De Marco, Lehner win the inaugural Texas Junior Match
Play
MAGNOLIA — Stephanie De Marco of Southlake won the Girls Division championship of the inaugural Texas Junior Match Play, defeating Izzy Brost of Highland Village 4 & 3. In the Boys Division, Edward Lehner of Dallas claimed the title with a 1 up victory over Knox Barnard of Waxahachie on No. 18.
The Bracket: De Marco and Brost traded blows from the opening hole of the Girls Division championship match. Brost grabbed the early advantage, winning No. 3 with a birdie, before the two halved No. 4. De Marco evened the match with a birdie on No. 5, and the pair went shot-for-shot on Nos. 6 through 9 to make the turn all square.
That’s when De Marco took over. The Xavier University women’s golf commit went on a run of winning four consecutive holes, taking Nos. 10, 11, 12 and 13 to go 4 up and put the pressure squarely on Brost. After halving No. 14, both players came to No. 15 with De Marco needing the hole to close out the match. With birdie putts for both, each player missed — halving the hole and giving De Marco the championship.
In the Boys Division semifinals, Barnard defeated Landon Hilario of Garland 1 up to advance to the championship match, while Lehner outlasted Tripp Depoy of The Woodlands in a marathon that went 19 holes.
Barnard and Lehner wasted no time setting the tone in the Boys Division championship, halving the opening two holes before Lehner broke through on No. 3 — stuffing an approach from the fairway and converting the birdie to go 1 up. Barnard answered with a long putt on No. 7 to even the match, and the two locked back into a stretch of seven consecutive halves. No. 13 looked like it might produce a breakthrough, but scrambling from both players produced matching birdies to keep the match square. Lehner finally seized control on No. 15, draining a mid-range putt to reclaim the lead — and he never gave it back, closing out the title 1 up on No. 18.
Weather: Thursday brought ideal conditions for the final day of match play at High Meadow Ranch. Temperatures started in the high 70s as the morning matches got underway, climbing into the mid-to-high 80s by the time the Girls Division championship and Boys Division semifinals concluded. Temperatures peaked at 92 degrees with little to no wind by the time the Boys Division championship match was complete.
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 Points: With their wins, De Marco and Lehner each earned 1,000 points in the Player of the Year Points Race presented by Huntington Bank.
Next Up: The Legends Junior Tour heads to the Golf Club at Texas A&M in College Station for the Lanny Wadkins Junior Championship, set for July 27-28 to close out the July stretch of events.
To view final match results from the Texas Junior Match Play, click here. To learn more about High Meadow Ranch Golf Club, click here.