Texas League Play Playoffs Recap

The 2020 Texas League Play Playoffs featured 10 teams competing in a single-elimination, bracket-style tournament.

The first round took place at Horseshoe Bay’s Apple Rock course, with 4 teams competing in the first round. The other 6 teams received byes into the quarterfinal round. The first match of the day saw The Hills Country Club from Austin take on Rolling Hills Country Club of Arlington. The first points of the day were won by Rolling Hills’ Brian O’Dwyer and Craig Thorpe, who won their match to put their team up 2-1 early. The Hills answered in their second match as Tim Deck and Bill Parr swept Rolling Hills to take a 4-2 lead. Colin Peck and Wick Comegys from The Hills won their match 2-1 to extended The Hills overall match score to 6-3. Teammates Tye Grissom and Warren Smith won the final match to seal The Hills’ victory 8.5-3.5.

Thursday’s second match featured Nutcracker Golf Club of Granbury and Odessa Country Club (Links). Nutcracker took a commanding lead early by Cody Barrington and Darryl Woods winning the first match 2-1. The rest of Nutcracker’s Team did not disappoint as the last three matches swept Odessa’s Links Team. Nutcracker won their overall match 11-1 to get them into the quarterfinals.

Advancing teams returned to Apple Rock on Friday for the quarterfinal matches. The first match of the day took place between Tierra Verde Golf Club of Arlington and The Hills Country Club.  Bret Masion and Randy Stephens of Tierra Verde came away with 2.5 points in the first match.  Doug Foster and James Lloyd of Tierra Verde followed suit by winning the second match 2-1. The Hills’ Colin Peck and Wick Comegys answered back and won the third match 2.5-.05.  Carson Gooch and Ben Hicks of Tierra Verde won their match, which gave Tierra Verde a 7-5 victory and advanced them to the semifinal round.

The second match of the day featured Eagle Point Golf Club of Mont Belvieu and Nutcracker Golf Club. Both teams tied in the first match, but Mitchell Cole and Casey Barrington of Nutcracker got 2.5 points in the second match to give Nutcracker a 4-2 lead. Both clubs split the third match and final match 1.5-1.5, giving Nutcracker the 7-5 win and a spot in the semifinal round.

Friday’s third match took place between River Crest Country Club of Fort Worth and Van Zandt Country Club of Canton. Matthew Bobo and Garett Essl of River Crest started strong by sweeping the first match, and the rest of the River Crest team followed their lead.  River Crest won 12-0 over Van Zandt clinching a spot in the semifinal round.

Friday’s final match had the Golf Club of Houston against Odessa Country Club (Old). Mark Jones and Sterling Swack of Odessa took all 3 points in the first match giving them a good start to the day. Odessa’s Brandon Warne and Darren Seglem won the second match giving Odessa a 5.5-0.5 lead.  Jim McNeil and Robert Rigney clinched the semifinal spot for Odessa by tying the third match giving Odessa the 7-5 victory, despite Golf Club of Houston’s Ross Prachar and Brett Lalor sweeping the final match.

Saturday’s semifinal rounds continued at Apple Rock, and the first match of the day was between Odessa Country Club and Tierra Verde Golf Club. Odessa’s Mark Jones and Sterling Swack swept the first match, giving Odessa an early 3-0 lead.  Brandon Warne and Darren Seglem kept the momentum going by winning the second match 2.5-.05 increasing Odessa’s lead to 5.5-.05.  Both teams tied the third match, and Brian Madison and Luke Groves of Odessa won the fourth match 2-1 giving Odessa a victory of 9-3 and advancing them to the championship round.

The second semifinal match took place between Nutcracker Golf Club and River Crest Country Club. Cody Barrington and Darryl Woods from Nutcracker won all 3 points in the first match, but Jeff Needham and Dee Kelly of River Crest answered back with winning the second match 2.5-.05.  Nutcracker’s Mark Barrington and Dustin Sherrill swept the third match giving Nutcracker the 6.5-3.5 lead and giving Nutcracker a spot in the championship round, even though River Crest’s Reid Parrish and Scott Hargrove won the very close fourth match 2-1.

Apple Rock course at Horseshoe Bay played host to Sunday’s championship round between Odessa Country Club and Nutcracker Golf Club.  Mark Jones and Sterling Swack of Odessa got the team off to a good start by sweeping the first match.  However, Mitchell Cole and Casey Barrington responded by sweeping the second match leaving it a close 3-3 tie.  Nutcracker’s Dustin Sherrill and Marc Barrington captured 2.5 points in the third match, and Matt Sommerfield and Jared Harp of Nutcracker won the final match 2.5-.05, capturing the 2020 Texas League Play championship over Odessa 7.5-3.5.