Ishee Takes Lead After Round One of the Joyce Crane & Veritex Bank Section Championship
Taylor Coffelt • September 15, 2020

LONGVIEW, TX
– Nic Ishee, PGA assistant professional at Preston Trail Golf Club, sits atop the leaderboard after Round One of the 2020 Joyce Crane & Veritex Bank Section Championship. He fired an impressive opening round of 4-under-par 66, carding seven birdies and three bogeys, to lead the field heading into tomorrow’s final round.
Sitting three shots back at T2, 1-under-par 69, are Brandon Bingaman, PGA assistant professional at Bent Tree Country Club, Reid Parrish, PGA head professional at River Crest Country Club, and Henry Cagigal, PGA assistant professional at Rockwood Park Golf Course.
Ishee, Bingaman, and Parrish will tee off at 2:40 p.m.
The Joyce Crane & Veritex Bank Section Championship is the fourth and final individual stroke play major championship of the 2020 season to earn points towards the Yamaha Golf-Car Company & Srixon / Cleveland Golf / XXIO / ASICS Player of the Year Points Challenge presented by Adventures In Golf. The Eastern Championship, Western Championship, NTPGA Professional Championship, and Section Championship all serve as qualifiers for the year-end Yamaha Golf-Car Company & Srixon / Cleveland Golf Match Play Championship. The Player of the Year Points Challenge also serves as qualifying for the 2020 NTPGA Texas Joe Black Cup and Levy Cup teams.
The Joyce Crane & Veritex Bank Section Championship also includes a Senior Division of 37 PGA Members aged 50 and older who are competing for a separate $21,000 purse and are playing from a modified yardage. The Senior Division champion will take home $2,750. Stuart Hendley, PGA director of instruction at Dallas Athletic Club, currently leads the Senior Division at 2-under-par 68. He will tee off tomorrow morning at 10:20 a.m with Jim Henderson, PGA director of golf at Stevens Park Golf Course, and Gilbert Freeman, PGA director of golf at Lakewood Country Club.
The Joyce Crane & Veritex Bank Section Championship, presented by AT&T Byron Nelson, Ewing Automotive Group, GT Golf Supplies, and the PGA TOUR, is being conducted at Pinecrest Country Club, a 6,513-yard, par 70 course located in Longview, Texas. The overall purse for the event is a record $56,000. The Open Division field consists of 61 PGA Members competing for a purse of $35,000. The champion will take home $4,625 and the prestigious title of Northern Texas PGA Section Champion.
Round One results.

FRISCO, Texas - PGA of America Golf Professional Blaine Seitz , Owner and Director of Instruction of TourShotGolf, and Master Club Fitter at 2nd Swing within the PGA of America Coaching Center powered by T-Mobile in Frisco, Texas, earned PGA Master Professional Status, the highest education designation available within the Association. Within the Association’s more than 30,000 PGA of America Golf Professionals, Seitz, a Member of the Northern Texas PGA Section, joins a highly regarded group as the 475th PGA Master Professional. He has earned this designation in Teaching and Coaching. "Becoming a PGA Master Professional is not just an achievement, but a realization of who I am and what I am meant to do,” said Seitz. “I’m a big believer that golf isn’t just a game, it’s also a form of therapy. We can use this game to help people get through life. I moved here to Texas to be with the PGA and put myself in a position to get this done. It’s been a big process to this point and it’s a true honor.” The PGA Master Professional program was established in 1969 to recognize PGA of America Members who make a significant effort to improve as golf professionals and maintain the highest degree of excellence for themselves and their facilities. The curriculum is designed to ensure golf professionals are prepared to meet the growing demands of the marketplace within the Executive Management, Golf Operations and Teaching & Coaching Designations. The program is available to those with at least 10 years of PGA of America Membership along with having achieved advanced certification through the PGA Specialized and Certified Professional Programs. The curriculum includes an extensive project based on the specific certification previously acquired by the PGA of America Golf Professional. PGA Master Professional status is earned upon successful completion of the project’s presentation. Seitz graduated from the PGA Professional Golf Management Program at Coastal Carolina University in 2012 with a Bachelor’s of Science in Marketing. A PGA of America Golf Professional since 2013, Seitz worked as a PGA Assistant Golf Professional at The Suburban Club of Baltimore in Pikesville, Maryland. In 2015, he turned his focus to instruction and club fitting, becoming a PGA Teaching Professional at The Golf Club of Georgia, in Alpharetta, Georgia, and a Sales Representative at Arccos Golf. In 2018, TourShotGolf was born after Seitz spent six years as a CrossFit coach, developing mobility programs and working alongside CrossFit Games athletes to improve performance while decreasing risk of injury. By integrating these mobility programs with his golf students, Seitz observed significant improvements in their game. Seitz joined 2nd Swing in 2021 in Maryland before transferring to the Dallas location in 2023. He moved to the PGA of America Coaching Center in 2024 when 2nd Swing was named the official equipment trade-in partner of the Association. Over the last 10 years, Blaine has specialized in a holistic approach to golfers’ mobility, focusing on five pillars of peak performance: mindset, wellness, mobility, fitness and play. He is a TPI Fitness Coach, a certified Mobility Specialist, a Golf Fitness Association of America Top Golf Fitness Professional (2021-24) and on the Golf Digest “Top 100 Club Fitter” (2021-23) and “Best Clubfitters in America” (2023-24) lists. Seitz resides in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.

PROSPER, Texas (July 21) – Corbin Renner, PGA assistant professional at Shady Oaks Country Club, and Henry Sellers (a) captured the 1st & 10th Tee Golf Energy Bar Pro-Junior Championship title. The pair carded a 33-31–64, 8-under-par, to secure a two-stroke victory. The pair began their round on the 13th hole and with a birdie. Adding a birdie on the 16th and an eagle on the par-5, second hole, they were 4-under-par after eight holes. Six consecutive pars slowed the momentum down until a run of four straight birdies closed out the round and clinched the victory. Renner said, “I knew on the last two holes if we could finish strong, we would be right there in the running.” Sellers added, “I birdied two of the par threes coming in, so that was very important to get to 8-under. The greens were rolling really well. We were able to get some good reads and knock a few putts in. He added, “This is my first-ever team [Four-Ball] event. Corbin, being a conservative player, took a lot of stress off of me. He kept knocking in pars all day.” Three teams tied for second place with rounds of 6-under-par, 66. That tie was broken via a scorecard playoff to determine the second and third-place teams. Jon Antunes, PGA director of instruction at Heart of Texas Golf Academy, and daughter Hannah Antunes (a) were awarded second place after a 32 on the back nine. Blake Bergeron, Associate at Gentle Creek Country Club, and Austin Randall (a) placed third. 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 second year in a row by the Antunes team. For the professionals in the field today, there was a skins game with a $4,500 payout. Two skins were earned today. Renner made a birdie on hole 12, and Alex Motes, Associate at Sulphur Springs Country Club, made an eagle on the par-5, 18th. Both professionals earned $2,250. The 1st & 10th Tee Golf Energy Bar Pro-Junior Championship was presented by CMC Design, PGA TOUR, and THE CJ CUP Byron Nelson. Gentle Creek Country Club Par: 36-36–72 Yardage: 6,743 yards (professional yardage only) View Final Results HERE