McMillan Clinches National Car Rental Northern Texas Assistant PGA Professional Championship After Playoff

Steven Clements • August 20, 2024

Four Qualify for 48th National Car Rental Assistant PGA Professional Championship

LEWISVILLE, Texas (August 19) – Stetson McMillan, associate at John Sikes Golf Academy, bested Matt Ryba, PGA assistant professional at Preston Trail Golf Club, after a one hole playoff. McMillan made a par on the par-4, 10th hole to claim the Championship title. Both players finished at 8-under-par.


In the day’s 36-hole marathon at The Lakes at Castle Hills, McMillan carded rounds of 69-67–136. His final round included a closing birdie on the 18th to force the playoff. “I’m a leaderboard watcher. I knew Ryba was up there and I was up there, we were kind of battling it out, but it turned out I birdied the last hole to get into the playoff,” said McMillan.


McMillan’s drive found the fairway, with Ryba’s finding the right rough. Both players missed the green, with Ryba just off the front right and McMillan missing the green short left, leaving him a testy pitch shot over the bunker to a back left hole location. He hit a towering flop shot to inside of 3-feet and made the putt for the win after Ryba’s par putt narrowly missed.


Talking about his first individual NTPGA win McMillan said, “It’s just awesome! I was really excited at the start of the year whenI found out we were playing at Castle Hills. I’ve played here quite a bit over the years and was excited to come back. Course was in great shape.”


This Championship served as a qualifier into the 48th National Car Rental Assistant PGA Professional Championship, set to be held November 14-17, 2024 at PGA Golf Club in Port St. Lucie, Florida. As a B-6 PGA associate and instructor, McMillan was not eligible to qualify for the Championship. Only A-8 PGA Members and B-8 associates are eligible. The qualifiers and alternates are listed below.


Qualifiers:

  1. Matt Ryba, PGA assistant professional at Preston Trail Golf Club
  2. Tristan Cottrell, PGA assistant professional at Bent Tree Country Club
  3. Spencer Dillard, PGA assistant professional at Preston Trail Golf Club
  4. Ben Swaffield, associate at Preston Trail Golf Club


Alternates:

  1. Jarred Jeter, PGA assistant professional at Midland Country Club
  2. Corbin Renner, PGA assistant professional at Shady Oaks Country Club
  3. Todd Rossetti, PGA assistant professional at Luna Vista Golf Course

The field was competing for a record overall Championship purse of $13,500. McMillan took home $1,300 for his victory today.


The National Car Rental Northern Texas Assistant PGA Professional Championship was supported by Srixon / Cleveland Golf / Asics and PGA TOUR. The Championship was presented by Veritex Community Bank.


The Lakes at Castle Hills

Par: 36-36–72

Yardage: 7,034 yards


View the Final Championship Results
HERE.

By Erik Anderson • September 29, 2026
GREENVILLE, Texas (September 28) – For the second year in a row, Spencer Dillard, PGA director of golf at Golf Clubs at The Tribute, claimed the Jerry J. Ransom Northern Texas PGA Shootout at The Oaks, taking home $25,000 for the win. Just like last year, it took Dillard two playoff holes to best runner-up Nick Paez, instructor at The Ronny Golf Park. Both players found the 440-yard, par 4, 9th green in two, but a costly three-putt from Paez from 35 feet led to Dillard finishing off a nervy three-foot putt for the win. Dillard also won with a par in last year’s event and has now taken home the victory in two out of three years in the event’s short history. “It’s pretty special, just the opportunity to play in the event. I just can’t thank Dr. Ransom enough for putting this on and all he does for us,” said Dillard. “Just being able to play is a huge deal and then lasting through the shootout is so tough, so it feels great to be here.” The players in the shootout were battling in what seemed to be a competition of who could continue to make birdies. “Nathan was 9-under through a 12-hole stretch today and still went out. There is so much talent in our Section, so you got to go win it,” said Dillard. Longtime Northern Texas PGA Foundation supporter Jerry J. Ransom welcomed 98 Northern Texas PGA Members and Associates to The Oaks Country Club for the third annual Shootout. The event was created to recognize the PGA Professionals across the Section who dedicate their time and energy to growing the game through the NTPGA Foundation’s initiatives. The event was developed by Ransom as a way to thank PGA Professionals across the Northern Texas Section while also providing exposure to The Oaks Country Club. The Oaks is a top-five nine-hole course in Texas according to the Dallas Morning News golf course rankings. The format for the event featured a 9-hole qualifier, with the top three finishers and one randomly selected participant moving on to the evening shootout. Nathan Park, instructor at Stonebriar Country Club, qualified first after finishing with an impressive 6-under-par, 30. Dillard was the next to advance, carding a 4-under-par, 32, and finally Paez at 3-under-par, 33, who won a six-for-one spot playoff with a birdie on the first extra hole in the playoff. Zack Vinson, PGA head professional at Athens Country Club, was the random drawing winner. The nine-hole Shootout portion of the event was played in three stages of three holes each, with one professional eliminated after every stage. After the first three holes, Vinson was eliminated and landed a prize of $2,500. The scores were then reset to even par, and the second three holes saw Nathan Park bow out, despite being 9-under-par through 15 holes. He played his final three holes in the shootout at even par. Still, he earned $7,500 for his efforts. The scores again reset to even par for the final three-hole segment, where Dillard and Paez battled it out for three holes, followed by two extra holes in the playoff.
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