South Team Leads by Four Points at Jackie Burke Cup
Hockley, TX – The South Team won six of 12 matches and totaled 14 points on Saturday to lead the Jackie Burke Cup at The Clubs at Houston Oaks. Singles Matches are set and scheduled for Sunday with 24 points up for grabs.
Austin’s Keaton Vo and Trevor Mierl were on a roll in the Four-Ball Matches, combining the make seven birdies in 12 holes. Vo started off the round with a birdie on the par-4 first, while Mierl made birdie on the par-5 fourth. Both players birdied the par-4 sixth, while Vo kicked in birdies on the par-3 seventh and the par-5 eighth. The duo opened up the back-nine with back-to-back birdies and made par on the 12th to secure their 7&6 win for the South Team.
The second match to finish fell for the South Team as Spring’s Andrew Spaulding and Houston’s Preston Rouse won 2&1. In the first match of the day Spaulding and Rouse made four birdies en route to securing two more points for the South Team, which took a 4-0 lead early.
Dallas’ Ben Delarosa and Matthew Foster got the North Team on the board with a 2&1 win in their Four-Ball Match. After a back-and-forth front nine, they managed to take a lead with an eagle on the par-5 11th. The match was tied up after the 14th, but Foster made par on No. 15 and both players made par on 16 to get to 2 up with two to play. They halved the hole on No. 17 and won the match 2&1.
With the North Team trailing 4-2, the third match of the day went to the 18th hole tied up. Austin’s Sam Dossey and Andrew Tan made birdie on the par-4 18th to secure a 1 up victory and extend the South Team lead to 6-2.
The fifth match of the day pitted the Boys 14 & Under Players for each team. Brooks Simmons and Rhett O’Rear fought hard with Bowen Ballis and Trenton Mierl but ultimately held on to win 1 up. They were 2 up heading to No. 17 before Ballis made a birdie to extend the match to No. 18. All four players made par and the North Team secured two more points.
The final match of Four-Ball featured the Girls Division. Savannah Barber and Sophie Biediger dropped the first two holes of the day, but caught one back on No. 4. As they made the turn, they were down two and needed a boost. Fort Worth’s Barber rolled off three straight pars and the North Team won five of the next six holes to take a 3-up lead. San Antonio’s Grace Jin won the par-4 16th, but they halved on No. 17 and the North won 2&1 to even up the score 6-6 following the first round.
In the Afternoon, Dossey and Vo secured the first two points for the South Team in the Foursomes Matches, winning 7&6. The duo was 3-up through three before losing the par-5 fourth, but bounced back winning the sixth, eighth and ninth holes. They capped off their victory with a birdie on No. 11 and a par on No. 12. Both Dossey and Vo won four points each for the South Team on Saturday.
Andrew Spaulding and Daniel Zou won their Foursomes Match 1 up to give the South Team a 10-6 lead. Spaulding and Zou went 2 up after 13 but lost the 14th to get to 1 up with four to play. The duo halved the last four holes, including making birdie on the 18th to win their match.
The North’s first points of the afternoon came from a halved match between Trevor Algya and Gage Doyle against Matthew Spaulding and Preston Rouse. Algya and Doyle won the final four holes to halve the match after trailing the since the fourth hole.
Andrew Tan and Trevor Mierl held a 1 up lead heading to the 18th green, but Connor Adams had plans for splitting a point. He sent his 20-footer towards the hole and it found the bottom, winning the hole for the North and halving the match. The South remained in the lead 12-8 with two matches still to be decided.
Trenton Mierl and Bowen Ballis secured two more points for the South Team to stretch the lead out to six points. The 14 & Under boys took a 1 up lead on No. 14 and held on for the next three holes before winning the 18th and winning the match 2 up.
Savannah Barber and Sophie Biediger won their Foursomes Match and secured their fourth point of the day for the North Team. They were three down after hole No. 6, but won six of the final 11 holes to win their match 2 up.
The Jackie Burke Cup is a team match play event modeled after the Ryder Cup. Each team features 12 players as North Texas takes on South Texas. Each match is worth two points and the team with the most points after Sunday will win the cup.
The Clubs at Houston Oaks is hosting the Jackie Burke Cup Matches for the first time. Houston Oaks is located just north of Houston in Hockley, Texas and is ranked as the No. 2 course by the Dallas Morning News. The par-71 layout challenges the players as they have to manage their way around a hilly terrain and avoid the massive oak trees and various bodies of water. The course joins a stellar list of clubs to have hosted the Jackie Burke Cup including Whispering Pines Golf Club, Champions Golf Club, Brookhollow Country Club, Spanish Oaks Golf Club, Miramont Golf Club and Escondido Golf and Lake Club.
The Final Round of the Jackie Burke Cup is Singles Matches with tee times starting at 7:30 am at The Clubs at Houston Oaks. Following the conclusion of the Final Round, the cup will be awarded to the winning team or the North Team if there is a tie.
To see all the scores from Saturday at the Jackie Burke Cup, click here. For more information on the event, click here.