Jones Leads After Round One of the 47th Veritex Bank Texas State Open
DALLAS, Texas -
After Round One of the 47th Veritex Bank Texas State Open, Kyle Jones of Snowflake, Arizona, leads by one stroke after firing an opening round of 64, 6-under par. Jones played his first 12 holes even-par before finishing 6-under on his final six holes on the front nine, that added up to a 28 (7 under par). Three players are one stroke back including Brax McCarthy and Joel Thelen both of Fort Worth, Texas, and Derek Oland of McKinney, Texas. Defending champion Juan Fernandez and 2014 champion Anthony Broussard are tied eighth and three strokes back at 3-under par.
“It’s the first time I’m defending something,” Fernandez said after being asked how he was going to approach the week. “Coming out to a venue like Trinity Forest, it doesn’t get any better than this. The course is in great shape, the fairways are perfect and the greens are really good; you have to have really good pace and avoid those three-putts at all cost. Not a lot of birdie opportunities out there, but I was able to sneak a couple when I had them so all-in-all, a pretty good day.”
Again for 2017, the Low PGA Club Professional will be recognized at the Veritex Bank Texas State Open. Fifteen PGA club professionals are in the field. Brian Norman, PGA teaching professional at Gleneagles Country Club, currently leads this division at 1-under par. Ben Kern, PGA head professional at Oeste Ranch Golf Course, is just one shot back of Norman.
JC Campbell (a) of Dallas, Texas, currently leads the field of amateurs competing in the Texas State Open. He carded a 4-under par 66 today, while three amateurs sit just two shots back at 2-under par. They include Grant Schroeder (a) of Montgomery, Texas, Colin Kober (a) of Southlake, Texas, and Brandon Smith (a) of Frisco, Texas.
The 72-hole stroke play event consists of 156 players comprised of 35 amateurs and 121 professionals. The field will play 36-holes before being cut to the low 55 scores and ties. All four rounds will be contested at Trinity Forest Golf Club, a 7,135-yard, par 70 layout. The Veritex Bank Texas State Open has a purse of $200,000, one of the largest purses in the country for a state open. First place will win $40,000.
Children's Health is the charitable partner of the 47th Veritex Bank Texas State Open. Round two will commence on Wednesday, August 2 at 7:30 a.m.
Starting times and groupings can be found at www.ntpga.com. Admission is free to all.
Please note: (a) denotes amateur, and amateurs will be awarded gift certificates.
First round results.
