Defending Champion Watkins Takes One-Stroke Lead at 56th M&P Group Texas State Open

Erik Anderson • July 28, 2026

TYLER, Texas (July 28) – Defending Champion, Matthew Watkins, of Rockwall, TX, leads the 56th M&P Group Texas State Open after an opening round 61. His 9-under-par, 31-30–61, gives him a one-stroke lead heading into the second round.

“I played this tournament a lot growing up and always wanted to win it, so having already won it is a big stress reliever for sure, but same thing as last year, just keep going,” said Watkins after his first round.

Watkins started off hot, making birdie on his first two holes. A three-putt from 18 feet on hole #3 led to his only bogey of the day. Birdies on holes 6, 7 and 8 guided him to a front nine 31 (4-under-par). Five more birdies on the back nine catapulted Watkins to the top of the leaderboard after the morning wave.

“My short game was insane. I made so many putts, too. I didn’t hit it my best, but the short game definitely stepped up,” Watkins stated.

The M&P Group Texas State Open hasn’t had a back-to-back champion in 20 years, when Kelly Grunewald completed the feat in 2005 and 2006. When asked about going back-to-back, Watkins said, “That would be pretty fun, just to prove my game is really good and trust in that to keep it going.”

Watkins will look to continue his hot start tomorrow. He goes off hole 10 at 1:42 p.m.

Kyle Hogan of Magnolia, TX, is in second after a bogey-free, 32-30–62. Hogan stayed steady throughout his front nine before a stretch of four birdies on holes 12-15. A birdie on hole 18 solidified Hogan’s second-place position.

“I was able to get through those first few holes, which can sneak up on you a little bit, so once you get through those and get to the par 5’s, you can start taking advantage. I made a couple of nice up-and-downs when I had to, and it happened to work out at the end,” Hogan said.

Hogan has played well in years past with three top 20 finishes in the last four years. He tees it up tomorrow at 1:24 p.m. off hole 10.

In third place is Jared Strathe of Owasso, OK. An opening round 34-29–63 had Strathe climbing up the leaderboard late. Five birdies in his last six holes were the key to Strathe’s round. He was one of the few players with an afternoon tee time to keep up with the morning wave. “You see the low ones, so you know it’s out there, but it’s just go out and play, trust the process and see what happens,” he said.

Strathe has a 9:00 a.m. tee time off hole 10 tomorrow morning.

Eight players are tied for fourth at 5-under-par. This list includes two former champions, Shawn Stefani and Kyle Pritchard; three Northern Texas PGA Professionals, Brandon Bingaman, PGA Member; Gabe Reynolds, PGA director of instruction at Topgolf - Dallas; and Spencer Dillard, PGA head professional at Preston Trail Golf Club. Austin Wylie of Boerne, TX, Joseph Abella of Plano, TX, and Joey Herrera of Dallas, TX, round out the list.

Blake Elliott of Bullard, TX, and Seth Campbell of Tyler, TX, are at 1-under-par and sit highest on the leaderboard of the East Texas locals in the field. This is Elliott’s seventh appearance in the Championship, and he has made the cut each time, including three top-five finishes and a second-place finish last year. Campbell is making his first Texas State Open appearance.

Elliott goes off the 10th tee at 7:57 a.m. for the second round. Campbell tees off at 9:18 a.m. from number one.

There is a two-way tie atop the amateur leaderboard. Anniston McIlwain (a), of Bulverde, TX, and last year’s low amateur Grant Doggett (a), of Beach City, TX. The pair both shot 34-34–68. McIlwain (a) goes off number 10 at 12:39 p.m. and Doggett (a) will begin his second round at 1:51 p.m. off the tenth tee.

Round one had calm conditions with light winds. Tomorrow’s second round is expected to have high temperatures over 100 degrees and a south wind of 5-10 mph.

The 56th M&P Group Texas State Open is a 72-hole stroke play event with a field of 156 professionals and amateurs competing for a $200,000 purse. The field will be cut to the low 55 scores and ties after 36-holes. Currently, 71 players are at 1-under-par or better after round one. The champion, if a professional, will take home $40,000. The only amateur to win the Texas State Open was Homero Blancas in 1960.

