Bentwater Yacht & Country Club
(Bentwater Yacht & Country Club Photo)
MONTGOMERY, TX (February 25, 2017) -- Joe Sanders
and Ed Sanchez lead the 2017 Texas Golf Association
South Four-Ball presented by Impact Precision Golf
after
firing an opening round 66. The duo sits at 6-under
par
and holds a one stroke lead over a crowded
leaderboard. The first event of the 2017 South
Regional
Series is being contested on the Weiskopf Course at
Bentwater Yacht & Country Club, in Montgomery.
Sanders, of Austin, and Sanchez, of San Antonio,
started off steady with a par on their opening hole,
the
par four 10th. After a birdie on the par five 11th, the
duo carded seven pars in a row on their way to a 1-
under par 35 for their opening nine. They would
continue their steady play with three more pars to
start
their second nine. The momentum shifted in their
favor
when Sanchez, the 2013 South Mid-Amateur
Champion,
made back to back birdies on the par four fourth and
the par four fifth. Sanders added to the tally and
recorded an eagle on the par five seventh. The team
finished strong with another Sanders’ birdie on the par
four ninth. Their 6-under par score of 66 was good
enough for a one stroke lead over a crowded
leaderboard with twelve teams within four strokes of
the
lead.
Sitting at one stroke back are the teams of
Schroeder / Hochauser and Booker / Kaplan. Five
teams
sit in a tie for fourth at 3-under par and three strokes
back of the leaders for the Championship.
Montgomery’s Grant Schroeder and Sam
Hochhauser carded three birdies during their opening
nine, on their way to a 3-under par 33. Schroeder and
Hochhauser traded birdies on the par four 13th and
the
par four 18th respectively to finish with a first round
total of 5-under par 67. They will play in the final
pairing tomorrow morning at 9:30 am with Sanders
and
Sanchez.
Mike Booker and Justin Kaplan, of Houston, got
off
to a fast start with an opening birdie from Kaplan on
the
par four first. Booker, the 2015 Texas Senior Amateur
Champion, carded his lone birdie of the day on the par
four fourth. Kaplan, the 2015 Texas Mid-Amateur
Match
Play Champion, carded two more birdies on the
opening
nine and another birdie on the par four 12th, on their
way to a 5-under par round of 67.
Paired in the penultimate group with Booker and
Kaplan is the team of Cory Wells, of Conroe, and
Clayton Jeffirs, of Humble. Wells and Jeffirs sit in a
five
way tie for fourth place at 3-under par. Included in
that
tie is the team of Tony Soerries, of Montgomery, and
Graham Lynch, of Magnolia. Soerries, a member at
Bentwater Yacht & Country Club is also the 2013
South
Amateur and the 2014 South Mid-Amateur Champion.
The final round has the makings of an exciting
finish and will begin Sunday at 8:00 am off of holes
#1
and #10 on the Weiskopf Course at Bentwater Yacht &
Country Club and the leaders scheduled to tee off at
9:30 am.
View results for Texas South Four-Ball
ABOUT THE
Texas South Four-Ball
Eligibility: Entries are open to male amateur
golfers residing in the South Texas region
(both players must reside in south region) as
defined by the Texas PGA Sections (South of
31 degree parallel, Salado TX and south is
break point). Applicants must have a certified
USGA Handicap Index of 10.0 or less. Please
reference “TGA Regional Tournament Eligibility”
on www.txga.org for additional eligibility
details.
Format: 36 holes of Four-Ball Stroke Play, with
a Champion and Senior division.
Field limit: 40 teams
View Complete Tournament Information