90 Students Receive Northern Texas PGA Foundation Scholarships, Nearly $950,000 Awarded

Logan Bearden • June 9, 2026

Frisco, Texas (June 9, 2026) – The Northern Texas PGA (NTPGA) Foundation is pleased to continue its charitable commitment to higher education by announcing our 2026 scholarship recipients. Ninety high school seniors who will be attending college this fall have earned scholarships totaling $947,500, breaking last year’s record by $184,500!


Since its inception in 1983, the Foundation’s scholarship program has now reached an incredible milestone, surpassing 1,000 scholarships awarded for a lifetime total of nearly $7.5 million in student support.


“What amazing numbers these are!” said Northern Texas PGA Chief Executive Officer Mark Harrison. “The growth and support we have seen for our scholarship program over the last few years is remarkable, and truly unmatched. I want to thank all of our partners who make this year-over-year record possible, and I also want to congratulate and wish the best of luck to the young men and women who have worked diligently throughout high school to receive one of our scholarships this year. I know they will go on to do great things.”


The 2026 scholarship amounts vary from $2,500 to $20,000. In addition, two students were awarded a “last-dollar” full scholarship to two of the Foundation’s partner schools, the University of North Texas at Dallas (UNTD) and the University of Texas at Arlington (UTA), and one student was awarded a full-ride scholarship to the University of North Texas, which is a new partner school for this year. 


Congratulations to our 2026 scholarship recipients:


A.B. Crockroft Memorial Scholarship

  • Saydi Durbin – Mart High School
  • Ethan Hocking – Mart High School

Allison and Jerry Freeman Scholarship

  • Niko Klassen – Homeschool

ANNIKA Foundation Scholarship

  • Alicia Bellendir – Coppell High School

April and Mark Anthony Scholarship

  • Huey Black – Canyon High School

Baylor Scott & White Scholarship

  • Garrick Ly – Lone Star High School
  • Aliya Rasheed – Panther Creek High School

Ben Hogan Foundation / Fred & Michele Reynolds Scholarship

  • Jeffery Rubenstein – Highland Park High School

Ben Hogan Foundation / Lillie Biggins Scholarship

  • Mikayla Martin – Homeschool

Ben Hogan Foundation / Mike McMahan Scholarship

  • Adam Strauss – Greenhill School

Ben Hogan Foundation / Mike Wright Scholarship

  • Gracie Ellis – Clarendon High School

Birdies For Kids Scholarship

  • Sydnee Fain – Midland High
  • Jade Mara – Argyle High School

Cameron Doan NTPGA Golf Professional of the Year Scholarship

  • Landon Reece – Mildred High School

CJ Corporation Scholarship

  • Katherine Bustetter – Centennial High School
  • Harper Mallonee – Highland Park High School
  • Luke Martin – Rockwall-Heath High School
  • Delaney Newberry – Highland Park High School
  • Yunjae Park – Prosper High School

Deloitte / NTPGA Fairway to Success Scholarship

  • Yvette Altamirano – W. W. Samuell High School
  • Matisse Edwards – David W. Carter High School
  • Abril Guerrero – Thomas Jefferson High School
  • Ariel Meza Meza – Thomas Jefferson High School
  • Sa'Mareion Tucker – Lincoln High School
  • Camyre' Williams – Lincoln High School

Destination Grapevine Texas Women's Open Scholarship

  • Audrey McCallum – Colleyville Heritage High School

Dr. Bill Blair Scholarship

  • Cameron Warner – Wakeland High School

Ewing Automotive Scholarship

  • Hannah Antunes – China Spring High School
  • Avery Jones – Homeschool

Fore Frisco Scholarship

  • Amara Okafor – Lone Star High School
  • Rajdeep Singh – Panther Creek High School
  • Lauryn Spraggs – Panther Creek High School
  • Nikki Zahedi – Lone Star High School

Frank & Evelyn Borgsmiller Scholarship

  • Alan Ocampo – Thomas Jefferson High School

Fritz and Mary Lee Duda Family Foundation Scholarship

  • Taylor Carr – McKinney Boyd High School

Giveback Foundation Scholarship

  • Jelani Johnson Simon – Panther Creek High School
  • Evan Tupper – Lone Star High School

Holly & Doug Brooks Family Foundation Scholarship

  • Keegan Batla – Garden City High School
  • Darby Ehrbar – Flower Mound High School
  • Tyson Embry – Marcus High School
  • Caroline Fent – Ursuline Academy of Dallas
  • Riley Gudgeon – Hebron High School
  • Xiyu Mei – Walnut Grove High School
  • Jude Robbins – Wakeland High School

