Boutier Secures Victory at 2020 Energy Producers, Inc. Texas Women's Open
Abigail Kasitz • June 5, 2020
Celine Boutier, LPGA Tour professional, of Dallas, TX, captured the Energy Producers, Inc. Texas Women’s Open after firing a 4-under 67 in today’s final round with four birdies and an eagle. She finished the Championship with rounds of 68-64-67–199 (14-under par).
THE COLONY, TX
– Celine Boutier, LPGA Tour professional, of Dallas, TX, captured the Energy Producers, Inc. Texas Women’s Open after firing a 4-under 67 in today’s final round with four birdies and an eagle. She finished the Championship with rounds of 68-64-67–199 (14-under par).
Boutier held a 3-stroke lead going into today’s round over fellow LPGA Tour professional Cheyenne Knight of Aledo, TX. She managed to hold Knight off on the back nine, carding birdies on holes 10 and 16 and an eagle on 17 to secure her victory. Heading into today’s final round, Boutier was also up against one of the strongest fields in Texas Women’s Open history. She was able to best fellow LPGA Tour professionals Kristen Gillman, Yu Liu, Lindsey Weaver and Brittany Lang who entered the round in the top ten also. With her victory, Boutier takes home $10,000 and a crystal trophy.
“[Today’s round] was pretty tight, I feel like Cheyenne was playing super nice from the beginning and I kind of struggled a little bit to get my game together, but I knew at the end that I had birdie opportunities. I made a good putt on 16 for birdie, which gave me a lot of confidence, and a pretty long one on 17 for eagle that really helped me out,” said Boutier after the round.
“I’m over the moon. I could not have expected the week to go better. I wasn’t really sure how the week was gonna go because I haven’t played competitively in a while. I’m super excited with the way I handled all three rounds and the way I handled myself today with the nerves and everything,” Boutier said of how it feels to be the 2020 Energy Producers, Inc. Texas Women’s Open champion.
With rounds of 66-73-72–211 (5-under par), amateur Sadie Englemann (a) of Austin, Texas, finished as the Low Amateur for the Championship. Englemann, who graduated high school this spring has committed to play golf at Stanford University in the fall. Englemann was in a tight race as well, holding off University of Alabama golfer Kenzie Wright (a) and 2019 Texas Women’s Open Low-Amateur champion Meagan Winans (a) of Richardson, Texas.
“It feels really good to be the [low-amateur] champion today. I came into this tournament not expecting much. I came out here and my game really started to come together. I took more aggressive lines today and tried to make more birdies, I knew that’s what it would take to win,” Englemann said. “It means a lot [to be the low-amateur champion] because I played against a lot of good players and professionals, which was cool to see. I grew up watching some of the pros I played against this week. Playing well in this field is really special to me.”
The 2020 Energy Producers, Inc. Texas Women’s Open also offered an exemption into the LPGA Tour’s 2021 Marathon LPGA Classic. This exemption was awarded to the highest ranked non-LPGA Tour professional in the field after the final round. Valentina Haupt, of Weston, FL, claimed this exemption.
“The exemption means a lot because it will be my first time playing on the LPGA Tour. I’ve never played in such a tough field before this week and it was a great experience overall and I’m really excited to receive this exemption,” Haupt said.
Following yesterday’s round, the 119-player field was cut to the low 50 scores and ties. The final field consisted of 35 professionals and 19 amateurs.
The 35 professionals that remained in the field competed for a share of the professional purse. The 19 amateurs competed for the Low Amateur award and a crystal trophy. Also, the top five amateurs received gift certificates. The overall championship purse was $50,000.
The 54-hole stroke play event featured a field of 119 top playing professionals and amateurs competing at Golf Clubs at The Tribute (Old American course). This marks the second year that the Old American course hosted the Championship after hosting in 2013. The 2020 Energy Producers, Inc. Texas Women's Open field was one of the best in the Championship's history and is stacked with LPGA Tour professionals, World Amateur Golf ranked amateurs, Olympians and more.
Presenting sponsors of the 2020 Energy Producers, Inc. Texas Women’s Open includes Volvik and Clubhouse USA.
Golf Clubs at The Tribute (Old American Course): 6,367 yards, par 71
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.
