Cuzen, Norman Share Lead After Round One of the Northern Texas PGA Professional Championship

NTPGA • August 22, 2016

DALLAS, TEXAS – Ben Cuzen, PGA assistant professional at Preston Trail Golf Club, and Brian Norman, PGA teaching professional at Gleneagles Country Club, share the lead after round one of the Northern Texas PGA Professional Championship. They posted opening rounds of 2-under par 69 to secure their place in the last pairing heading into tomorrow’s final round. Cuzen carded five birdies along with three bogeys during his opening round, while Norman notched four birdies and two bogeys during his round. Cuzen will be vying for his first career individual major championship win, while a win tomorrow would be Norman’s second.

Bruce Smith, PGA director of instruction at Black belt Golf Academy, and Patrick Buhrmann, PGA director of instruction at Performance Golf, sit just one back of the leaders at 1-under par 70.

The Championship experienced a delay when a thunderstorm blew through the area at 3:23 p.m. suspending play. The suspension was lifted at 5:00 p.m., and play resumed.

The field is competing for seven available qualifying spots for 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.

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. Brad Ott, PGA director of instruction at TPC Craig Ranch, is automatically exempt into the 2017 PGA Professional Championship because of his top 20 finish at the 2016 PGA Professional Championship earlier this year.

This 36-hole NTPGA Section major championship is 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 serves 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 is presented by Club Car, Mercedes-Benz and OMEGA and supported by Titleist/FootJoy, TaylorMade-adidas Golf Companies, Nike Golf and PGA TOUR. The Championship is being conducted at Royal Oaks Country Club a 7,022-yard, par 71 layout located in Dallas, Texas.

The Northern Texas PGA Professional Championship features 112 Section PGA members who are competing for the $29,500 projected purse with the champion taking home $4,000.

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

Round one results.

By Erik Anderson March 3, 2026
THE COLONY, Texas (March 2) – The team of Robert Bruns, PGA Head Professional at Trinity Forest Golf Club, along with partner Chase Walts, PGM Student at Methodist University who currently works as an assistant at Trinity Forest Golf Club won the 2026 KBS TOUR Shafts Pro-Assistant Championship after a two hole playoff. The two carded a bogey-free, 12-under-par, final score after shooting 64 on Old American Golf Club and a 31 on the back nine of Tribute Golf Links. They bested the team of Spencer Dillard and Alastair Jones from Preston Trail Golf Club. The 27-hole, Four-Ball Stroke Play Championship was hosted at Golf Clubs at The Tribute for the sixth straight year. Teams played Old American Golf Club and the back nine of Tribute Golf Links. Bruns and Walts both had looks inside 10 feet on the second playoff hole, though it was Bruns who poured in the winning putt. “I knew he had it in the bag, so I think that made it much easier for me to just be free and let it go,” said Bruns. Walts recently became an assistant professional at Trinity Forest, and said, “Robert is such a huge mentor to me and my career already. I hope to learn from everything he knows and that goes for golf as well.” “It makes it much easier when you’re in the mix coming down the fairway and you have a great relationship with each other. At the end of the day you’re just having fun,” Bruns said after their victory. This is the first win for both Bruns and Walts in Section Major Championships. The pair earned $3,200 ($1,600 each) out of the record $32,000 total championship purse. The KBS TOUR Shafts Pro-Assistant Championship was presented by Callaway Golf, Club Car, Evolve Golf, Landmark Golf Course Products, Range Servant, THE CJ CUP Byron Nelson, and Winston Collection. View the final results HERE . Old American Golf Club Par: 35-36–71 Yardage: 6,770 Tribute Golf Links (Back nine) Par: 36 Yardage: 3,368
By Molly Rawlins February 23, 2026
Dallas, TX – (February 23, 2026) The Northern Texas PGA held their President’s Dinner on Sunday, February 22, at Royal Oaks Country Club. The dinner celebrated the 2025 NTPGA award winners, which included Northern Texas PGA Golf Professional of the Year, the Section's highest award, won by Cameron Doan, PGA director of golf at Preston Trail Golf Club. This is the highest honor given annually to a Northern Texas PGA Member, and is awarded for qualities of leadership, strong moral character and a substantial record of service to the NTPGA as well as the game of golf. The complete list of award winners can be found HERE . Congratulations to all. On Monday, February 23, the NTPGA staff then conducted a Professional Development Seminar and the 58th Annual Business Meeting at Dallas Country Club. During the Professional Development Seminar, the PGA of America golf professionals learned new communication skills from Tim Novak, increased their rules knowledge with Jon Drago, PGA, and David Price, PGA, and learned leadership lessons from a group of golf's top PGA golf professionals, including Cary Cozby, PGA, Bill Eschenbrenner, PGA, Bob Ford, PGA, and our very own Cameron Doan, PGA, and Ronny Glanton, PGA. After lunch, the 58th Annual Meeting consisted of the recognition of many professionals including the playing award winners honoring Matt Lohmeyer, Todd McCorkle, Rob Shields and Kim Paez. The 2026 Eva Williams A.C.E. Scholarship recipient, Sean Kim was also recognized. The meeting included comments from the Northern Texas PGA Past Presidents, current officers as well as from Executive Director, Kelly Gilley, PGA and CEO Mark Harrison. New Officers to the Northern Texas PGA Board of Directors were elected by acclamation. They include Ira Molayo as President, Jeremy Langdale as Vice President and Eric Hunt as Secretary. Two At-Large Directors were also elected by acclamation, Trish Holt and Neil Lockie. All were sworn in alongside East Texas Chapter President Tim Lawson and West Texas Chapter President Adam Headley. The current Northern Texas PGA Board of Directors can be found HERE . Before the meeting adjourned, the newly elected President, Ira Molayo, the PGA General Manager at Cedar Crest Golf Course in Dallas, addressed the membership. He stated that it is an honor to serve as the 32nd President of the Northern Texas PGA, using the word ‘serve’ intentionally because this position, like every role in our profession, is not about title. It is about stewardship. He then gave four notes about his commitment in these next two years – to represent all Members, across facilities, across classifications, across backgrounds, to listen carefully, to communicate clearly, and to support the staff and volunteers who carry this Section forward every day. He finished his comments by saying, “I do not intend to reinvent what is already strong. I intend to build on it.” Thank you to all of the PGA of America Golf Professionals in our Section who attended these special and important events over the past few days. Our Board and our staff look forward to a successful 2026.
By Erik Anderson February 17, 2026
The brand will sponsor competitive junior events, serve as the official apparel provider to staff, and provide exclusive merchandise, prizes, and more at events as part of their effort to encourage and develop the next generation of golfers
By Molly Rawlins December 17, 2025
Paez, McCorkle, Shields also honored with Playing Awards