Dillard Gets Redemption in Lajitas, Woodson Notches Senior Division Victory

Steven Clements • December 11, 2024

LAJITAS, Texas (December 10) – Spencer Dillard, PGA assistant professional at Preston Trail Golf Club, won the Duel in the Desert to claim the 2024 Yamaha Golf-Car Company | Srixon and Nike Match Play Championship Open Division title. Rick Woodson, PGA instructor at Sherrill Park Golf Course, claimed the Senior Division title.


The No. 1 seeded Dillard battled No. 3 Gabe Reynolds, PGA director of instruction at Topgolf - Dallas, in a 36-hole final match for the title and $10,000. Both players began their run to the championship match back in October at White Bluff Resort where they worked their way through the 32-player match play bracket. 


“It’s tough to get here. You have to go through a lot of great players, so I feel really satisfied after the long year of hard work,” said Dillard. “He’s [Reynolds] really good. He can make a birdie or an eagle at any point. Playing with Gabe you know you have to bring your best.”


After playing 18 holes on Monday, their match stood at 2UP in favor of Dillard. The 2UP lead for Dillard held through 28 holes. Dillard then began to charge on the back nine when he hit his approach shot on the par-4 11th hole to 10 inches for a conceded birdie. He followed that up on the 12th with another birdie after a 20-foot putt. An errant tee shot on the 14th saw his lead cut to only 3UP with four holes to play. After winning the 14th hole, Reynolds hit his tee shot into the rocks on the right side of the 15th hole. After an unsuccessful attempt to play the shot, Reynolds conceded the hole, and the match ended with a 4&3 victory for Dillard.


This is the second year that Dillard has made it to the final match. Last year he fell to Chad Moscovic 7&6 in 36 holes. The redemption victory in Lajitas marks Dillard’s first individual Section major championship victory. It caps off a stellar year, one in which he also earned the Yamaha Golf-Car Company | Srixon and Nike Player of the Year Award presented by Adventures In Golf and the Ben Hogan | NTPGA Stroke Play Scoring Average Award.


“Finally! I’m usually just a team champion! It feels great to finally do it on my own,” said Dillard.

In the Senior Division, Billy Harris, PGA Life Member, started the day with a 3UP lead over Rick Woodson. Harris birdied the 1st hole to go 4UP, but by the 8th tee he was only 1UP. 


“I was lucky my wife was with me. She was keeping me really positive,” said Woodson.


Moving into the back nine, Woodson birdied the 11th and 13th holes to tie the match for the first time since Monday morning. He then notched a par on the 14th hole to gain his first lead of the match. Putts then began to fall for Woodson. He made a long birdie putt on the 15th and saved par with a 30-footer on the 17th to keep his lead heading into the 36th hole.


Both professionals hit their drives into the fairway and layed up about 50 yards short on the par-5. They both then left their third shots about 20 feet below the hole. Harris putted first and blew the putt by, followed by Woodson who cozied it up to 12 inches. Harris conceded the putt giving Woodson the 1UP win.


“It feels great,” said Woodson. “This one had eluded me for a while. This is my fourth time in the final match and my first time to win it. It was a great match with Billy. He is an incredibly tough competitor and he’s a grinder. I was fortunate to make some big putts at the right time.”


Woodson claimed $5,000 with his victory today and his first match play title.


This year was the third year that the Open Division championship match was conducted in Lajitas and the first year that the Senior Division joined them.


“Incredible! For all the people back home, if you have the opportunity to come down here you need to do it. It’s amazing. I just can’t get over it. I’ve played a lot of picturesque golf courses and this is absolutely at the top of that list,” said Woodson about Lajitas Golf Resort.


The Yamaha Golf-Car Company | Srixon and Nike Match Play Championship was presented by Adventures In Golf, Lajitas Golf Resort, PGA TOUR, THE CJ CUP Byron Nelson, TPx Communications and XXIO.


Lajitas Golf Resort’s Black Jack’s Crossing

Par: 36-36–72

Open Division Yardage: 7,300 yards

Senior Division Yardage: 6,500 yards


View the final results HERE.

Friend Wins Club Car | XXIO Northern Texas Senior PGA Professional Championship

By Erik Anderson • August 25, 2026
Six qualify for Senior PGA Professional Championship

Paez Prevails at Lajitas Golf Resort Women’s Section Championship

By Erik Anderson • August 25, 2026
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

McDonough Claims Northern Texas Assistant PGA Professional Championship

By Erik Anderson • August 17, 2026
Four Qualify for 50th Assistant PGA Professional Championship

Team of Murphy, Faulk Jr. Win Playoff to Capture 1st & 10th Tee Golf Energy Bar Pro-Junior Championship

By Erik Anderson • August 10, 2026
PLANO, Texas (August 10) – Seth Murphy, Associate at John Sikes Golf Academy and Thomas Faulk Jr. (a) captured the 1st & 10th Tee Golf Energy Bar Pro-Junior Championship title. The pair carded a 33-31–64, 8-under-par and made birdie on the first playoff hole. The pair began their round on the 8th hole and opened with a par. Six birdies on their next eight holes set them up for success for the first round. Their final nine holes were steady, with 7 pars and two birdies, but the bogey-free round was enough to get them into a two-team playoff against Ryan Grider, Associate at The Lakes at Castle Hills, and Colten Karstendiek (a). After a safe drive on the first playoff hole from Faulk Jr., Murphy was able to attack and had just 135 yards into the par-4 18th hole. He hit a pitching wedge to 10 feet and buried the putt. Murphy said, “He [Thomas] made about a 20-footer on our second hole, and that just put us on the pace we needed to get some momentum going. We gave ourselves lots of opportunities, double opportunities, where we were both putting for birdie, which is always nice. Just overall, we teamed very well today.” Faulk Jr added, “I started off hot and helped him out, and then when I was winding down, he got things going. We just made putts and pars when we needed to. It was just the team working.” Ryan Grider, Associate at The Lakes at Castle Hills, and Colten Karstendiek (a) fired 32-32–64 to finish in second place. Matt Weinberger, PGA senior director of member and amateur championships at PGA of America and Owen Layton (a) shot 31-35–66 to claim third place. The Championship featured 64 teams consisting of one PGA professional and one junior golfer between the ages of 7-19. The teams competed in a Four-Ball Stroke Play format. There was also a second division within the Championship where PGA professionals and their children competed for a separate title. The nine-team division was claimed for the third consecutive year by Jon Antunes, PGA director of instruction at Heart of Texas Golf Academy and his daughter Hannah Antunes (a) with a score of 34-34–68. For the professionals in the field today, there was a skins game with a $4,500 payout. Only one skin was earned today. Hanna Dickens, Associate at The Ronny Golf Park, made a birdie on hole 14 to earn the skin. The 1st & 10th Tee Golf Energy Bar Pro-Junior Championship was presented by CMC Design, PGA TOUR, and THE CJ CUP Byron Nelson.