Andrew Hudson Leads West Texas Amateur
Andrew Hudson Leads West Texas Amateur
LUBBOCK – Andrew Hudson of Fort Worth missed the cut at The Rawls Course last year by one shot. Nearly 365 days later, he leads the 89th West Texas Amateur by a shot after an opening round 4-under-par 68 at Lubbock Country Club.
Hudson, 22, birdied three of his first six holes and made the turn at 3-under 33. He followed a “sloppy” bogey on the par-4 10th with a birdie on the uphill par-5 11th. Hudson sandwiched a bogey on the par-4 15th with birdies on par-4 14th and 16th.
“I hit most of my fairways, and then when it was loose I was able to get up and down and make a bunch of saves,” said Hudson, a senior at University of North Texas. “I have been playing really well for the last couple months and it was nice to see it all come together.”
Hudson leads a field stacked with notable names near the top of the leaderboard. Lubbock local and 1998 West Texas Amateur champion Michael Pruitt fired a 3-under 69. He is tied second overall with Baxter Ward of Nacogdoches. Devin Jackson of Longview, Beau Burgess and David Bolen of Lubbock and the defending champion, Andrew Wyatt, all posted 2-under 70 and are tied fourth.
Eli Tran, 13, is the youngest in the field. The Lubbock native plays regularly at Lubbock Country Club and sits well within contention after Round 1. He carded two birdies and a bogey in his opening 18 holes to finish at 1-under-par. He is currently three shots back and tied eighth overall.
“I played a really steady round today,” Tran said.
Mike Peck of Irving and Albany’s Mike Cotter lead the Senior Division after rounds of 3-under 69. Peck, the 2013 West Texas Amateur senior champion, bogeyed the par-4 14th (his fifth hole of the day), but played his closing 13 holes in 4-under-par.
Patrick Pritchett of Lubbock and Mike Arnold of Windcrest lead the Super Senior Division. Pritchett and Arnold shot 1-over 73 to lead the field by three strokes.
Lubbock Country Club is playing host to the West Texas Amateur for the for the first time in 30 years. The 160-acre landscape has been home to one of West Texas’ finest golf courses since 1921. In the mid-1950s, Warren Cantrell redesigned the tree-lined course and it underwent its latest renovation in 2008 by Craig Schreiner. Over the years, the classic and traditional look has never left Lubbock Country Club.
The second round of the 89th West Texas Amateur begins Saturday at 7:30 a.m. For more information click here.