Deane Cruises to Victory at the Joyce Crane / Veritex Bank Section Championship, Earns Exemption Into 2019 AT&T Byron Nelson
THE COLONY, TX –
Stuart Deane, PGA director of golf at The University of Texas at Arlington, carded an impressive 5-under during the final round of the Joyce Crane / Veritex Bank Section Championship to claim his third Section Championship title and 14th overall individual major championship. After firing a 6-under 65 in the opening round, he followed up yesterday’s work with eight birdies for rounds of 65-66—131, a score of 11-under par, to finish eight strokes ahead of the field. Deane also won this event back in 2013 and 2016.
"I played really nice for two days. I made five bogeys, but other than that I played great, so I couldn’t wish for anything different,” said Deane post round. “I didn’t play last year because we had our first [UTA] women’s golf event. I was leading the points list last year, but didn’t get to play, so this year I had some motivation. The big motivation was yesterday playing with Greg [Gregory] and Brian [Norman]. Greg and I were only maybe 10 points apart, so my motivation was to get my spot and get my points.”
Deane took home a check for $4,500 for his victory, but even more important is the exemption he earned into the 2019 AT&T Byron Nelson.
“This will be my fifth time to compete in the Byron Nelson. It is always a privilege to play out there. Another massive motivating factor this week was when Casey Devoll mentioned that it would be really cool to play the Byron Nelson and the PGA Championship in back to back weeks. So, now my next goal is to make sure I am prepared for Nationals next year to try to make that happen,” said Deane.
The Championship also included a Senior Division that was comprised of 28 professionals aged 50 and older who elected to compete for a separate $13,595 purse and played from a modified yardage. Stuart Hendley, PGA director of instruction at Dallas Athletic Club, repeated as the Section Championship Senior Division champion. He finished the tournament at 1-under par with rounds of 71-70—141 to capture his second Senior Division title of the season and took home a check for $2,100.
The Joyce Crane / Veritex Bank Section Championship, presented by AT&T Byron Nelson, Cru Golf, Ewing Automotive Group, PGA TOUR and Surf & Turf Golf, was conducted at Old American Golf Club, a 6,928-yard, par 71 course located in The Colony, Texas. The Open Division field consisted of 76 PGA professionals from the Northern Texas Section of The PGA of America competing for a $36,905 purse.
The Section Championship was the fourth and final individual stroke play championship of the 2018 season to earn points towards the Yamaha Golf-Car Company & Srixon / Cleveland Golf / XXIO Player of the Year Points Challenge presented by Adventures In Golf. The Eastern, Western, NTPGA Professional and Section Championships all served as qualifiers for the year-end Yamaha Golf-Car Company & Srixon / Cleveland Golf / XXIO Match Play Championship. The top 32 from the points list and the top eight from the Senior points challenge list will be invited to play in the Championship. With the win, Deane is also the 2018 Yamaha Golf-Car Company & Srixon / Cleveland Golf / XXIO Player of the Year. The Player of the Year Points Challenge also serves as a qualifier for the 2018 NTPGA Texas Joe Black Cup and Levy Cup teams.
Final Results.
