Cuzen Captures Northern Texas PGA Professional Championship

NTPGA • August 23, 2016

DALLAS, TEXAS – Ben Cuzen, PGA assistant professional at Preston Trail Golf Club, captured the Northern Texas PGA Professional Championship after besting Stuart Deane, PGA golf coach at The University of Texas at Arlington, and Brian Norman, PGA teaching professional at Gleneagles Country Club, in a four-hole, sudden death playoff. Cuzen, Deane and Norman all carded a 1-over 143 for two rounds to force the three-way playoff. The three competitors headed to hole 18 to settle the Championship. Cuzen and Deane notched birdies on the first playoff hole, while Norman made par. Cuzen and Deane then played hole 18 three more times before Cuzen came out on top with a par to secure the win and his first section individual major championship. He took home a $4,100 check for his victory.

"I made it a little harder on myself than I expected, but I was strangely calm all day. Thanks to Cameron and all the guys at [Preston Trail] for all the things we work on all year long, so it's good to see it finally pay off and get the first one," said Cuzen after the playoff. "It has been one of my goals for the past couple of years to make it to the [PGA Professional Championship] and then hopefully into the PGA. This will be my first time there, so that was a huge motivation and I am really excited about it."

Cuzen will lead six other PGA professionals who qualified today from the Northern Texas Section to the 2017 PGA Professional Championship, presented by Club Car, Mercedes-Benz USA and OMEGA. The Championship will be contested June 25 - June 28, 2017 at Sunriver Resort in Sunriver, Oregon. Joining him will be Deane and Norman as well as Greg Gregory, PGA assistant professional at Hidden Creek Golf Course, Sam Randolph, PGA director of instruction at Mira Vista Country Club, Patrick Buhrmann, PGA director of instruction at Performance Golf, and Brett Beaty, PGA assistant professional at Dallas National Golf Club.

In addition, Brad Ott, PGA director of instruction at TPC Craig Ranch, will also be in the 2017 PGA Professional Championship field. He is exempt based on his top 20 finish at the 2016 PGA Professional Championship earlier this year.

The top 20 players from the 2017 PGA Professional Championship will compete in the 99th PGA Championship at Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte, North Carolina set for August 7-13, 2017.

This 36-hole NTPGA Section major championship was the third of the four individual stroke play championships that comprise the Yamaha Golf-Car Company / Lajitas Golf Resort Player of the Year Points Challenge. It also served as a qualifier to earn points to make the 2016 Yamaha Golf-Car Company / Lajitas Golf Resort Match Play Championship and Texas Joe Black Cup team.

The Northern Texas PGA Professional Championship was presented by Club Car, Mercedes-Benz and OMEGA and supported by Titleist/FootJoy, TaylorMade Golf Companies, Nike Golf and PGA TOUR. The Championship was conducted at Royal Oaks Country Club a 7,022-yard, par 71 layout located in Dallas, Texas.

The Northern Texas PGA Professional Championship featured 112 Section PGA members who competed for the $29,500 overall purse.

Royal Oaks Country Club
Dallas, Texas
Par: 35-36--71
Yardage: 7,022

Final Results.

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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
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