Oklahoma Tour Opens at KickingBird

Scott R Chilcutt, Edmond, OK (March 16, 2013) Visitors from Arkansas, Colorado, Georgia and Texas were welcomed to the Oklahoma Tour 2013 Season Opener for a full field at the KickingBird Challenge.

KickingBird Golf Course, the site of the season opener for the third straight year on the Oklahoma Tour, once again did not disappoint.  While the Bermuda grass fairways and rough are still in the dormant state the BentGrass greens rolled smooth and fast.  Mostly sunny skies and light southerly breezes helped kick start the temperatures into the high 70's, but gave way to a late afternoon cool down with winds shifting from the north and changing the complexion of the layout.

Oklahoma Tour local,  Tim Mathis of Edmond, OK captured his first Tournament Champion Trophy, presented by Carlisle's Engraving by three strokes over a pair in the second spot.

RESULTS:

Championship Flight:   Stockton, CA native John Navarro now residing in Edmond, OK went out in even par, overcame a tough stretch on 10-12 with a birdie on the dog legged right par 4 - 13th to win his first event on tour.  Tulsa, OK Bill Robinson another new comer to the tour, finished four strokes back, with another Edmond local Chad Benoit rounding out the top three two back of Robinson. 

Palmer Flight:    Brad Cooper of Lawton, OK picked up his sixth win on tour and first since his two win season in 2010.  Cooper started the day with a birdie on the par 4 - 2nd, but his par on the long par 4 -18th made the difference in the one stroke advantage over Broken Arrow, OK member Allen Sawvel.  Jameson Bradford, of Plano, TX player went on a birdie run from eight through ten but fell one stroke short to Sawvel finishing in the third spot.

Senior Palmer Flight:  Sapulpa, OK member Curt Howard, with his son Tams in town on a visit from Minnesota on the bag, went for his third win in as many attempts.  Howard playing the first eleven holes in -2 on three birdies, held out a two stroke advantage over local Edmond player Dave Kirby.  Kirby making his second start on tour after working on the tournament committee the last two years held on to his runner up spot by a stroke over a surging Clayton Badger of Drumright.  After a slow start Badger, played the last 10 holes in even par to settle with the show position finish.

Hogan Flight:   Jeffrey Banner of Lawton, OK picked up his third win on tour and first since the 2012 Texas Open at Horseshoe Bay.  Oklahoma City, OK tour rookie, Ronnie Draper, a winner in his first time out over a strong field at the Hill Country Tour Kerrville Championship @ Comanche Trace evened things up with a birdie on the par 4 - 13th, but fell short by a stroke at the end of the day.  Edmond, OK local Brandon McCool finished two strokes back for his second third place finish on the year.       

Senior Hogan Flight:   Home field advantage proved important when Edmond, OK partners in crime, Tim Mathis and James Surber had the one, two finish.  Mathis with a tournament low, +3 - 73 grabbed his seventh win on tour four strokes clear of Surber with three birdies on the day.  Surber a winner at the 2013 Texas Open at Horseshoe Bay played the back nine in one over par to hold on to a three stroke advantage over traveling Dallas Tour member Myles Gallemore of Irving, TX.     

Sarazen Flight:   Imran Siddiqi, another local from Edmond, finished out his last three holes in even par to over take Wichita, KS traveler Gary Schuessler for his fifth win on tour and first of the season. Schuessler, coming into his own with a win and two runner up finishes on the points season held on to the second place spot by one stroke over Augusta, KS traveling partner Ernest DeBruler.  DeBruler parred his final two holes to stay out front of a pair of players in the T4 finish.     

Senior Sarazen Flight:  Denver Tour visitor, Tony Solano from Aurora, CO carded his ninth win on tour in his first outing of the points season.  Solano maintained a one stroke advantage over Oklahoma Tour first year member Vincent Gonzalez of Oklahoma City.  Davis Noble of Lake Kiowa, TX just south of the Red River recorded his best finish of the points season rounding out the top three.

Jones Flight:  Gary Chrisman of Yukon, OK bogied the final hole to force an early evening playoff with Crecent, OK member Ron Walker.  With darkness lingering on the first playoff green, Walker appeared to be ready to concede defeat, but after prodding from Chrisman drained a 30' putt for his fourth win on tour.  The pair finished two strokes ahead of another pair knotted up in the third place spot.  K.C. Montgomery of Fairview and Yukon, OK player Kyle Kuykendall split the third and fourth place points.

