Cope, De Marco earn Medalist Honors at Texas Junior Match Play

Elliot Cope of Spicewood earned medalist honors in the Boys Division at the completion of stroke play qualifying Tuesday, finishing with a 3-under 69 in the second round to reach 8-under 136 for the two days. In the Girls Division, Stephanie De Marco of Southlake claimed medalist honors with a steady 1-under Tuesday, finishing 1-over 145 for stroke play qualifying.

Stroke Play Medalists: Cope entered the second round of stroke play qualifying riding the momentum of a hot opening day, holding a two-stroke lead over the field. He delivered again Tuesday, playing consistent golf from the start — parring his first three holes before picking up birdies on Nos. 4 and 6 to push his advantage a bit further. The class of 2028 graduate added another birdie on No. 10 heading into the back nine. After a par on No. 11, Cope bogeyed No. 12, a tough par 4 that bends left to right, but he didn’t let it linger — answering immediately with a birdie on No. 13 and closing out the round with pars the rest of the way to solidify medalist honors and the No. 1 seed heading into match play.

In the Girls Division, De Marco teed off Tuesday just one stroke ahead of the field and determined to hold everyone off. She showed true grit on the front nine — a birdie on No. 3 gave her early momentum, but a double bogey on No. 6 tightened things back up. She responded with a birdie on No. 7 to steady herself, only to see back-to-back bogeys on Nos. 8 and 9 bring the field back into contention. De Marco refused to let the front nine define her round. The Xavier University women’s golf commit turned and played some of the best golf of the tournament, birdieing Nos. 11, 13 and 15 without giving up another stroke the rest of the way to earn medalist honors and the No. 1 seed in the Girls Division.

The Bracket: With stroke play qualifying complete, the Boys and Girls Division match play brackets are set.

In the Boys Division, Tripp Depoy of The Woodlands enters as the No. 2 seed, followed by Edward Lehner of Dallas at No. 3. Evan Rohde of Dallas grabbed the No. 4 seed, Payne Stebbins of Magnolia earned the No. 5 seed while Logan Houl of Diboll earned the No. 6 seed. Micah Stewart of Alvin earned the No. 7 seed and Qasym Dar of Houston grabbed the No. 8 seed. Adrian Bowers of Pearland holds the No. 9 seed, Krish Shah of Dallas the No. 10, Jake Knobler of Sugar Land the No. 11 and Landon Hilario of Garland the No. 12. Sonny Sciantarelli of Austin earned the No. 13 seed, Ayden Hubbard of Humble the No. 14, Luke Olive of Dallas the No. 15 and Knox Barnard of Waxahachie the No. 16.

In the Girls Division, Izzy Brost of Highland Village earned the No. 2 seed, Katherine Janda of Friendswood the No. 3 and Madeline Buckley of Magnolia the No. 4. Katelyn Davis of Kingwood earned the No. 5 seed, Natalie Nwoko of Austin the No. 6, Krysti Loftin of Pearland the No. 7 and Madelyn Conley of Pinehurst the No. 8.

Weather: Tuesday’s conditions gave players another favorable day on the course. Temperatures began in the high 70s as players teed off before climbing into the high 80s by 11 a.m. and peaking at 93 degrees by the conclusion of play. Humidity reached 56%, adding to the challenge for those teeing off later in the day.

Host Course: High Meadow Ranch Golf Club, located in Magnolia just northwest of Houston, opened in 1999 and has established itself as one of the premier public golf facilities in the Greater Houston area. The course was designed by former PGA Tour professional David Ogrin alongside golf course architect Tim Nugent, taking advantage of the property’s rolling terrain, towering pines, hardwood forests and natural ravines to create a memorable championship layout.

Unlike a traditional 18-hole routing, High Meadow Ranch features three distinctive six-hole loops — the Forest Loop, Pine Barrens Loop and Signature Loop — allowing for a unique playing experience. The course has earned recognition as one of Houston’s top public golf destinations thanks to its challenging design, excellent conditioning and picturesque setting within the High Meadow Ranch community.

Player of the Year Point: One thousand points in the 2026 Player of the Year Points Race presented by Huntington Bank are up for grabs this weekend at the inaugural Texas Junior Match Play. Points are awarded at each tournament to the top half of each division.

Next Up: Matches for the first day of match play have been released and can be found here. To view results from stroke play qualifying, click here. Matches get underway Wednesday, July 8 at 7:30 a.m. with the Boys Division round of 16 and the Girls Division quarterfinals.

Quarterfinals. The Boys Division Quarterfinal matches will take place in the afternoon with the Girls Division Semifinals.