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.

Team of Murphy, Faulk Jr. Win Playoff to Capture 1st & 10th Tee Golf Energy Bar Pro-Junior 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.

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

By Logan Bearden • August 3, 2026
$268,000 Donated to Foundation

Watkins Goes Wire-to-Wire, Defends Title at the 56th M&P Group Texas State Open

By Erik Anderson • July 31, 2026
Doggett (a) and McIlwain (a) Share Low Amateur Honors Walts Finishes as Top PGA Professional

Watkins Maintains Lead, Field Closes Gap Heading into the Final Round of 56th M&P Group Texas State Open

By Erik Anderson • July 30, 2026
TYLER, Texas (July 30) – Matthew Watkins of Rockwall, TX, carded a third-round 35-35–70, even par, and maintains the 54-hole lead at the 56th M&P Group Texas State Open. After a 36-hole score of 61-61–122, Watkins sits at 18-under-par for the championship. “I just kind of hung in there on the front nine, shot even. Then, kind of had it going just a little bit on 10 through 12. It was just an up-and-down day overall,” said Watkins. Watkins held a 6-stroke lead heading into the third round, but the field has cut it to just four. “Definitely going to be a little different than going into today. Probably a lack of concentration problem today, but still hung in there well.” Last year, Watkins held the 54-hole lead and said he was battling some nerves. “I’m definitely more comfortable, but still have to have a good round tomorrow if I want to win. Four [shots] can happen in three holes,” Watkins added. Watkins will look to defend his title beginning at 9:50 tomorrow morning. There is a three-way tie for second at 14-under-par between Cameron Sisk of Scottsdale, AZ, Cooper Schultz of Wichita, KS, and John Sand of Irving, TX. Cameron Sisk is a former Arizona State University standout. He finished his career there as a three-time All-American, two top-ten finishes at the NCAA individual Championships and 14th in the PGA TOUR University rankings. Sisk found himself behind the pack early this week, but with a second round of 64 and a 32-33–65 in today’s third round, Sisk has climbed back into contention. On the 12 par 5s Sisk has played this week, he is 12-under-par and credited his play on those holes as the reason he is tied for second heading into tomorrow’s final round. “You really got to take care of the par 5s out here. There are a few tougher par 3s and par 4s out here, so as long as you birdie the gettable holes, you’ll be in good shape,” said Sisk. After his 63 yesterday, Cooper Schultz shot a bogey-free 33-33–66 to cut his eight-shot deficit in half today. Of the three players tied for second, Schultz will be the first one out tomorrow as he tees off right before the final group. “It’ll be nice, I won’t feel like I have to press or anything. I’m just going to try and take what the course gives me. If I end up shooting 9-under, then great, if I shoot 2-under, that’s fine too, but I’ll just stay within myself and play the game I know I can play,” said Schultz. John Sand fired a bogey-free, 32-32–64, good for the joint low round of the day. He finished strong with birdies on holes 14, 15 and 16. The week has been steady so far for Sand, with rounds of 66, 66, 64, he sits just four back of Watkins. Sand and Sisk will join Watkins at 9:50 a.m. tomorrow, while Schultz precedes them in the 9:40 a.m. grouping. Bret Gray, PGA Member, is in solo fifth after a round of 34-30–64 and is the Low PGA Professional in the championship. Gray graduated from Sam Houston State University’s golf management program last December. He holds a one-stroke lead over Chase Walts, PGA assistant professional at Trinity Forest Golf Club in Dallas, TX in the PGA Member Division. Gray said, “I’ve done a lot of preparation and practice for moments like this, so I’m excited to tee it up tomorrow.” Gray and Walts both tee off at 9:40 a.m. Blake Elliott of Bullard, TX, continues to climb the leaderboard after a third-round 31-34–65, 5-under-par that propelled him 18 spots up the championship leaderboard. His round moved him to 10-under-par and he currently sits tied for eleventh place. Elliott has been battling an injury this week, but continues to fight through it. “It is what it is at this point. My speed’s down right now and kind of flinching at it a couple of times here and there, but it is what it is.” Grant Doggett (a) of Beach City, TX, leads the Amateur Division at 6-under-par. His third round 33-36–69, 1-under-par has him tied for 32nd overall. Doggett (a) is the defending Low Amateur after finishing at 11-under-par and 12th place overall last year. Doggett (a) is a senior at the University of Houston and grew up playing golf on the Southern Texas PGA Junior Tour. He holds a one-stroke lead over the next closest amateur, Kaelen Dulany (a) of Keller, TX. The 56th 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. 66 players (59 professionals and 7 amateurs) made the cut at 2-under-par and are competing for a $203,850 Championship purse. The champion, if a professional, will take home $40,000. The only amateur to win the Texas State Open was Homero Blancas in 1960. The final round starts 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 fourth year as the title sponsor, and the Championship is presented by Joyce Crane and Higginbotham and supported by CHRISTUS Trinity Mother Frances, Holiday Inn - Tyler Conference Center and Patterson Tyler. The championship is being played at Cascades Country Club for a record 15th time. Cascades Country Club Par: 35-35–70 Yardage: 6,882 yards