Texas League Play Playoffs Recap

The 2018 Texas League Play Playoffs featured 14 teams competing in a single-elimination, bracket-style tournament.

The first round took place at Horseshoe Bay’s Slick Rock course, with 12 teams competing in the first round. De Cordova Bend Country Club and Cross Timbers Golf Course received byes into the quarterfinal round. The first match of the day saw Hillcrest Country Club from Lubbock take on Tierra Verde Golf Club of Arlington. The first points of the day were won by Hillcrest’s Glen Robertson and John Dutkowsky, who swept their match to put their team up 3-0 early. Tierra Verde answered in their second match as Doug Foster and Bret Maison took all three points to even the overall match score at 3. Hillcrest’s Cody King and Kyle Beebe took 2 points in the third match and teammates Adam Headley and Michael Pruitt swept the final match to seal Hillcrest’s victory 8-4.

Thursday’s second match featured Colonial Country Club of Fort Worth and Gentle Creek Golf Club of Prosper. The teams split the first match 1.5-1.5 before Colonial’s Rob Doby and Ty Smith swept their match for 3 points. The teams split the third match to bring to overall match to 6-3 in favor of Colonial going into the fourth and final match. Colonial’s Jace Moore and Travis Woolf sealed the win with a 3 point sweep for an overall match score 9-3.

The first round also saw Ridglea Country Club of Fort Worth against Spanish Oaks Bee Cave. Ridglea’s Tommy Paul and Ross Snell took 2 points in the first match and their teammates John Birdwell and Thomas Lanter took 2.5 to put the overall score at 4.5-1.5 in Ridglea’s favor with 2 matches to play. The teams split the third match, but Colby Amparan and Gary Ezmerlian took 2.5 points in the final match to give Ridglea the win with a final score of 8.5-2.5.

The next match took place between Brookhaven Country Club from Farmers Branch and Eagle Pointe Golf Club of Mount Bealveu. The first match was split 1.5-1.5 with Brookhaven taking the lead after the second as Matt Landes and Scott Spence took 2.5 points in their match. Burk Goldthorn and Todd Spence scored 2.5 points of their own to seal the victory for Brookhaven after three matches.

Thursday’s penultimate match saw Odessa Country Club competing against Houston’s Braeburn Country Club. Odessa’s Mark Jones and Jim Stuart took 2.5 points in the first match with their teammates Jim Bob McNeil and Jeff Mundun also taking 2.5 to put Odessa up 5-1 with two matches to play. Braeburn fought back though and Mark Teshoian and Matt Moake swept their match to put the overall score at 5-4 with one match to play. Odessa’s Blake Parks and Brian Scherer swept the final match to give their team an 8-4 victory.

The last match of the Day featured the Golf Club of Houston(GCH) and Andrews County Golf Course. Andrews County went up early as Doug Johnson and Joe Bell Lopez swept their match for 3 points. GCH’s Derek Delach and Doug Deaver scored 2 points in the second match with teammates Nick Festino and Charles Russo Jr. sweeping their match to put the overall score at 5-4 going into the last match. The last match came down to the last hole, with Ross Prachar of GHC sinking a par putt on 18 to halve the match and give his team the 6.5-5.5 victory.

Advancing teams returned to Slick Rock on Friday for the quarterfinal matches. The first match of the day took place between Hillcrest Country Club and Cross Timbers Golf Course. Glen Robertson and John Dutkowsky of Hillcrest came away with 2 points in the first match, but Cross Timbers answered as Mark Daniel and Scott Parnell took 2.5 points in the second match. Jeff Rushing and Dax Gregg of Cross Timbers also secured 2.5 points in their match, leaving Cross Timbers needing just half a point to secure a victory. Keith Harris and Jason Ingram took 2 points in the last match to give Cross Timbers the overall win by a score of 8-4.

The second match of the day had Colonial Country Club against Brookhaven Country Club. Eric Spurgeon and John Nash of Colonial took 2.5 points in the first match their teammates Rob Doby and Ty Smith took 2 in the second. Brookhaven wouldn’t go down without a fight, as Burk Goldthorn and Todd Spence swept their match to bring the overall score to 4.5-4.5 with one match to play. However, Colonial was not to be denied as Jeff Goodsell and Jace Moore swept the final match to give Colonial a 7.5-4.5 victory.

Friday’s third match featured De Cordova Bend Country Club and Ridglea Country Club. John Booth and Sid Vincent of De Cordova Bend took the first match with 2 points, but Ridglea’s Bob Birdwell and Thomas Lanter answered with a 3 point sweep in the second match. De Cordova Bend’s Jeffrey Frye and Steve Hunt took 2.5 points in the third match to even the score at 4.5-4.5 with one match to play. The final match ended in a tie and forced a playoff between De Cordova Bend’s Chase Johnson and Dustin Nelson and Ridglea’s Gary Ezmerlian and Colby Amparan. Johnson and Nelson came out on top after one playoff hole giving De Cordova Bend the team victory.

Friday’s final match took place between the Golf Club of Houston and Odessa Country Club. Odessa’s Mark Jones and Jim Stuart swept their 3 points, but GCH was quick to answer as Doug Deaver and Derek Delach swept 3 points in the second match. The third and fourth matches ended in ties to force the second playoff of the day. Blake Parks and Brian Scherer sealed the victory for Odessa in one playoff hole.

Saturday brought the remaining teams to Horseshoe Bay’s Apple Rock Golf Course for the semi-final matches. The first match of the day was between Odessa Country Club and Cross Timbers Golf Course. Joseph Myers and Manuel Morales from Cross Timbers took 2.5 points in the first match, but Jim McNeil and Jeff Munden of Odessa answered with a 3 point sweep in the second match. Dax Gregg and Jeff Rushing of Cross Timbers came away with 2 points in the third match to even overall score at 4.5 with one match to play. Odessa would not be denied though as Blake Parks and Brian Scherer swept their match to give Odessa the 7.5-4.5 victory.

The second and final match of the day took place between Colonial Country Club and De Cordova Bend Country Club. De Cordova Bend’s John Booth and Sid Vincent swept the first match to give their team the early lead. The second and third matches ended in 1.5-1.5 ties, leaving De Cordova Bend needing just half a point to advance. Dustin Nelson and Colby Ditto left nothing to the imagination by sweeping the final match and giving De Cordova Bend the 9-3 victory.