$268,000 Donated to Foundation
Doggett (a) and McIlwain (a) Share Low Amateur Honors Walts Finishes as Top PGA Professional
TYLER, Texas (July 30) – Matthew Watkins of Rockwall, TX, carded a third-round 35-35–70, even par, and maintains the 54-hole lead at the 56th M&P Group Texas State Open. After a 36-hole score of 61-61–122, Watkins sits at 18-under-par for the championship. “I just kind of hung in there on the front nine, shot even. Then, kind of had it going just a little bit on 10 through 12. It was just an up-and-down day overall,” said Watkins. Watkins held a 6-stroke lead heading into the third round, but the field has cut it to just four. “Definitely going to be a little different than going into today. Probably a lack of concentration problem today, but still hung in there well.” Last year, Watkins held the 54-hole lead and said he was battling some nerves. “I’m definitely more comfortable, but still have to have a good round tomorrow if I want to win. Four [shots] can happen in three holes,” Watkins added. Watkins will look to defend his title beginning at 9:50 tomorrow morning. There is a three-way tie for second at 14-under-par between Cameron Sisk of Scottsdale, AZ, Cooper Schultz of Wichita, KS, and John Sand of Irving, TX. Cameron Sisk is a former Arizona State University standout. He finished his career there as a three-time All-American, two top-ten finishes at the NCAA individual Championships and 14th in the PGA TOUR University rankings. Sisk found himself behind the pack early this week, but with a second round of 64 and a 32-33–65 in today’s third round, Sisk has climbed back into contention. On the 12 par 5s Sisk has played this week, he is 12-under-par and credited his play on those holes as the reason he is tied for second heading into tomorrow’s final round. “You really got to take care of the par 5s out here. There are a few tougher par 3s and par 4s out here, so as long as you birdie the gettable holes, you’ll be in good shape,” said Sisk. After his 63 yesterday, Cooper Schultz shot a bogey-free 33-33–66 to cut his eight-shot deficit in half today. Of the three players tied for second, Schultz will be the first one out tomorrow as he tees off right before the final group. “It’ll be nice, I won’t feel like I have to press or anything. I’m just going to try and take what the course gives me. If I end up shooting 9-under, then great, if I shoot 2-under, that’s fine too, but I’ll just stay within myself and play the game I know I can play,” said Schultz. John Sand fired a bogey-free, 32-32–64, good for the joint low round of the day. He finished strong with birdies on holes 14, 15 and 16. The week has been steady so far for Sand, with rounds of 66, 66, 64, he sits just four back of Watkins. Sand and Sisk will join Watkins at 9:50 a.m. tomorrow, while Schultz precedes them in the 9:40 a.m. grouping. Bret Gray, PGA Member, is in solo fifth after a round of 34-30–64 and is the Low PGA Professional in the championship. Gray graduated from Sam Houston State University’s golf management program last December. He holds a one-stroke lead over Chase Walts, PGA assistant professional at Trinity Forest Golf Club in Dallas, TX in the PGA Member Division. Gray said, “I’ve done a lot of preparation and practice for moments like this, so I’m excited to tee it up tomorrow.” Gray and Walts both tee off at 9:40 a.m. Blake Elliott of Bullard, TX, continues to climb the leaderboard after a third-round 31-34–65, 5-under-par that propelled him 18 spots up the championship leaderboard. His round moved him to 10-under-par and he currently sits tied for eleventh place. Elliott has been battling an injury this week, but continues to fight through it. “It is what it is at this point. My speed’s down right now and kind of flinching at it a couple of times here and there, but it is what it is.” Grant Doggett (a) of Beach City, TX, leads the Amateur Division at 6-under-par. His third round 33-36–69, 1-under-par has him tied for 32nd overall. Doggett (a) is the defending Low Amateur after finishing at 11-under-par and 12th place overall last year. Doggett (a) is a senior at the University of Houston and grew up playing golf on the Southern Texas PGA Junior Tour. He holds a one-stroke lead over the next closest amateur, Kaelen Dulany (a) of Keller, TX. The 56th M&P Group Texas State Open is a 72-hole stroke play event with a field of 156 professionals and amateurs. The 36-hole cut was made to the low 55 players and ties. 66 players (59 professionals and 7 amateurs) made the cut at 2-under-par and are competing for a $203,850 Championship purse. The champion, if a professional, will take home $40,000. The only amateur to win the Texas State Open was Homero Blancas in 1960. The final round starts at 8:00 a.m., and players will begin on the first and tenth holes and play in threesomes. This is the M&P Group’s fourth year as the title sponsor, and the Championship is presented by Joyce Crane and Higginbotham and supported by CHRISTUS Trinity Mother Frances, Holiday Inn - Tyler Conference Center and Patterson Tyler. The championship is being played at Cascades Country Club for a record 15th time. Cascades Country Club Par: 35-35–70 Yardage: 6,882 yards