Pearce Leads After Round One of the Joyce Crane / Veritex Bank Section Championship

Taylor Coffelt • September 9, 2019

AMARILLO, TX – Shane Pearce, PGA head professional at Hurricane Creek Country Club, sits atop the leaderboard after Round One of the 2019 Joyce Crane / Veritex Bank Section Championship. He fired an impressive opening round of 5-under-par 66 in blustery conditions, carding six birdies and one bogey, to lead the field heading into tomorrow’s final round.

Sitting two shots back at 3-under 68 are three competitors including last month’s NTPGA Professional Champion Matt Lohmeyer, PGA teaching professional at GolfTEC - Montgomery Plaza, Todd Balkin, PGA assistant professional at Royal Oaks Country Club, and Troy Denton, PGA director of instruction at Maridoe Golf Club.

The Joyce Crane / Veritex Bank Section Championship is the fourth and final individual stroke play major championship of the 2019 season to earn points towards the Yamaha Golf-Car Company & Srixon / Cleveland Golf / XXIO Player of the Year Points Challenge presented by Adventures In Golf & Green Garden Gold. The Eastern Championship, Western Championship, NTPGA Professional Championship and Section Championship all serve as qualifiers for the year-end Yamaha Golf-Car Company & Srixon / Cleveland Golf / XXIO Match Play Championship. The Player of the Year Points Challenge also serves as qualifying for the 2019 NTPGA Texas Joe Black Cup and Levy Cup teams.

The Joyce Crane / Veritex Bank Section Championship also includes a Senior Division that is comprised of 23 professionals aged 50 and older who are competing for a separate $14,200 purse and are playing from a modified yardage. The Senior Division champion will take home $2,250. Brian Mahon, PGA teaching professional at Hank Haney at Vista Ridge, and Stuart Hendley, PGA director of instruction at Dallas Athletic Club, currently share the lead of the Senior Division at 1-under-par 70.

The Joyce Crane / Veritex Bank Section Championship, presented by AT&T Byron Nelson, Ewing Automotive Group, GT Golf Supplies, PGA TOUR, Sterling Cut Glass, and Technogym, is being conducted at Amarillo Country Club, a 6,937-yard, par 71 course located in Amarillo, Texas. The overall purse for the event is a record $52,500. The Open Division field consists of 62 PGA professionals from the Northern Texas Section of the PGA of America competing for an Open Division purse of $38,300. The champion will take home an estimated $4,800 and the prestigious title of Northern Texas PGA Section Champion. Along with the trophy and prize money, the champion also earns an exemption into the PGA TOUR’s 2020 AT&T Byron Nelson set for next May.

Round One results.

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