DeBonis (a) and Whitekiller Share Lead After Round One of the 48th Tanos Exploration II / Patterson-UTI Drilling Texas State Open

NTPGA • July 31, 2018

TYLER, Texas - After Round One of the 48th Tanos Exploration II / Patterson-UTI Drilling Texas State Open, Camden DeBonis (a) of Allen, TX and Trent Whitekiller of Arlington, TX are tied for the lead after firing opening rounds of 65, 5-under par. DeBonis carded six birdies on the day with four coming during his back nine. Whitekiller’s day consisted of an eagle on hole #6 and an additional five birdies.

Six players sit one stroke back of the leaders at 4-under. They include Pierceson Coody (a) of Plano, TX, Brian Rowell of Broussard, LA, Derek Tolan of Highlands Ranch, CO, Andrew Paysse of Temple, TX, Stratton Nolen of Austin, TX and Joel Thelen of Hudson Oaks, TX. Paysse, making his professional debut, was the 2017 Low Amateur.

“My round went pretty well today. I got off to a pretty good start. I had a nice up and down on the first hole and I made about a 20-footer for birdie on the second hole and just got it rolling from there,” DeBonis said after being asked how his round went this morning.

Again in 2018, the Low PGA Club Professional will be recognized at the Tanos Exploration II / Patterson-UTI Drilling Texas State Open. Twenty PGA club professionals are in the field. Stuart Deane, PGA director of golf at The University of Texas at Arlington, currently leads this division at 3-under par. Matt Lohmeyer, PGA teaching professional at GolfTec - Montgomery Plaza, and Gabe Reynolds, PGA director of instruction at TopGolf Dallas, are just one shot back of Deane.

Low Amateur honors will be awarded at the Texas State Open. DeBonis currently leads, while Pierceson Coody sits just one shot back.

The 72-hole stroke play event consists of 156 players comprised of 32 amateurs and 124 professionals. The field will play 36-holes before being cut to the low 55 scores and ties. All four rounds will be contested at The Cascades Club, a 6,882-yard, par 70 layout. For the Championship, hole #10 is being played as a par 4 rather than a par 5.

The purse for the Tanos Exploration II / Patterson-UTI Drilling Texas State Open is a record $205,000, one of the largest state open purses in the country. The champion will win $41,000.

Proceeds from the tournament will benefit the Northern Texas PGA Junior Golf Foundation’s scholarship program with the creation of the Tanos Exploration II / Patterson-UTI Drilling Texas State Open Scholarship. Emma French from Bullard, Texas was awarded this scholarship. This year the NTPGA Junior Golf Foundation awarded more than $307,500 in scholarships to 44 high school seniors from North Texas.

Round Two will commence on Wednesday, August 1 at 7:30 a.m. After tomorrow’s round, a cut to the low 55 and ties will occur. Currently, 60 players are at even par or better.

Starting times and groupings can be found at www.ntpga.com. Admission is free to all.

Please note: (a) denotes amateur, and amateurs will be awarded gift certificates.

First round results.

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Woodson and Schaefer (a) Capture Senior Division
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Little Secures Senior Division
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Six qualify for Senior PGA Professional Championship
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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