Grider Grabs the Early Lead at the 52nd Higginbotham Texas State Open
TYLER, TX – Ryan Grider leads the 52nd Higginbotham Texas State Open by two shots after 18 holes of play at the Cascades Country Club in Tyler, Texas. With birdies on his last two holes, Grider fired a bogey free opening round of 31-32–63, 7-under-par.
This is Girder’s fifth Texas State Open appearance and his first as a professional. In his last three appearances he has finished inside the top 20 and as high as T10 in 2019 when playing as an amatuer.
“Today was one of those days where I hit some bad shots, but I got away with them. I just need to try to minimize those going forward. I got off to a good start there [Hole 10] and stayed patient and made a few pars. I really got things going on the scorable holes on the back nine,” said Grider.
Grider is a former Ewing Automotive NTPGA Junior Tour member and graduated from Baylor in 2021 and turned pro shortly after. He has played on the All Pro Tour, Forme Tour, and Korn Ferry Tour over the past year.
Bullard resident Blake Elliott currently sits at 5-under-par and in a tie for second place. “I hit the ball pretty good and made a lot of putts. Didn’t hit anything too close, but I made a lot of 20-footers. The eagle I made was from probably 15-feet,” said Elliott.
The Championship features two additional divisions, Low Amateur and Low PGA Professional. Trevor Bailey (a) of New Braunfels Texas leads the Amateur Division at 5-under-par. JJ Killeen, PGA head professional at Red Feather Golf and Social Club leads the PGA Professional Division at 3-under-par.
The 52nd Higginbotham Texas State Open runs through Friday, July 29. The 72-hole stroke play event consists of 156 professionals and amateurs competing for a $200,000 purse. The field will be cut to the low 55 scores and ties after the second round tomorrow afternoon.
The Cascades Country Club
Par: 35-35–70
Yardage: 6,882 yards
View Round One results
HERE
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ABOUT HIGGINBOTHAM
Employee owned and customer inspired, Higginbotham is a single source solution for insurance, financial and HR services. The firm was established in 1948 and ranks by revenue as the nation’s 20th largest independent insurance firm, making it the largest Texas-based broker. Serving thousands of businesses and individuals through locations coast to coast, Higginbotham’s approach to finding insurance, employee benefit and risk management solutions is more individual and less institutional. By understanding customer priorities, eliminating inefficiencies and committing to transparency, Higginbotham is a place that leads with values so value leads.
ABOUT THE CASCADES COUNTRY CLUB
The Cascades Country Club, a Master-Planned 5-Star community, is the most comprehensive community in East Texas. This luxury lake front golf, tennis, fitness and residential community sits on 386 acres and is located just five miles from downtown Tyler, Texas. The Cascades Country Club is also conveniently located midway between Dallas, Texas, and Shreveport, Louisiana. The Cascades Country Club was re-designed by PGA Tour player Mark Hayes to challenge players at any skill level. Lush, tour-quality greens and broad fairways wind among tall oak and pine trees, with many holes set alongside scenic lakes on the golf course, and a stunning back drop framed by Lake Bellwood greeting you on your first tee shot of the day.
ABOUT THE NORTHERN TEXAS PGA
The Northern Texas PGA is one of 41 Sections of the PGA of America and its geographic territory includes the State of Texas north of the 31st latitude, or just north of Austin. The Northern Texas PGA has approximately 900 PGA members and associates employed at more than 300 facilities.
The Northern Texas PGA has 17 full-time staff members and is currently headquartered in Dallas. The Northern Texas PGA will be joining the PGA of America national office relocation to Frisco in the fall of 2022 with its own state-of-the-art headquarters on the PGA Frisco campus.
In addition to managing the day-to-day affairs of the Section, the Northern Texas PGA also operates a non-profit and charitable foundation that focuses on five pillars: junior golf, college scholarships, inclusion, internships and military & veterans.
