Farmer Wins TPx Communications Western Championship

NTPGA • June 12, 2018

Southlake, TX – Richard Farmer, assistant professional at Hillcrest Country Club in Lubbock, carded six birdies and three bogeys on his way to claiming his first TPx Communications Western Championship. He fired a final round of 3-under 69 to finish the event 5-under par with rounds of 70-69--139.

“It feels good to win, unexpected. I didn’t look at the leaderboard until about 17. I just played and ended up winning. I feel shock and excitement. It happened so fast,” said Farmer after his win. “This is my first professional win and my best one for sure.”

Farmer took home a $3,100 check for his victory.

Todd Balkin, PGA assistant professional at Royal Oaks Country Club, finished a stroke behind Farmer at 4-under par, 140 for the Championship with rounds of 69-71. Round One leader Wes Worster, assistant professional at Trinity Forest Golf Club, along with David Studebaker, assistant professional at Cross Timbers Golf Course, finished tied for third at 3-under par 141.

The Championship included a Senior Division comprised of 32 professionals aged 50 or older who competed for a separate $9,425 purse and played at a modified yardage. Tom Strueber, PGA Life Member, captured the Senior Division carding a 1-under in today’s final round to finish at 2-under par for a tournament total of 142. Strueber took home a first place check for $1,250.

The TPx Communications Western Championship was conducted by the Northern Texas PGA Section and was presented by AT&T Byron Nelson, Barrington Gifts, Cutter & Buck, Nexbelt, PGA TOUR, Playkeen, TurfHound and Volvik. The Championship was conducted June 11-12 at Timarron Country Club in Southlake, Texas, a 7,005-yard, par 72 layout.

The 121-player field was comprised of golf professionals from the Northern Texas Section of the PGA of America who competed for an overall purse of $35,585. Professionals in the Open Division competed for a $26,160 purse.

This 36-hole NTPGA major championship was the first of four individual stroke play events that comprise the Yamaha Golf-Car Company & Srixon / Cleveland Golf / XXIO Player of the Year Points Challenge presented by Adventures In Golf, and served as a qualifier for the 2018 Texas Joe Black Cup team and Levy Cup team.

Final Round results

By Erik Anderson • September 23, 2026
Woodson and Schaefer (a) Capture Senior Division
By Erik Anderson • September 16, 2026
Little Secures Senior Division
By Erik Anderson • August 25, 2026
Six qualify for Senior PGA Professional 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