Pritchard Leads After Round One of the 49th Tanos Exploration II / Patterson-UTI Drilling Texas State Open
Tyler, Texas - After Round One of the 49th Tanos Exploration II / Patterson-UTI Drilling Texas State Open, Kyle Pritchard of Castroville, TX sits atop the leaderboard firing an opening round of 63, 7-under par. Pritchard carded three birdies on the front nine and two eagles on the back. He will tee off of hole #10 tomorrow at 1:42 p.m. Eight players sit two strokes behind Pritchard at 5-under.
“The course sets up really well for me. Definitely need to draw the golf ball. I’m putting really well right now and the greens are rolling perfect. It’s tough to figure out the grain and undulations,” said Pritchard about his round today. “My goals for the week are to pretty much repeat last year. Left a few out there the last round and just want to put myself in that position again.”
Pritchard finished T7 in last year’s event. The 2018 finish earned him the exemption into this year’s Championship.
The Championship experienced a 90-minute weather delay when lightning was within 10 miles of The Cascades Club. Play was halted at 4:40 p.m. and resumed at 6:10 p.m. Round One was completed at 8:27 p.m.
Again in 2019, the Low PGA Club Professional will be recognized at the Tanos Exploration II / Patterson-UTI Drilling Texas State Open. Nineteen PGA professionals are in the field with Shane Pearce, PGA head professional at Hurricane Creek Country Club in Anna, Texas, leading. Pearce has a one stroke lead in this division at 4-under-par over Matt Lohmeyer, PGA teaching professional at GolfTec - Montgomery Plaza.
Low Amateur honors will also be awarded at the Texas State Open. Last year’s Low Amateur runner-up and current Texas State Amateur champion Ryan Grider (a) of Lewisville, Texas, presently leads the field of 30 amateurs competing and is sitting at T2. Grider carded a 5-under-par 65 today, while Collin Clark (a) of Midlothian, Texas, is a shot back. Notable amateur Tony Romo (a) finished his opening round at 1-under-par 69.
Curtis Reed, also of Castroville, Texas, made a hole-in-one today on hole #13. He hit a 6-iron from 191 yards for his ace.
The 72-hole stroke play event consists of 156 players comprised of 126 professionals and 30 amateurs. The field will play 36-holes before being cut to the low 55 scores and ties. All four rounds will be contested at The Cascades Club, a 6,882-yard, par 70 layout. For the Championship, hole #10 is being played as a par 4 rather than a par 5.
The purse for the Tanos Exploration II / Patterson-UTI Drilling Texas State Open is $200,000, one of the largest state open purses in the country. The champion will win $40,000.
Proceeds from the tournament will benefit the Northern Texas PGA Foundation’s scholarship program with the creation of the Tanos Exploration II / Patterson-UTI Drilling Texas State Open Scholarship. Lauren James from Judson, Texas, was awarded this scholarship. This year the NTPGA Foundation awarded $406,000 in scholarships to 50 high school seniors from North Texas. The Championship is sponsored by Tanos Exploration II and Patterson-UTI Drilling. It is presented by Joyce Crane and Veritex Bank and is supported by Cavender’s, Christus Trinity Mother Frances Health Systems, Energy Weldfab, Jucy's Hamburgers and Patterson Tyler.
Round Two will commence on Wednesday, July 31 at 7:30 a.m. After tomorrow’s round, a cut to the low 55 and ties will occur. Currently, 76 players are at even par or better. Starting times and groupings can be found at www.ntpga.com. Romo (a) will start on #1 at 1:24 p.m. tomorrow. Admission is free to all. Spectator parking is located at All Saints Episcopal School’s football field.
Please note: (a) denotes amateur, and amateurs will be awarded gift certificates.
First round results here.