Snead Flight:  Just one week after walking off the course at an event in Dallas to join his wife for the birth of a new son, Sammie Martin of Elgin, OK commanded his second win on tour. Martin the 2012 Player of the Year in the Snead Flight outlasted 2012 Senior Snead Player of the Year Rick Henthorn of Yukon, OK with a late round birdie on the par 4 -17th.  Henthorn with a birdie of his own on the par 5 -12th stayed three strokes ahead of tour rookie William Perkins of Grand Prairie, TX finishing in the third spot.

SKINS:

Giant Skins:  1 -- Gary Hayes, Chickasha, OK; Tim Mathis, Edmond, OK; Art Wiles, Oklahoma City, OK; Chico Robinson, Powder Springs, GA; Ron Walker, Crescent, OK.

Championship / Palmer / Senior Palmer:  2 -- Allen Sawvel, Broken Arrow, OK. 1 -- Brad Cooper, Lawton, OK; Curt Howard, Sapulpa, OK.

Hogan / Senior Hogan:  2 -- Tim Mathis, Edmond, OK. 1 -- Gary Hayes, Chickasha, OK; Allan Barnett, Cheyenne, OK; Randy Sellers, Lewisville, TX; Rod Haddock, Siloam Springs, AR; Robert Lakey, Sayre, OK; Art Wiles, Oklahoma City, OK.

Sarazen / Senior Sarazen:  1 -- Christian Williamson, Edmond, OK; Melvin Wilson III, Dallas, TX; Dewayne Madison, Edmond OK.

Jones / Snead:  2 -- K.C. Montgomery, Fairview, OK. 1 -- Ron Walker, Crescent, OK.

 

Next Up:  The Oklahoma Tour backs up the opener with the Forest Ridge Classic in Broken Arrow, OK on March 30th.   The Dallas Tour resumes action at the Frisco Lakes Challenge on March 30th at The Golf Club at Frisco Lakes, registration closes Friday, March 22nd.   Hill Country Tour hits the links after a break for the Texas open on March 24th Round Rock Open on Friday, March 15th.

For More Information:

Scott R Chilcutt

Tour Director
Dallas / Fort Worth Tour - Hill Country Tour - Oklahoma Tour
GOLF CHANNEL Amateur Tour
405.513.1467 - 972.302.9478
schilcutt@gcamtour.com

Play Ready Golf

Scott R Chilcutt, Edmond, OK (March 11, 2013) During a recent event on the Dallas tour, we had four groups (16 players) penalized for violating the Golf Channel Am Tour pace of play policy. Penalties may clearly change the outcome of the event, take you or members of your group out of a skin and cost points and awards.

Tour Players that have competed in a Dallas, Hill Country or Oklahoma tour event that I’ve directed may have noticed “Play Ready Golf” printed rather large on the bottom of the “Notice to Contestants”.

The rules of golf define the proper Order of Play with USGA Rule 10-2 during stroke play. That rule however, offers no penalties unless playing out of turn creates an advantage. On the tee, honors; everywhere else, the player within a group who is away (farthest from the hole) hits first.

“Ready golf allows the golfers within a group to take their shots when each member of the group is ready to play. If you reach your ball and are ready to hit, while other members of your group are not yet prepared, then go ahead and hit - even if you are not away.

Here are just a few tips to help speed up play to make your day more enjoyable and keep you off the clock. Be sure to understand that none of the tips have anything to do with rushing your play, but rather help keep you out of a “rush”situation when you get behind.

TEE BOX

• On the tee, pay attention to your partners' drives. If they lose sight of their ball, you can help direct them to it and avoid any searching.

• If you are unsure about the club you’ll play off the tee, bring three, one on each side of your expected play so you’ll have other options readily available.

• Carry an extra golf ball, tees and ball markers in your pocket so you never have to return to your golf bag to find one when needed.

• If you are unsure whether your ball has come to rest out of bounds, or may be lost outside of a hazard, notify your playing partners that you intend to hit a provisional ball and tee it up again so that you won't have to return to the spot to replay the shot.

FAIRWAY

• When two players are riding in a cart, drive the cart to the first ball and drop off the first player with his choice of clubs. The second player should proceed in the cart to his ball. After the first player hits his stroke, he should begin walking toward the cart as the second golfer is playing.

• All players should GO TO THEIR BALLS as soon as possible. The only time players should wait for other players is if the first player's ball is in front of the other players' in such a way that the other players could be hit by the first player's shot.

• Help other players locate lost balls, but do it AFTER playing your shot not before.

