Meet the Six Northern Texas PGA Members that will Represent Our Section at the Senior PGA Professional Championship

Lexie Lenderman • October 25, 2023

Six Northern Texas PGA Members are representing our Section at the Senior PGA Professional Championship. The Championship will take place at PGA Golf Club’s Wanamaker and Ryder Courses in Port St. Lucie, Florida, on October 26-29, 2023. We are excited to watch them compete and wish them the best of luck. Learn more about our six Members below! 


PGA Life Member Todd McCorkle was a member of the Alabama - NW Florida Section before moving to the Northern Texas Section. He is a seasoned player when it comes to not only playing in the Florida weather conditions, but also playing in the Senior PGA Professional Championship. McCorkle shares that one of his favorite courses to play is the Wanamaker Course, where he was able to qualify for the PGA Championship three times. While this may not be his first time at PGA Golf Club, McCorkle said he is preparing for the tournament by working on, “the trajectory of my shots and trying to prepare myself as best as I can.” If you are planning on attending the Championship, McCorkle recommends you take a trip down to Jupiter, Florida, to check out the beautiful beaches.


Stuart Hendley, PGA director of instruction at Dallas Athletic Club, has qualified for almost every Senior PGA Professional Championship since he became eligible nine years ago. Hendley has had several opportunities to play at PGA Golf Club and reveals that the course is tough. “The greens are hard and fast and it's usually windy.” He adds, “It requires that you control your ball. That’s something I’m typically good at.” Hendley has a busy two months with not only the Senior PGA Professional Championship but also the Levy Cup Matches in November. When asked how he prepares for such a busy season physically and mentally, he states, “I make sure I get enough sleep, make sure I give myself enough time to practice and play. Showing up for tournaments not tired is a bigger deal at the age I'm at now than when I was younger.” In case you were wondering, Hendley already has his bucket hat picked out for the Championship. 


Five-time qualifier Sam Randolph, PGA director of instruction at Mira Vista Country Club, is also familiar with playing in the Senior PGA Professional Championship. While he knows what to expect in Port St. Lucie, Randolph is using this time to practice ball striking and putting. This season, Randolph placed second in the Club Car | XXIO Northern Texas Senior PGA Professional Championship. He said, “It's always good for the confidence to shoot some under par rounds and that happened there, so the more of those the better.” While staying under par may be the goal, Randolph would tell first-time Senior PPC qualifiers to enjoy the experience. “It’s a major tournament for the club professionals for sure, so a little extra excitement there,” he said. “Then the top 35 get to go to the Senior PGA on the Champions Tour next year, so that’s a bonus to play for there.” Other than competing, Randolph is most looking forward to reconnecting with friends from other Sections that he has played with throughout the years.


Making his first appearance at the Senior PGA Professional Championship is James Williams Jr., PGA director of golf at The Nelson Golf and Sports Club. While he hopes to come back with a trophy, his main goal is to make his members proud. “I've been at the Nelson Sports Club for about six months, and for me to make it to the Senior PGA Professional Championship I think that the members are all for it,” said Williams. “I think they’re all excited, so that motivates me to want to play well.” Williams will go from hosting his course's biggest tournament of the year, the Nelson Cup Member-Guest, to hopping on the plane to head to the Championship. He shares that he is looking forward to going down to Florida. “I can recharge, play a little golf and relax a little for a week.” Williams had top ten finishes at the Talley Riggins | Boxto Pro-Pro and the Club Car | XXIO Northern Texas Senior PGA Professional Championship this season and is looking forward to competing in Florida.


Greg Gregory, PGA head professional at Southern Oaks Golf Club, will also be making his first appearance at the Senior PGA Professional Championship. This is Gregory’s first year eligible to qualify for the Championship and states he “got lucky at the end of the qualifying round to make a couple of late birdies to get myself one of the spots.” After suffering an injury last season, Gregory mentioned that he is “seeing some good signs” after making it to the final four of the Yamaha Golf-Car Company | Srixon/Cleveland Golf/Asics Match Play Championship. While this may be his first Senior PGA Professional Championship, Gregory has played in four PGA Championships and has also won at PGA Golf Club at one of the club’s tournaments. He is looking forward to heading back to Port St. Lucie, this time with his wife and mother, and enjoying not only the golf but also the great seafood Florida has to offer.


Lastly, PGA Director of Instruction at Rockwall Golf & Athletic Club Brian Mahon is another first-timer to the Senior PGA Professional Championship. Heading into the tournament, his game plan is to “practice a little bit every day and try to do what I can.” One of his favorite tournaments of the season was the Joyce Crane | Veritex Bank Section Championship in Odessa because “it didn’t feel as hot,” he laughed. “We got rain in West Texas which was kinda cool, that was by far my favorite tournament this season.” He shared that this tournament, along with Yamaha Golf-Car Company | Srixon/Cleveland Golf/Asics Match Play Championship, is what has given him confidence going into the Championship. Mahon is not only excited to head to Florida for his first Senior PGA Professional Championship, but also to play a couple of rounds of golf with his daughter while he is there.


