Korte Takes Early Two-Stroke Lead at 55th M&P Group Texas State Open
Romo Cards 1-under-par in Opening Round
TYLER, Texas (July 29) – Chris Korte, of Littleton, CO leads the 55th M&P Group Texas State Open after an opening round 62. His 8-under-par, 32-30–62, was enough to gain a two-stroke lead heading into tomorrow’s second round.
Korte got off to a steady start on the front-nine with three birdies and six pars. Turning to the more scorable back-nine, he went 4-under on holes 10-14 and added two more birdies on 17 and 18.
“It was a fun day. I got off to a good start, made a couple nice little par saves here and there,” said Korte about his opening round. “This rough is no joke, when you hit it in there, a lot of times it's tough to get one up and down or judge the distance on your second shot. I played a really solid round.”
“I’ve been playing great golf recently. Monday qualified into a couple Korn Ferry Tour and PGA TOUR events and have just been trying to find the putter. Luckily today I felt like I gained a couple shots finally, so that was probably the biggest difference.”
Korte received the final sponsor exemption into the Championship and has taken advantage of it so far. During the past year, he has successfully Monday qualified into four PGA TOUR events and one Korn Ferry Tour event, most recently teeing it up in the Barracuda Championship.
Korte played in the morning wave today and will play in the afternoon wave tomorrow. He tees off at 1:15 p.m.
Matthew Watkins, of Rockwall, TX is one of two players tied for second behind Korte. The former Ewing Automotive NTPGA Junior Tour member, carded a 6-under-par round and is looking for his first victory at the Championship. He previously earned Low Amateur honors in 2021 and 2023.
Speaking about returning to Cascades Country Club Watkins said, “You have to hit it great off the tee, which I love. It’s a good tight golf course, lots of trouble off the tee. There are a lot of irons out here, you have to be a good ball striker off the tee and into the green. The greens are great.”
Brandon Bingaman, PGA assistant professional at Gleneagles Country Club, leads the PGA Professional Division. He carded a 32-34–66, 4-under-par. Gilbert Mendez, PGA assistant professional at Sun City Golf Club, is one-stroke behind Bingaman at 3-under-par.
Blake Elliott, of Bullard, TX is at 4-under-par and sits highest on the leaderboard of the five East Texas locals in the field. This is Elliott’s sixth appearance in the Championship and he has made the cut each time, including two top-five finishes.
“It’s awesome sleeping in my own bed, getting up and doing what I usually do every day. It's nice being home and having some friends and family come out,” said Elliott about playing at home in East Texas.
The amateur leaderboard is led by Cody Massa (a), of Cave Creek, AZ. He recorded a first round 66, 4-under-par.
At 1-under-par is former Dallas Cowboys quarterback and current CBS analyst Tony Romo (a). He is looking to make his first cut at the Championship and will begin his second round at 8:24 a.m. tomorrow.
“I’ve worked really hard this last year, hours and hours a day trying to work on my weaknesses and I think that helps quite a bit. A couple weeks ago I really started to find it. I got up and down [during today’s round], that kinda starts getting you into a rhythm,” said Romo.
Kacy Clemens (a), the former University of Texas baseball standout and son of former MLB pitcher Roger Clemens, is in the field this year.
“It's cool playing around pros and watching those guys hit the ball. They are really good. It's just fun to play and compete in a different realm. You’d be surprised that standing over 5-footers gets your heart going,” said Clemens about his Texas State Open debut.
Round one had calm conditions with nearly no wind. Tomorrow’s second round is expected to have high temperatures over 100 degrees and an east wind around 10mph.
The 55th M&P Group Texas State Open is a 72-hole stroke play event with a field of 156 professionals and amateurs.
This is the M&P Group’s third year as the title sponsor and the Championship is presented by Joyce Crane and supported by CHRISTUS Trinity Mother Frances, Holiday Inn - Tyler Conference Center, Jucys and Patterson Tyler.
Cascades Country Club
Par: 35-35–70
Yardage: 6,882 yards
View current results HERE
