Everett & Moreland Lead 49th Texas Four-Ball After First Round
HOUSTON – Dylan Everett and Cole Moreland lead the 49th Texas Four-Ball after the first round. The duo carded a 10-under 62 to start the second men’s major on the Texas Golf Association calendar.
The 49th edition of the Texas Four-Ball kicked off at Braeburn Country Club, marking the first time the event has been held at this venue. The tournament features 160 players divided into Championship, Senior, and Super Senior divisions.
Everett and Moreland set the pace in the Championship Division with their 10-under performance. They started on the back nine, including an eagle on No. 13 that propelled them into an early lead. They continued their strong play on the front nine, registering one bogey and four additional birdies to finish a dominant round.
“We handled it well,” shared Everett “I think I had seven birdies and we only doubled up a couple of times so it was a good day. The golf course was in great shape, the greens were phenomenal, and we made every putt we felt we looked at.”
“You get the ball rolling correctly and it goes in,” shared Moreland. “It’s nice to have a partner that makes six or seven birdies and an eagle and makes my life a little easier.”
Everett and Moreland, who play together weekly in Austin, understand what it takes for a partnership to succeed in a tournament.
“Yeah we play together once a week back home so we know each other’s game well and I think our games complement each other well so it’s a good mesh,” Everett mentioned.
“Echoing Dylan, our cadence is really good, and I can rely on him and not have to worry about my own game at all times, and like we mentioned we can start to roll it pretty well.”
In second place, Bret May of The Woodlands and Adam Alford of Houston posted a 9-under 63. May and Alford began on the back nine and bogeyed No. 11 but caught fire with birdies on the next three holes. They added four more birdies and a bogey on No. 4 to set themselves up for the weekend.
“Tell you what, the course looks great, and we just made some putts today,” shared Alford.
“I’ll echo Adam on the course conditions were fantastic and if you found that line right then the putts went in for us,” mentioned May. “It’s a fortunate day for us and we are happy with our score and looking forward to the weekend.
Jack Cersosimo of Round Rock and Tommy Norris of Austin are tied for third with an 8-under 64.
In close pursuit of the top three are Jason Edgeworth of Houston and Frank Buttacavoli of San Antonio, defending champions Rory Smith and Aaron Hickman of Tyler, and Bill Skorheim and Travis Skorheim of Spring. These teams all shot 7-under 65.
In the Senior Division, Mike Peck and Steve Love of Irving lead with a 6-under 65. Peck credited Love for a strong start, noting that Love made four birdies in a row on the front nine.
“My partner was the one that got us off to the fantastic start,” shared Peck smiling. “Steve I think made four birdies in a row on the front nine. Then the back nine we kind of slowed down a little bit and then I made a couple of birdies at the very end to get us in at 6-under.”
The two are familiar with each other having played in the Texas Four-Ball as partners before.
“Steve and I have been partners for a long time and usually it’s a ham and egg kind of thing and today just happened to be one nine and the other nine rather than throughout the round but we always team well together.”
Mike Custer and Jerry Hudgins of Tyler are in second place with a 5-under 67. Four more teams are tied at 3-under, making the Senior Division competitive as moving day approaches.
In the Super Senior Division, John Grace of Fort Worth and Bill Holstead of Wichita Falls are tied with Gene Aube of Rockwall and John Gough of Heath after both teams shot 3-under 69.
Grace, coming off a win in the Legends Division at the 2024 Super Senior Amateur, had a bogey-free round with Holstead.
“I’d say we played pretty consistently,” shared Grace. “My partner made three birdies and I didn’t make any birdies but I made a 16 Par’s so we teamed pretty well but just didn’t give away any putts today either.”
Sharing the lead with Grace and Holstead, Aube and Gough carded only one bogey on their round to set themselves up in a great spot heading into this weekend.
“It was a pretty good day overall and we kind of ham and egged it and the putter was hot and that’s what has to happen when you’re my age,” shared Aube laughing.
The team who was highly impressed with the course made the most out of their first round.
“It’s a great course,” shared Gough “If you’re in the fairway it’s not that hard to hit the green and make it harder to hit the hole.”
The official yardage for the Championship Division in Round One of the 49th Texas Four-Ball was 6,848 yards. The Senior Division official yardage was 6353 yards, while the Super Senior Division official yardage was 5909 yards.
Round Two of the 49th Texas Four-Ball will commence at 7:30 a.m. off No.1 and No.10 tees. The Championship Division will start the first wave with the Senior and Super Senior Divisions following in the afternoon.
To read more information on the 49th Texas Four-Ball, click here.