DALLAS — Andre Jacobs of League City, Trevor Algya of Highland Village, Finn Burkholder of The Woodlands, and Andrew Baucum of Heath are all tied for the lead after a 6-under 66 in the first round of the 115th Texas Amateur.
The sun rose on Trinity Forest Golf Club for the 115th Texas Amateur on Thursday, June 13, with 144 players arriving hoping to be crowned a Texas Amateur Champion after the final putt on Sunday.
Throughout the day, players climbed the leaderboard to position themselves for a strong Round 2. Among them, Andre Jacobs, Trevor Algya, Finn Burkholder, and Andrew Baucum finished atop the leaderboard with a 6-under 66 to kick things off.
“It was good out there today,” said Jacobs. “I drove the ball really well and the key for me was sticking to the game plan and swinging aggressively at my targets without doing too much.”
Jacobs, who started on No. 1, demonstrated what sticking to his game plan meant. He bogeyed the first hole and then went on a run that included three birdies and an eagle in nine holes. After another bogey on No. 11, the League City native made three more birdies to find himself at the top of the leaderboard.
With Jacobs at the top, Trevor Algya of Highland Village was the only player at 6-under to shoot a bogey-free round. He showcased his consistent play with a 33 on both nines in his first round.
“Today was good with a lot of fairways and greens,” mentioned Algya. “I kept it simple and just tried to aim for the center of the green without getting too cute with some of my approach shots and ensured I had my speed down on my putts.”
Sharing the lead with Jacobs and Algya was Finn Burkholder of The Woodlands. Burkholder, a junior at The Woodlands High School, also shot a 33 on both nines and carded only one bogey on the day on the Par 3 No. 11.
The last player to climb the leaderboard and share the lead was Andrew Baucum of Heath.
Baucum was the third player of the four tied at the top to shoot 33 on both nines.
“Trinity Forest is different,” shared the Heath native. “You have to hit it in the right spots on the greens because they are quick and tricky. I hit it in some good spots and made some good putts and just kept it rolling.”
Finishing behind the leaders are Daniel Choi of Keller and Chris Wheeler of Addison. Choi, a Duke University men’s golf player, had two eagles on the day, proving he was ready for the moment in the first men’s major of the year.
“Today went well. I hit the ball really well and made a couple of doubles and a couple of eagles that canceled out,” shared Choi. “Overall, it was well and stuck some shots and made some putts.”
Tied with Choi is Wheeler, the 2024 North Mid-Amateur winner at The Courses at Watters Creek back in March. Wheeler, familiar with Trinity Forest, was also the winner of the 2021
Texas Mid-Amateur Match Play at this very course. Behind his strong play, Wheeler will head into tomorrow in a great spot to make a move before heading into the weekend.
Following the top five are Mark Fleming of Tomball, Luke Colton of Frisco, Bret Gray of
Universal City, Jake Lile of The Woodlands, and Niklas Blalock of McGregor, all finishing with a 4-under 68. Colton looks to continue his hot streak after winning the 25th Veritex Bank Byron
Nelson Junior Championship at Lakewood Country Club last week.
Another familiar face tied for seventh is Bret Gray, the 114th Texas Amateur Champion, who started his title defense campaign with a strong start.
“It started off well today with a birdie on the first hole,” shared Gray. “Things were looking good, and then I hit a good shot on No. 11 that rolled over the back and made double there. I battled back from that and went bogey-free the rest of the round and made a few birdies coming in.”
Gray is looking to become the first back-to-back Texas Amateur Champion since Ryan Baca achieved that feat in 2002 and 2003.
“This is the softest I have ever seen this place,” shared the Sam Houston State University golfer.
“So there are probably going to be some low scores this week.”
Round 2 will commence tomorrow at 7:30 a.m., where players will look to move their names above the cutline. The cut will include the top 54 players and ties to head into the weekend.
No. 11 played the toughest hole on the course today with only nine birdies, 70 pars, 52 bogeys, and 11 double-bogeys or worse.
To see pairings for Round 2 and to learn more about the 115th Texas Amateur, click here.