GREEN

• Never park the cart in front of the green. Park it only to the side or behind the green. And don't mark your scorecard while sitting in the cart next to the green (do it at the next tee). These practices open up the green for the group behind.

• When chipping around the green, carry both the club you'll be chipping with plus your putter so you don't have to return to the bag.

• Begin reading the green and lining up putts as soon as you reach the green. Don't wait until it's your turn to putt to start the process of reading the green. Do it as soon as you reach the green so that when it's your turn you can step right up and putt.

• Finish out short putts if you won’t be in another players line or through line. Notify the group that “I’ll finish” and make your putts consecutively.

Navigating around the golf course in an efficient manner will help speed the game, won’t cause you any rushing problems when Marshall's put you on the clock and will help keep you out of penalty situations.


For More Information:

Scott R Chilcutt

Tour Director
Dallas / Fort Worth Tour - Hill Country Tour - Oklahoma Tour
GOLF CHANNEL Amateur Tour
405.513.1467 - 972.302.9478
schilcutt@gcamtour.com

Oklahomans at the Texas Open

Oklahoma 2 Wins, 4 Punch Tickets National Championships - Texas Open

Scott R Chilcutt, Horseshoe Bay, TX (March 3, 2013) The 2013 Texas Open, in its third year at the scenic Horseshoe Bay Resort, on the shores of Lake LBJ in the Texas Hill Country welcomed players from 19 states, representing 22 Tours for the first Major of the year in the Central part of the country.

Excellent, over seeded course conditions, fast and smooth greens along with favorable yardages and a local rule for out of bounds didn't seem to help the scoring. In the over 368 rounds played, nearly a third (29%) of the scores met or exceeded the century mark with only TWO rounds recording sub 80 scores. None of the flights were exempt from the difficult scoring conditions, with the Championship Flight averaging +18 on first day at the par 71 - Ram Rock Golf Course and +14 on the par 72 Apple Rock layout to finish out the event.

Through the challenges, 35 players received 2013 National Championship invitations and the participants raised over $1,400 for the Feherty's Troops First Foundation.

Results:

Senior Palmer Flight: Two Oklahoma Tour members, tied up in the second spot, four strokes back after the first round battled it out for the championship on Sunday. Beginning the day on the 10th hole, Clayton Badger of Drumright, OK started out his first two and ended his first two holes rocky, falling short of Sapulpa, OK member Curt Howard by a single stroke. Howard battled through a tweaked back in the latter holes to pick up his ninth win on tour and second Major Championship. Overcoming a first nine penalty stroke, Robert Lippert of Copperas Cove, TX went even par with three birdies on his back nine to jump two spots and finish with a National Championship invite. Randy Rollo of Waco, TX carded four birdies on the final round to record the only sub 80 round on the Apple Rock course, finishing in the fourth spot.

Senior Hogan Flight: Edmond, OK member James Surber made up a two stroke deficit after the first day to force a playoff with first round leader Christopher Phillips of Richmond, TX. Surber would take the lead early in the round and lead for most of the day, but finished with a triple to set the stage for the extra duty, where he would finish out his first Major Championship win in a one hole playoff. Phillips, runner up finish, cleared a pair in the third spot by five strokes equaling his best finish at a Major, the 2012 Pinehurst Amateur Championship. Michael Castaneda of League City, TX and St. Louis Tour traveler William Wirtz shared the third place finish and final National Championship qualifications.

Senior Snead Flight: Beverly Hills, FL visitor, Danny Souheaver picked up his fifth major championship and unprecedented 42nd first place finish on the Golf Channel Am Tour. Starting the final round twelve strokes back, hard charging Doyle Fleming from Haslet, TX made up ten strokes with the help of a birdie on the par 5 - 10th to finish just two back for his best finish at a Major. Receiving the National Championship invitation for his fifth consecutive year, Rick Henthorn of Yukon, OK and Cypress, TX member Timothy Thayer, his fourth consecutive invite, shared the third place finish by five strokes over the fifth spot.

Next Up:  The Oklahoma Tour kicks off the year at the March 16th Kickingbird Challenge. Hill Country gets back to the course for the Round Rock Open on March 24th. while the Dallas Tour resumes action at the Indian Creek Golf Course on March 9th for the Classic at the Creek.

For More Information:

Scott R Chilcutt

Tour Director

Dallas / Fort Worth Tour - Hill Country Tour - Oklahoma Tour

GOLF CHANNEL Amateur Tour
405.513.1467 - 972.302.9478
schilcutt@gcamtour.com