The top 35 finishers will be named to the Corebridge Financial PGA Team and advance into the field for the 2024 KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship to be held May 23 - 26 at Harbor Shores in Benton Harbor, Michigan. 



Good luck to our Members today as they begin competing in the Senior PGA Professional Championship. We are rooting for you and know that you will represent our Section well! If you would like to follow along, please go to www.go.pga.com/scoring.

Watkins Wins 55th M&P Group Texas State Open

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Watkins Ties 54-Hole Scoring Record, Leads Heading into Final Round of 55th M&P Group Texas State Open

By Steven Clements • July 31, 2025
Bullard Native Elliott in the Hunt

Watkins and Korte Share 36-Hole Lead at 55th M&P Group Texas State Open

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TYLER, Texas (July 30) – Matthew Watkins of Rockwall, TX, carded a second round low, 30-32–62, 8-under-par, to take the co-lead of the 55th M&P Group Texas State Open. He shares it with first round leader Chris Korte of Littleton, CO. Watkins rocketed to the top of the leaderboard at the end of his second round after an albatross on the par-5, 6th hole. He hit a 4-iron from 224 yards and holed it. “I hit a big slicing 4-iron in there, and it felt great,” said Watkins. He did not get a chance to watch his albatross go in. “I would have celebrated if I knew. I wish I would have seen it go in. I mean, I was just amazed.” Through two rounds, Watkins is 5-under-par on the 6th hole. He is looking for his first Texas State Open victory. He previously earned Low Amateur honors in 2021 and 2023. Tied with Watkins is Chris Korte, who followed his opening round 62 with a 34-30–64. He started the second round on the back-nine and birdied five of his first seven holes. A birdie on his tenth hole continued the scoring, but things slowed down with a streak of pars and a bogey on the 5th. 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. Josh Radcliff of Grapevine, TX, is two strokes behind Watkins and Korte at 12-under-par. He tied for the lowest score of round two with a 30-32–62. “It’s been a few years since I have played, but I love the state open. My in-laws live around here…it is always fun to come out to Tyler and play this event,” said Radcliff. One of many former Ewing Automotive NTPGA Junior Tour members in the field, including Watkins, Radcliff reflected on his junior golf career saying, “NTPGA is where I got my start in competitive golf playing the 9-hole events. I shot about 108 in my first 18-hole event with the NTPGA. I had a dream of playing professionally, and the NTPGA Junior Tour was a great place to start.” Watkins, Korte and Radcliff will tee off at 9:50 a.m. tomorrow in the final group. Blake Elliott of Bullard, TX, is once again in contention. His rounds of 66-67, 7-under-par, have him in a six way tie for ninth place. He will begin his third round at 9:30 a.m. Sulphur Springs native Trevor Norby also made the cut at 3-under-par. He will start at 8:10 a.m. tomorrow on the 10th hole. Cody Massa (a) of Cave Creek, AZ currently sits in first place on the Low Amateur leaderboard at 7-under-par. Massa, originally from Arlington, TX, attended Tyler Junior College from 2005 to 2007. Massa is no stranger to the Texas State Open competing in 2007, 2008, 2013, 2014 and 2016, with his highest finish coming at 7th place in 2016. Aside from the Texas State Open, Massa won the Arizona Mid-Am Championship in 2024 and 2025. Massa currently sits in first place on the Low Amateur leaderboard and tied for ninth place overall. Six amateurs made the cut. Brandon Bingaman, PGA assistant professional at Gleneagles Country Club in Plano, TX, finished the second round with a 34-33-67, 3-under-par. He is at 7-under-par for the Championship and leads the PGA Professional division into tomorrow’s third round. Bingaman credits his low rounds to his new, lighthearted take on his game. “I have been playing really well lately. These past couple of weeks I have really just been trying to have more fun with it, and I think that has reflected really well in the past few days,” said Bingaman. Five PGA of America Golf Professionals made the cut. Four from the Northern Texas Section and one from the Southern Texas Section. Kyle Pritchard leads the three past champions that survived the cut. He sits at 8-under-par. Mikel Martinson (a) and Shawn Stefani also advanced to the final two rounds. The 55th M&P Group Texas State Open is a 72-hole stroke play event with a field of 156 professionals and amateurs. The 36-hole cut was made to the low 55 players and ties. Sixty-one players made the cut at 1-under-par and are competing for a $201,000 Championship purse. The third round will begin at 8:00 a.m. and players will begin on the first and tenth holes and play in threesomes. 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 .

Korte Takes Early Two-Stroke Lead at 55th M&P Group Texas State Open

By Steven Clements • July 30, 2025
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