I Am a Golfer Foundation Scholarship

  • De'Asia Williams – David W. Carter High School

Jackie Cupit Scholarship

  • Brody Callens – White Oak High School

Jerry Andrews Scholarship

  • Dylan Wisener – Sachse High School

Jerry J. Ransom Scholarship

  • Max Cearley – Rockwall High School
  • Brooks Head – Coppell High School
  • Reed Heilig – Flower Mound High School
  • Brooklynn Landrumm – Melissa High School
  • Van Leugers – Rockwall High School
  • Haylie Moore – Burleson Centennial High School
  • Bryan Sargent – Walnut Grove High School

Joe Black / Texas Golf Hall of Fame Scholarship

  • Jacob Mekelburg – Maypearl High School

Joe Bob Joyce Family Foundation Scholarship

  • William Wampler – Canton High School

Jon and Kim Morgan Scholarship

  • Aashi Vakta – Justin Wakeland High School

Jordan Spieth Family Foundation Scholarship

  • Damir Ali – Thomas Jefferson High School
  • Marely Angeles – Lincoln High School
  • Dayanara Aquino – W.W. Samuell High School
  • Montrell Horner – Lincoln High School

Links on PGA Parkway Scholarship

  • Anisaa Abdullah – Emmett J. Conrad High School
  • Reagan Lorenson – McKinney North High School
  • Daphny Moore – Keene High School

M&P Group Texas State Open Scholarship

  • Samuel Fate – Tyler Legacy High School

Mac Spikes PGA Member Scholarship

  • Anabelle Floriani – Lone Star High School

Miss Katie Scholarship

  • Gloria Solis – Thomas Jefferson High School

Never Stop Believing Scholarship

  • Annabeth Boyd – Trinity Preparatory Academy

Perry Arthur Scholarship

  • Faith Hughes – Community Christian School

Philip Bleakney Scholarship

  • Samuel Williams – Vilonia High School

Randy Smith Scholarship

  • Carson Niemann – Byron Nelson High School

Ronny Glanton Scholarship

  • Addison Akers – Bryan Adams High School

Ronny Golf Park Scholarship

  • Madison Bixler – Lone Star High School
  • Riaan Nazrul – Panther Creek High School
  • Carlo Rogers – Panther Creek High School

Royal Oaks Country Club / Nicholas Stafford Scholarship

  • Kian Sköld – Frisco High School

Scottie and Meredith Scheffler Scholarship

  • Austin Morrissette – Northwest High School
  • Addelyn Schwarzlose – Tascosa High School

Sherrill Park / Two Dads and a Coach Scholarship

  • Kristin Coffman – Berkner High School

Tehan Scholarship

  • Cooper Knapp – Wylie High School

The CJ Cup Byron Nelson Scholarship

  • Aiden Tiet – Garland Christian Academy

UNT / Fore Frisco Scholarship

  • Kayla Rochez – Panther Creek High School

UNTD / NTPGA Fairway to Success Scholarship

  • Daisy Navarro – W.W. Samuell High School

UTA / NTPGA Fairway to Success Scholarship

  • Leibi Chavira Reyes – W.W. Samuell High School

West Texas Legends Scholarship honoring Jenny Cox

  • Claire Smiley – Amarillo High School

West Texas Legends Scholarship honoring S.A. Smith, Hart Warren, Jay McClure, and Sherwin Cox

  • Gunnar Barrera – Levelland High School


Three additional scholarship winners will be announced later this June, with recipients selected via random drawings at two upcoming events. First, the Jerry J. Ransom Pro-Junior-Am fundraising tournament will award a $5,000 scholarship to a participating recent graduate. Later in the month, the S.A. Smith West Texas Junior Invitational will host a drawing for two $2,500 memorial scholarships in honor of Jerry D. Smith, one awarded to a male participant and one to a female participant.


About the Northern Texas PGA Foundation


Founded in 1983, the nationally acclaimed Northern Texas PGA Junior Golf Foundation, a 501 (c)(3) tax-exempt organization, was rebranded in 2019 as the Northern Texas PGA Foundation. The Northern Texas PGA Foundation focuses on five pillars: junior golf, college scholarships, inclusion, internships and military & veterans. The mission of the Northern Texas PGA Foundation is to positively impact lives and communities through golf.

