Strong Field Ready For 96th WTGA State Am
BRYAN – A strong group that features some of the best college players in Texas highlights the field for the 96th WTGA State Amateur Championship. Set for July 18-21 at Traditions Club, several players in the World Amateur Golf Rankings’ top 300 have committed to play in the TGA’s second Women’s Major Championship of the season.
Oklahoma State senior Maddie McCrary from Wylie, for example, is the 89th-ranked amateur in the world. Winner of the 2015 Texas Women’s Open, McCrary is one of 88 players who will vie for the 96th WTGA State Amateur Championship. McCrary last month finished fifth at the Women’s Stroke Play Championship, which was the year’s first major.
Two of the Women’s Stroke Play’s three co-champions also will compete at Traditions Club. Hanna Alberto is 269th in the World Amateur Golf Rankings (WAGR). Kingwood’s Alberto shared co-medalist honors for the weather-shortened Women’s Stroke Play along with Julie Houston from Allen (263rd in WAGR) and Hailee Cooper from Montgomery. Houston, last year’s runner-up, also is in the 96th WTGA State Am field.
Other notable players include:
• Carolyn Creekmore, 2004 U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur champion, Texas Golf Hall of Fame (2010)
• Annika Clark (298 WAGR), TCU junior who won the 94th WTGA State Am in 2015
• Megan Thothong (235 WAGR), University of Houston senior who won the 2016 Women’s Stroke Play
• Maddy Rayner, UH senior who was runner-up at 94th WTGA State Am in 2015
• Maty Monzigo, Texas State senior who was a semifinalist at 95th WTGA State Am in 2016
• Maggie Beth Myers, Baylor graduate who recently qualified for the 2017 U.S. Women’s Amateur
Traditions Club is a heavily wooded course located a stone’s throw from the Texas A&M campus. This will be the first WTGA State Amateur and third overall TGA championship to be held at the club.
“We are delighted to add Traditions Club as a championship site and are excited to bring the state’s premier women’s championship to the Bryan-College Station area for the first time,” said Katie O’Donnell, Director of Women’s Operations. “We have no doubt that the course will provide a comprehensive examination for competitors, and that the club will be a terrific host for players, volunteers and spectators at this year’s championship.”
Home to the Aggie Men’s and Women’s golf teams, Traditions Club opened in 2004 and was co-designed by Jack Nicklaus and Jack Nicklaus II. Nestled hard against the banks of Turkey Creek, the Nicklaus duo seamlessly incorporated the native hardwoods, rolling hillsides and natural water features into a stunning layout, one that demands precision tee shots and approaches, as well as a steady hand on the quick undulating greens.
To be eligible for the championship, applicants must meet the following requirements: be a female amateur golfer; belong to a TGA Member Club; have an established active GHIN Handicap Index; and be a current resident of the state of Texas.
The format for the WTGA State Amateur consists of an 18-hole stroke play qualifier, with the 32 lowest scores moving into a match play bracket in the Championship flight. The remaining players are placed into flights according to their GHIN Handicap Index.
At the 2016 championship held at historic Brook Hollow Golf Club, Grace Choi of Dallas, who recently graduated from the University of Michigan, defeated Julie Houston, 3&2. In addition to her WTGA State Amateur triumph, Choi, a 2016 All-Big 10 First Team honoree, also went on to capture the inaugural Women’s Player of the Year trophy.
In its long and storied history the WTGA State Amateur has produced a notable list of winners. Thirteen past champions are enshrined in the Texas Golf Hall of Fame, including Sandra Haynie who was also elected to the World Golf Hall of Fame. For more information, click here.