Villanueva, Anderson, and Bellendir Win George Hannon Jr Invitational
Briefly: University of Texas commit Adam Villanueva wins the Boys 15-18 Division by a commanding 5 shots at 10-under par. Gunter’s Austin Anderson wins the Boys 14 & Under Division title at 1-under par, while Alicia Bellendir captures the Girls 12-18 Division by one shot at 4-over par.
Leaders: Kenedy’s Adam Villanueva completed a wire-to-wire victory with his final round 68 at the challenge UT Golf Club. The future Longhorn ran away from the field from the get-go, carding a first round 64 that included a stretch of five straight birdies. Villanueva finished the championship with an outstanding 14 birdies to just 4 bogeys. Anderson started the final round two shots off the lead, but pulled within one at the turn, and took the lead with three holes to go. After a setback on the penultimate hole, Anderson came in clutch with a par save on the final hole to seal the deal. Anderson recorded six birdies over his two rounds enroute to a 1-under par finish. Like Anderson, Coppell’s Alicia Bellendir found herself chasing the lead at the start of the day. Starting four shots back, Bellendir played a steady round of even-par 71 to close the gap and escape with a one-shot victory. This is her second LJT victory of the season, with the previous coming at the LJT Spring Preview.
In Contention: Former champion, Mitchell Maier finished solo second in the Boys 15-18 Division at 5-under 137 overall. Lakeway’s Mackey Beckett and Prosper’s Austin Randall finished tied for third at 3-under 139, while Tomball’s Grayson Petru rounded out the top five at 2-under 140. In the Girls Division, Austin’s Claire Wan finished runner-up at 5-over 147. Coppell’s Elizabeth Bellendir and Southlake’s Stephanie De Marco shared third place honors at 6-over 148. First round leader Edward Lehner finished second in the Boys 14 & under Division at even-par 142 with Austin’s J.P. Lynch and Grapevine’s Declan Dent finishing in a tie for third at 5-over 147.
Golf Course: The University of Texas Golf Club was designed by Bechtol Russell and opened in 2003. The course is set along the Colorado River and features stunning Texas Hill Country views along with a challenging par-71 layout.
Weather: Temperatures reached the upper 90’s on Tuesday with steady winds out of the southeast at 8-10 miles per hour.
Player of the Year Points: Adam Villanueva, Austin Anderson, and Alicia Bellendir all earned 1500 points in the Player of the Year Point Race. Points are awarded at each tournament to the top half of each age division. 2024 LJT Player of the Year Points Standings
About George Hannon: George Hannon, who was affectionately called “Coach”, coached the University of Texas golf team for 18 seasons. Coach Hannon saw his Longhorns win two National Championships in 1971 and 1972, 12 Southwest Conference Titles and three individual titles. Hannon’s Horns included Ben Crenshaw, Tom Kite, Mark Brooks, Phil Blackmar, Brandel Chamblee, Rik Massengale and Paul Thomas.
Hannon Cup Association: The Hannon Cup Association contributes to golf scholarships, supports the Austin Junior Golf Academy and hosts the George Hannon Junior Invitational and Hannon Cup Matches. Mark Coward and Brent Buckman were instrumental in conceiving the idea and in organizing and forming the initial committee for the Hannon Cup. Support was provided by a group of individuals and businesses that became known as the Hannon Society. To date the Association has distributed more than $145,000 worth of secondary education scholarships through the Southern Texas PGA Foundation.
Texas Junior Golf Alliance: The Alliance is a joint venture between the Texas Golf Association, Northern and Southern Texas PGA and Houston Golf Association. The goal of the Alliance was to allow junior golfers a clear path to the best tournaments in Texas. Each of the three tier-two organizations (STPGA, NTPGA, HGA) conduct events that serve as qualifiers into the statewide tier-one events run by the Legends Junior Tour (LJT). This allows players to compete in local events in which they can earn spots to play in statewide tournaments.
Tournament History: The George Hannon Junior Invitational finished it’s 15th year on the Legends Junior Tour schedule and features past champions such as Maxwell Miller, Cole Hammer, Chandler Phillips, Tayler Termeer, Hailee Cooper, Joe and Julia Beck, Matthew Comegys, Keaton Vo, Henry Guan, Farrah O’Keefe and Nicole Vivier. This event has been held at UT Golf Club for the last seven years.
Next Up: The Legends Junior Tour heads to Tanglewood Resort in Pottsboro for the North Texas Classic on September 7-8. The George Hannon Junior Invitational caps off a busy and exciting summer for the Legends Junior Tour.
For more information on the George Hannon Junior Invitational, click here. To see all the scores from UT Golf Club, click here.