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

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Watkins Maintains Lead, Field Closes Gap Heading into the Final Round of 56th M&P Group Texas State Open

By Erik Anderson • July 30, 2026

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

Watkins Breaks 36-Hole Scoring Record with Back-to-Back 61s at 56th M&P Group Texas State Open

By Erik Anderson • July 29, 2026

TYLER, Texas (July 29) – Defending Champion Matthew Watkins of Rockwall, TX, fired a bogey-free second round 31-30–61, 9-under-par, to take a six-stroke lead at the 56th M&P Group Texas State Open. Back-to-back 61s for a 36-hole total of 18-under-par, 122, breaks the 36-hole M&P Group Texas State Open scoring record previously held by Tanner Napier after his 15-under-par, 125, in 2024. Watkins started on hole 10 and made four pars to begin his round. He closed his opening nine with five straight birdies to shoot 30. “The first three holes I didn’t really hit my best shots, but I got those up-and-down, and that was big,” he said. Watkins made the turn and continued his fantastic round with four birdies in his final six holes. “I’m just playing really solid. That’s all I really got. It’s hard to imagine,” Watkins said about his pair of 61s. “Back-to-back 61s is really good, but we're only halfway there.” Out of the eight par-5s that Watkins has faced this week, he has birdied seven of them. “My grandpa will let me know [about it] when I make a par on a par-five. I made par on that second-to-last hole, so I’m sure I’ll hear about it,” Watkins joked. Watkins is a former Ewing Automotive NTPGA Junior Tour member. After starting his junior golf career playing the NTPGA’s team golf on the Buffalo Creek Aces, he played on every level of the junior tour. “It was a lot of fun; that’s where I met my caddie, and we’ve been friends ever since. I loved it a lot,” said Watkins about his time on the team. In solo second place is Eli Ortego of Lafayette, LA. After a first round 32-34–66, Ortego carded an eight-under-par, 32-30–62. Today, Ortego teed off on hole 10 and came out firing. “I got off to a good start. I hit a pitching wedge to probably 10 feet and made the putt. Then, I actually chipped in on 12, so pretty quick start. I was lucky enough to birdie some par-5s coming in, and kept it going on the back nine,” said Ortego. Ortego said he checked the leaderboard after he finished, and it is “kinda crazy” that he’s six strokes back. “I just got to keep the pedal down and keep making birdies.” A two-way tie for third includes former champion Kyle Pritchard of Castroville, TX, and Cooper Schultz of Wichita, KS, both at 10-under-par. Schultz was the only player out of the four to tee off in the morning wave. He was the leader in the clubhouse after a round of 31-32–63. “It was a pretty good day. There were definitely a lot of putts I could have made, but yeah, solid day,” he commented. Pritchard was the champion of the 2019 Texas State Open and has made ten straight cuts. “There were definitely some nerves,” Pritchard said, talking about trying to make the cut this week. Pritchard played with Watkins the past two days and said his round today felt like one or two under despite his 31-34–65. “He couldn’t do anything wrong; I’d hit close, and he’d hit it closer. It was frustrating, but fun to watch.” Watkins, Ortego and Schultz tee it up at 9:50 a.m. tomorrow. Pritchard goes off right before them at 9:40 a.m. Grant Doggett (a) of Beach City, TX, currently sits in first place on the Amateur leaderboard and tied for 25th place overall at 5-under-par. Doggett (a) is the defending low amateur after finishing at 11-under-par and 12th place overall last year. “I love coming up here and playing this event; the golf course is always great.” Doggett (a) will start his senior year on the University of Houston golf team this fall. Chase Walts, PGA assistant professional at Trinity Forest Golf Club in Dallas, TX, and Bret Gray, PGA Member, lead all other PGA Members for the honors of low PGA Professional. Both sit at 7-under-par and tied for ninth overall. Walts will tee off at 9:20 a.m. and Gray at 8:50 a.m. Seven PGA of America Golf Professionals made the cut. Five from the Northern Texas Section and two from the Southern Texas Section. 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 third round will begin 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