Friend Wins Club Car | XXIO Northern Texas Senior PGA Professional Championship

By Erik Anderson • August 25, 2026
Six qualify for Senior PGA Professional Championship

Paez Prevails at Lajitas Golf Resort Women’s Section Championship

By Erik Anderson • August 25, 2026
Irving, Texas (August 25) – The Nelson Golf and Sports Club hosted two Northern Texas PGA Major Championships this week, the Club Car | XXIO Northern Texas Senior PGA Professional Championship and the Lajitas Golf Resort Women’s Section Championship. Clayton Friend claimed the Senior title, and Kim Paez claimed the Women’s title. Kim Paez, PGA Member at Ping Inc., claimed the Lajitas Golf Resort Women’s Section Championship title, carding rounds of 70-72–142. Paez finished the Championship at 2-over-par, winning by four strokes. She began the final round one stroke back of Katie Flinn, director of instruction at Topgolf - Fort Worth, and her 2-over-par final round was enough to come from behind and secure the win. This is Paez’s first victory with the Northern Texas PGA since joining the section in 2025. “I stuck to my game plan this week, which was fairways and greens,” Paez said. “I think I missed only one or two fairways yesterday. I played pretty conservatively, but it paid off in the end.” Reflecting on her final round performance, Paez said, "It was a little bit windier today. It made me calculate a lot more on the tee shots.” It was an up-and-down round for Paez, but she hit her approach on hole 18 to two feet and tapped in for birdie. “The last three holes are pretty gettable, so I just had to remind myself that no matter how the round was going, I was going to have opportunities to close it out at the end.” Next week, September 3-5, Paez joins four other PGA female PGA Teaching, Coaching and Club Professionals from across the country to represent the United States in the fourth Women’s PGA Cup. They will take on Australia, Canada, Great Britain & Ireland, South Africa and Sweden in a 54-hole stroke play format at Carden Park Golf Resort in Chester, Cheshire, United Kingdom. “It is the biggest honor. When I first got my PGA Membership, and I found out about the PGA Cup, it became one of my biggest goals,” said Paez about making the team. “I was constantly checking the rankings, and coming into the KPMG [Women’s PGA Championship] and the LPGA Professionals Championship, I knew I had to lock in and give myself the best chance.” “I am so excited and so proud to represent the Northern Texas PGA as well, so hopefully I make everyone proud,” added Paez. This 36-hole Northern Texas PGA major championship is the fourth of five individual stroke play events that comprise the Woman Player of the Year points standings. The 22-player field competed for a purse of $7,500, and Kim Paez took home $1,050. The Lajitas Golf Resort Women’s Section Championship was presented by A.PUTNAM and XXIO. The Nelson Golf and Sports Club Par: 35-35–70 Women’s Championship Yardage: 5,878 yards

McDonough Claims Northern Texas Assistant PGA Professional Championship

By Erik Anderson • August 17, 2026
Four Qualify for 50th Assistant PGA Professional Championship

Team of Murphy, Faulk Jr. Win Playoff to Capture 1st & 10th Tee Golf Energy Bar Pro-Junior Championship

By Erik Anderson • August 10, 2026
PLANO, Texas (August 10) – Seth Murphy, Associate at John Sikes Golf Academy and Thomas Faulk Jr. (a) captured the 1st & 10th Tee Golf Energy Bar Pro-Junior Championship title. The pair carded a 33-31–64, 8-under-par and made birdie on the first playoff hole. The pair began their round on the 8th hole and opened with a par. Six birdies on their next eight holes set them up for success for the first round. Their final nine holes were steady, with 7 pars and two birdies, but the bogey-free round was enough to get them into a two-team playoff against Ryan Grider, Associate at The Lakes at Castle Hills, and Colten Karstendiek (a). After a safe drive on the first playoff hole from Faulk Jr., Murphy was able to attack and had just 135 yards into the par-4 18th hole. He hit a pitching wedge to 10 feet and buried the putt. Murphy said, “He [Thomas] made about a 20-footer on our second hole, and that just put us on the pace we needed to get some momentum going. We gave ourselves lots of opportunities, double opportunities, where we were both putting for birdie, which is always nice. Just overall, we teamed very well today.” Faulk Jr added, “I started off hot and helped him out, and then when I was winding down, he got things going. We just made putts and pars when we needed to. It was just the team working.” Ryan Grider, Associate at The Lakes at Castle Hills, and Colten Karstendiek (a) fired 32-32–64 to finish in second place. Matt Weinberger, PGA senior director of member and amateur championships at PGA of America and Owen Layton (a) shot 31-35–66 to claim third place. The Championship featured 64 teams consisting of one PGA professional and one junior golfer between the ages of 7-19. The teams competed in a Four-Ball Stroke Play format. There was also a second division within the Championship where PGA professionals and their children competed for a separate title. The nine-team division was claimed for the third consecutive year by Jon Antunes, PGA director of instruction at Heart of Texas Golf Academy and his daughter Hannah Antunes (a) with a score of 34-34–68. For the professionals in the field today, there was a skins game with a $4,500 payout. Only one skin was earned today. Hanna Dickens, Associate at The Ronny Golf Park, made a birdie on hole 14 to earn the skin. The 1st & 10th Tee Golf Energy Bar Pro-Junior Championship was presented by CMC Design, PGA TOUR, and THE CJ CUP Byron Nelson.