Finsterwald & Wright Inducted into Texas Golf Hall of Fame

July 10, 2020
The Texas Golf Hall of Fame today announced the 2020 Class of Inductees. The Hall announced its 2020 class will be honored with a formal induction ceremony at The Houston Country Club on Tuesday, October 6th. Each of the Inductees of the 2020 class has an illustrious history of achievement that will be commemorated on granite markers on the prestigious Texas Golf Walk of Fame at historic Brackenridge Park Golf Course, along with the
evening’s festivities that are open to the public.

2020 Texas Hall of Fame Inductees:
• Professional Player: Angela Stanford
• Amateur Player: Hank Kuehne
• Lifetime Achievement: Verne Lundquist
• Golf Professional / Teacher Mike Wright
• Golf Professional / Teacher Dow Finsterwald, Jr.
• Texas Registry of Historic Golf Courses: Oak Hills Country Club 

The first of two 2020 Hall Inductees in the Golf Professional/Teacher category is Mike Wright. At just 23 years old, Mike Wright was appointed as the Head Golf Professional at Shady Oaks, a Hall of Fame course. He had the unwavering support and emphatic endorsement of Ben Hogan. Now as the Shady Oaks Director of Golf, Mike has served the club for 36 years. Eleven of Mike’s assistants have been promoted to Head Professionals/General Manager positions. He cofounded the Ben Hogan Foundation, which has awarded over $835,000 in scholarships to deserving students and children of soldiers and is now breaking ground on a new learning center. Mike has received the highest honors as a merchandiser, teacher, and player. As an instructor, he has an enviable reputation from both the professional and amateur rank. He counts Angela Stanford, Gerina Piller, Chad Campbell, and Mark Brooks among his students. He has been a thoughtful, graceful representative of Ben Hogan’s legacy and his service to the PGA of America at both the section and national levels is admirable. 


The second of two 2020 Hall Inductees in the Golf Professional/Teacher category is Dow Finsterwald, Jr. Finsterwald Jr. is the son of PGA Champion Dow Finsterwald Sr., who won 11 2315 Avenue B, San Antonio, Texas 78215 P: 210.225.3520 F: 210.228.0353 www.texasgolfhof.org PGA Titles and played on four Ryder Cup teams. Dow Jr. grew up working for his father at the Broadmoor Country Club caddying, working the driving range, and helping guests. After graduating from Arizona State in 1981, Dow was hired by Oak Tree Country Club in Oklahoma City as an Assistant Golf Professional. In 1987, his life changed dramatically when he was hired by Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas as its Head Golf Professional. Dow Jr. has been the host of 33 PGA TOUR events and a Women’s U.S. Open. He has won the Metro Chapter Championship (1990) and the Club Pro Championship (1991); he’s played in four Joe Black Cup Matches and has qualified for the Byron Nelson Championship and Colonial National Invitationals. Daily, Dow Jr. keeps busy with the 700 golf members at Colonial Country Club. Dow and his wife Mary Lou have two children, Dow the third and Katy, and two grandchildren. 


This will be the Texas Golf Hall of Fame’s eleventh class to be inducted since the Hall’s reconstitution in 2009. Public nominations made online were voted on by living Hall members, the Texas Golf Hall of Fame Board of Directors, and designated Texas golf media members. The Induction Dinner will take place at the historic Houston Country Club on Tuesday, October 6th. For tickets and sponsorship information please visit www.texasgolfhof.org/donate.

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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