Pritchard Victorious at 49th Tanos Exploration II / Patterson-UTI Drilling Texas State Open 

Taylor Coffelt • August 3, 2019

Kyle Pritchard of Castroville, TX, captured the 49th Tanos Exploration II / Patterson-UTI Drilling Texas State Open by playing spectacular golf all week with rounds of 63, 67, 61 and a final round of 68. He finished the Championship two strokes ahead of the competition at 21-under par 259 for 72-holes. The four-day total matches past Champion and PGA TOUR Member, Shawn Stefani’s Championship total when he won at The Cascades Club in 2011.

Pritchard held a six shot lead heading into today’s final round. However, the lead quickly evaporated after he played the first seven holes three over par, and standing on the 8th tee, he found himself tied for the lead with Bullard’s Blake Elliott. Until today, Pritchard had only made two bogeys, both in the second round. But, he managed five birdies on the back nine, including four in the last five holes. He put an exclamation mark on the win when he sank a three-foot birdie for the victory on the 18th hole. The 2-under par round was enough to secure the Championship and a check for $41,000. Pritchard, a club professional at Alsatian Golf Club in Castroville, also earned a lifetime exemption into the Texas State Open.

“I teed off with a 6-shot lead today and still didn't believe that I could do it. It never hit me until that last putt on the last hole. Just to have my kids there and to know that their dad could do it, that's all that it means to me. It's perfect,” said Pritchard on the victory. “This win means a lot. It's been a long road.”

Once the putt on #18 dropped, he was swarmed on the green by his three sons, wife Synthia and family.

Colin Kober (a) of Southlake, TX, earned the Low Amateur honors and finished tied for fifth place shooting 67-67-64-67—265, 15-under-par, for the Championship. Kober is a rising senior at Baylor University, and was one of eight amateurs to make the cut. He bested Baylor teammate Ryan Grider (a) by three strokes to claim the honors.

“It's a really cool honor to be the low-am, especially since I was battling it out with one of my teammates this week, Ryan Grider, and I was actually staying in the same hotel room as him,” said Kober. “So we were just having fun with it. We both want to be professional golfers, so we both came here to compete and try to win the overall [Championship], and that was kind of the goal.”

In impressive fashion, Matt Lohmeyer, PGA teaching professional at GolfTEC – Montgomery Plaza, had the lowest round of the day shooting a 9-under 61 to top defending champion and last year’s Low PGA Professional Ben Kern, PGA head professional at Georgetown Country Club, by one stroke for Low PGA Professional honors. Lohmeyer overcame a 6-stroke gap that Kern created yesterday when he carded the same 61 in the third round. This is Lohmeyer’s first time receiving this award, ending Kern’s two-year run.

“Today went well. After seeing Ben Kern's round yesterday of 9-under I knew to get the low club pro I had to shoot something pretty special, probably the same score that he did, and hope that he didn't shoot another 9-under round,” said Lohmeyer. “I had 9 birdies, the hole looked very big today putting, and there was just something about today. I had a crazy focus and it was my career-best round by 3 shots, so that was pretty cool. This is pretty special to win. That's been a goal of mine to at least get the Low PGA Professional. At some point I'd also win the tournament as well.”

The 72-hole stroke play event began with 156 contestants. Following 36-holes, the field was cut to the low 55 scores and ties. 71 players survived the cut, which was at even par 140. 63 professionals and 8 amateurs played the final two rounds. All four rounds were contested at The Cascades Club, a 6,882-yard, par 70 layout located in Tyler. For the Championship, hole #10 is being played as a 490 yard, par 4 rather than a par 5. The total purse was a record $208,560.

Proceeds from the tournament benefitted 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 over $406,000 in scholarships to 50 high school seniors from North Texas. The Championship was sponsored by Tanos Exploration II and Patterson-UTI Drilling. It was presented by Joyce Crane and Veritex Bank and was supported by Cavender’s, Christus Trinity Mother Frances Health Systems, Energy Weldfab, Jucy's Hamburgers and Patterson Tyler.

Please note: (a) denotes amateur, and amateurs were awarded gift certificates.

Final Round results here.

