Jerry J. Ransom Pro-Junior-Am Benefits the Northern Texas PGA Foundation

Cooper Hein • June 23, 2025

$236,000 Donated to Foundation

The Northern Texas PGA conducted the Jerry J. Ransom Pro-Junior-Am at Royal Oaks Country Club. First played in 2018, this event has helped raise funds for the Northern Texas PGA Foundation. This year, an event record of $236,000 was raised. The funds help the Foundation achieve its growth of the game initiatives. 


Ransom, the namesake of the Jerry J. Ransom NTPGA Golf House, is an avid golfer from Greenville, Texas, where he currently serves as the city’s Mayor. He has supported the NTPGA Foundation’s growth of the game initiatives for many years and was the lead contributor for the NTPGA Foundation’s Capital Campaign that took place from February 2020 to December 2021. 


20 teams that consisted of one PGA of America golf professional, a current Ewing Automotive NTPGA Junior Tour member and three amateurs, took part in the action. Hanna Dickens, Associate at The Ronny Golf Park, junior golfer Grace Cronin with amateurs Doug Brooks, Lewis Brooks, and Tim Flatley carded a -14 team total of 128 to find themselves atop the leaderboard.


Following play, incoming LPGA Commissioner Craig Kessler participated in a Q&A led by NTPGA CEO Mark Harrison. Kessler shared his vision for the LPGA and discussed the importance of continuing to grow women's golf. He will begin his new role next month.


The junior golfers who participated in the event were all eligible for a randomly drawn $5,000 college scholarship. This year, an anonymous donor decided to match the original scholarship amount, so two $5,000 scholarships were awarded. Carlos Salinas, of Greenville, Texas, and Landon Hilario of Garland, Texas, took home the scholarships to help support their college education. 


A special thank you to Jerry J. Ransom and all he has done for junior golfers in Northern Texas and the game of golf. Since 2018, Ransom has donated $250,000 to help support junior golfers and their college education. 


This year the NTPGA Foundation awarded 82 students with college scholarships, totalling to $768,000. This is the largest amount awarded in a year by the Foundation. 


By Erik Anderson August 17, 2026
Four Qualify for 50th Assistant PGA Professional 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.
By Logan Bearden August 3, 2026
$268,000 Donated to Foundation
By Erik Anderson July 31, 2026
Doggett (a) and McIlwain (a) Share Low Amateur Honors Walts Finishes as Top PGA Professional