Napier Claims the 54th M&P Group Texas State Open After a Playoff

Steven Clements • August 2, 2024

Tanner Napier of Paris, TX won the 54th M&P Group Texas State Open at Cascades Country Club on the first hole of a sudden-death playoff against Kyle Pritchard. Napier fired rounds of 62-63-66-68 to finish the Championship at 21-under-par.


Napier started the day with a two stroke lead over Frederick Wedel of the Woodlands and a five stroke lead over 2019 Champion Kyle Pritchard from Castroville. Napier made all pars until a birdie on the par-3, 9th hole. 


As he made the turn to the back nine, Pritchard began to go on a run in the group in front of him, just like he did the day prior. Pritchard birdied holes 11 through 16 and drained a 35-foot putt for eagle on the 18th to get to 21-under-par. His round of 63 was the lowest round of the day for the second day in a row. He also shot the lowest back nine score of the week today with an 8-under par, 27. 


Napier three putted the 17th hole for bogey and could not convert on the par-5, 18th for birdie to win in regulation. He and Pritchard would go back to the 18th tee for a sudden-death playoff. Napier found the fairway with a tee shot of 310 yards. He followed his drive with a 3-wood from 245 yards to the right side of the green and had about 50 feet for eagle. After his first putt he had a 3-footer remaining for the win after Pritchard left his 12 foot birdie putt on the lip.


“I had the thought of how many of these have I hit in my life. Thousands. So that’s how I treated it,” said Napier about his thoughts before hitting the three-foot putt. He went on to make the putt for a birdie and capture the 54th M&P Group Texas State Open title.


“I was lucky enough to get it done! You look at the names of past champions and it’s really cool to see those guys. It’s awesome to have my name there.”


Napier earned $40,000 for his victory and a lifetime past champion exemption into the Texas State Open.


The Championship features two additional divisions, Low PGA of America Golf Professional and Low Amateur. 


For the first time, Spencer Dillard, PGA assistant professional at Preston Trail Golf Club in Dallas, TX,  claimed the PGA Professional Division at 14-under-par after rounds of 66, 65, 66, 69. 


“My goal coming into the week was to have four rounds under par and luckily I was able to do that this week,” said Dillard. 


Speaking about representing the PGA Members Dillard said, “It was nice to have a top ten and show my talents against these guys. A lot of people don’t know that we’re good players.”


For his T8 finish Dillard will head back to Dallas with over $5,450 and an exemption into next year’s Championship.


Jack Burke (a) of Orange, TX, a rising senior at Texas State University secured Low Amatuer honors after a 12-under-par finish. He carded rounds of 65-69-66-68 and finished six strokes ahead of the next closest amateur.

Speaking about the week, and his first time playing the event, Burke (a) said, “It was fun…The greens out here are so perfect. “This week it was a gold mine to come out here and shoot four rounds under par.”


Burke (a) earned an invite back for next year’s Championship as well as $1,000 gift certificate for the golf shop at Cascades Country Club. Next year, he plans to turn professional and will be playing for the overall purse. 


The 54th M&P Group Texas State Open was a 72-hole stroke play event and consisted of 156 professionals and amateurs. The starting field was made up of exempt players as well as successful qualifiers. The 61 players who made the cut competed for the Championship purse of $201,000. 


This was M&P Group’s second year as the title sponsor and the Championship was presented by Joyce Crane and supported by Christus Trinity Mother Frances, Holiday Inn - Tyler Conference Center, Jucys Hamburgers and Patterson Tyler.


Cascades Country Club

Par: 35-35–70

Yardage: 6,882 yards


View Round Final Results HERE

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