Gallaher, Hyde, and Ball Win the 96th West Texas Amateur
San Angelo – Carson Gallaher of New Braunfels runs away from the field and wins the 96th West Texas Amateur at Quicksand Golf Course with an overall score of 14-under, 202. Trevor Hyde of Kerrville captures the Senior Division in a playoff at 9-under, while Ed Ball of Wichita Falls wins the Super Senior Division in a playoff at 3-under.
Leaders: Carson Gallaher fires a course record 9-under, 63 in his final round to claim his first West Texas Amateur championship. The New Braunfels native fired three stellar rounds of 67-72-63. He began his tournament with an impressive 67 and carded an even-par 72 in round two to stay within striking distance. Gallaher then set a Quicksand Golf Course record making six birdies and two eagles to shoot 63 and win by two shots. Trevor Hyde captured the Senior Division after shooting 1-under 70 on Sunday, while Waco’s John Derrick birdied his final three holes to force a playoff with Hyde. Hyde persevered by making birdie on the first playoff hole to claim his first West Texas Amateur Senior Division Championship. Ed Ball of Wichita Falls won the Super Senior Division after 71-71-71 for a tournament total of 213 three-under-par. Ball won with a birdie on the first playoff hole, #10, against Michael Jones of Richardson. Ball claimed his first West Texas Super Senior Championship. Ball played consistently every day and found himself tied for the lead after his birdie-par finish on holes eight and nine.
Top Finishers: Preston Defriend of Lubbock, Braden Smith of Lago Vista, and Idalou’s Leyton Hiebert finished in a tie for the runner-up position in the Championship Division after shooting a total of 12-under 204. In fifth was Casey Carnes of Schertz finishing at 10-under 206. In the Senior division, Dallas’ Larry Corson finished in third at a total of 211. Kingwoods Jeff Bellnap and Austins John McClure round out the top five finishing tied for fourth at three-under par. In the Super Senior Division, Richardson’s Michael Jones finished second, losing in the first playoff hole after firing rounds of 71-73-69 for a 3-under-par 213. Doug Hopton-Jones of Mansfield rounds out the top three at 1-over-par 217. Bobby J Haney of New Braunfels finished fourth at 3-over-par 219.
Golf Course: Located on 300 rolling acres long the Concho River in San Angelo, Quicksand is 7,171 yards of challenging golf featuring several bunkers and water features along with generous rolling fairways that combine to make this a unique experience. This is the first time the West Texas Amateur was played at Quicksand Golf Course
Weather: Temperatures started in the mid-70s in the morning and crept up to the high 90s in the afternoon. There was no wind and clear skies all day.
Tournament History: Gallaher joins some amazing past champions such as Charles Coody, Billy Maxwell, Bob Estes, and Alex Moon. This year’s event saw more than 300 signups and the 144-player field was cut to 72 players after Saturday’s second round.
TGA Player of the Year: Points were awarded to the top 20 finishers for the West Texas Amateur in the Men’s Regional Points Race. The champion got 1,000 points toward the statewide honor followed by 800 for runner-up, 700 for third, 650 for fourth, and 600 for fifth. To see the complete breakdown of points available, click here.
TGA Regional Series: The TGA Regional Series is made up of four events for each region of North and South Texas. There is a Regional Four-Ball, Mid-Amateur, Senior Amateur, and Amateur for both the North and South. The West Texas Amateur also serves as an event in the Regional Series and is open to any players in the state of Texas that meet eligibility.
What’s Next: The Texas Golf Association heads to Sugar Land, TX as the Texas Mid-Amateur Match Play takes place at Sweetwater Country Club. 84 of the state’s top Mid-Amateurs will duel it out starting Thursday, August 1st.
For more information on the West Texas Amateur, click here.