Norman and Massa (a) go Back-to-Back at the Srixon / Cleveland Golf Pro-Scratch Championship

By Erik Anderson • March 25, 2026
Brown and Gibralter (a) claim Senior Division

Bruns And Walts Win 2026 KBS TOUR Shafts Pro-Assistant Championship After Two Hole Playoff

By Erik Anderson • March 3, 2026
THE COLONY, Texas (March 2) – The team of Robert Bruns, PGA Head Professional at Trinity Forest Golf Club, along with partner Chase Walts, PGM Student at Methodist University who currently works as an assistant at Trinity Forest Golf Club won the 2026 KBS TOUR Shafts Pro-Assistant Championship after a two hole playoff. The two carded a bogey-free, 12-under-par, final score after shooting 64 on Old American Golf Club and a 31 on the back nine of Tribute Golf Links. They bested the team of Spencer Dillard and Alastair Jones from Preston Trail Golf Club. The 27-hole, Four-Ball Stroke Play Championship was hosted at Golf Clubs at The Tribute for the sixth straight year. Teams played Old American Golf Club and the back nine of Tribute Golf Links. Bruns and Walts both had looks inside 10 feet on the second playoff hole, though it was Bruns who poured in the winning putt. “I knew he had it in the bag, so I think that made it much easier for me to just be free and let it go,” said Bruns. Walts recently became an assistant professional at Trinity Forest, and said, “Robert is such a huge mentor to me and my career already. I hope to learn from everything he knows and that goes for golf as well.” “It makes it much easier when you’re in the mix coming down the fairway and you have a great relationship with each other. At the end of the day you’re just having fun,” Bruns said after their victory. This is the first win for both Bruns and Walts in Section Major Championships. The pair earned $3,200 ($1,600 each) out of the record $32,000 total championship purse. The KBS TOUR Shafts Pro-Assistant Championship was presented by Callaway Golf, Club Car, Evolve Golf, Landmark Golf Course Products, Range Servant, THE CJ CUP Byron Nelson, and Winston Collection. View the final results HERE . Old American Golf Club Par: 35-36–71 Yardage: 6,770 Tribute Golf Links (Back nine) Par: 36 Yardage: 3,368

Northern Texas PGA Celebrates Award Winners, Conducts 58th Annual Meeting, Elects 32nd President of Section

By Molly Rawlins • February 23, 2026
Dallas, TX – (February 23, 2026) The Northern Texas PGA held their President’s Dinner on Sunday, February 22, at Royal Oaks Country Club. The dinner celebrated the 2025 NTPGA award winners, which included Northern Texas PGA Golf Professional of the Year, the Section's highest award, won by Cameron Doan, PGA director of golf at Preston Trail Golf Club. This is the highest honor given annually to a Northern Texas PGA Member, and is awarded for qualities of leadership, strong moral character and a substantial record of service to the NTPGA as well as the game of golf. The complete list of award winners can be found HERE . Congratulations to all. On Monday, February 23, the NTPGA staff then conducted a Professional Development Seminar and the 58th Annual Business Meeting at Dallas Country Club. During the Professional Development Seminar, the PGA of America golf professionals learned new communication skills from Tim Novak, increased their rules knowledge with Jon Drago, PGA, and David Price, PGA, and learned leadership lessons from a group of golf's top PGA golf professionals, including Cary Cozby, PGA, Bill Eschenbrenner, PGA, Bob Ford, PGA, and our very own Cameron Doan, PGA, and Ronny Glanton, PGA. After lunch, the 58th Annual Meeting consisted of the recognition of many professionals including the playing award winners honoring Matt Lohmeyer, Todd McCorkle, Rob Shields and Kim Paez. The 2026 Eva Williams A.C.E. Scholarship recipient, Sean Kim was also recognized. The meeting included comments from the Northern Texas PGA Past Presidents, current officers as well as from Executive Director, Kelly Gilley, PGA and CEO Mark Harrison. New Officers to the Northern Texas PGA Board of Directors were elected by acclamation. They include Ira Molayo as President, Jeremy Langdale as Vice President and Eric Hunt as Secretary. Two At-Large Directors were also elected by acclamation, Trish Holt and Neil Lockie. All were sworn in alongside East Texas Chapter President Tim Lawson and West Texas Chapter President Adam Headley. The current Northern Texas PGA Board of Directors can be found HERE . Before the meeting adjourned, the newly elected President, Ira Molayo, the PGA General Manager at Cedar Crest Golf Course in Dallas, addressed the membership. He stated that it is an honor to serve as the 32nd President of the Northern Texas PGA, using the word ‘serve’ intentionally because this position, like every role in our profession, is not about title. It is about stewardship. He then gave four notes about his commitment in these next two years – to represent all Members, across facilities, across classifications, across backgrounds, to listen carefully, to communicate clearly, and to support the staff and volunteers who carry this Section forward every day. He finished his comments by saying, “I do not intend to reinvent what is already strong. I intend to build on it.” Thank you to all of the PGA of America Golf Professionals in our Section who attended these special and important events over the past few days. Our Board and our staff look forward to a successful 2026.

Good Good Golf Announces Multi-Year Title Sponsor Partnership with the Northern Texas PGA

By Erik Anderson • February 17, 2026
The brand will sponsor competitive junior events, serve as the official apparel provider to staff, and provide exclusive merchandise, prizes, and more at events as part of their effort to encourage and develop the next generation of golfers