hurlbert of The Woodlands posted a 54-hole total of 233 (+17) to finish as Low Mid-Amateur (players 25 years of age or older).
For more on the 11th Women’s Stroke Play Championship, click here.
