Trinity Forest Golf Club to Host Veritex Bank Texas State Open in 2017

NTPGA • December 14, 2016

DALLAS, Texas – The Northern Texas PGA is pleased to announce that Trinity Forest Golf Club in Dallas will host the 2017 Veritex Bank Texas State Open. The championship will be played August 1-4.

Located 10 minutes south of Downtown Dallas, Trinity Forest Golf Club is an 18-hole, links-style course designed by former PGA TOUR player, and three-time Veritex Bank Texas State Open champion, Ben Crenshaw and renowned golf course designer Bill Coore. Find photos of the course here.

The change of venue was facilitated after discussions between the Northern Texas PGA and Trinity Forest Golf Club. The move is also very positive for the Veritex Bank Texas State Open. It is great incentive for players from across the country to attempt to qualify to play one of the best new courses in the United States that will soon play host to a PGA TOUR event.

The AT&T Byron Nelson will move from its longtime home of Four Seasons Resort and Club Dallas at Las Colinas in Irving after the 2017 tournament. Trinity Forest Golf Club will host the tournament beginning in 2018.

“We saw the move of the AT&T Byron Nelson to Trinity Forest Golf Club as a unique opportunity to enhance our existing partnership with the Salesmanship Club of Dallas, while at the same time creating a relationship with Trinity Forest Golf Club by hosting the Veritex Bank Texas State Open the year before the Byron Nelson will move to the course,” said Mark Harrison, Executive Director and CEO of the Northern Texas PGA.

“We have a very strong relationship with the Northern Texas PGA. Given the opportunity to conduct a professional event of the size and stature of the Texas State Open the year prior to the AT&T Byron Nelson moving to Trinity Forest Golf Club made a lot of sense,” said Jon Drago, Tournament Director of the AT&T Byron Nelson.

Drago continued, “We’ve gained valuable knowledge every year that we hosted the tournament at the Four Seasons. The Texas State Open will essentially provide a dry run for many areas that will apply to our tournament. During the conduct of the Texas State Open, we’ll look at things like the walking patterns of the players, where they drive the ball for positioning of spectator crossings, corporate hospitality and television towers and the like. Not to mention we may have the PGA TOUR rules staff on-site to evaluate potential tee and hole locations that will likely be used during the AT&T Byron Nelson. We’ll evaluate the scoring averages for each hole and monitor the pace of play and any potential challenges with certain holes. There are so many positives for this partnership with the Northern Texas PGA, and we are excited for the opportunity.”

"It is an honor for all of us at Trinity Forest Golf Club to be hosting the 2017 Veritex Bank Texas State Open. We are excited and committed to providing an amazing venue for a great sponsor and a tournament already rich in history. Ben and Bill have built a course that is unlike anything in the state of Texas and I know the players that participate next summer will love it," said Harrison Frazar, Tournament Director at Trinity Forest Golf Club.

The Veritex Bank Texas State Open has crowned many past and future stars over its 46-year history. Three-time Texas State Open champions include: Ben Crenshaw (’75, ’79 and ’80), Jeff Maggert (’88, ’90 and ’94) and Kelly Grunewald (’02, ’05 and ’06). Lee Trevino leads the list of those with two Texas State Open victories. The Veritex Bank Texas State Open is open to all professionals and those amateurs with a handicap index of 5.0 or less and will feature a record projected purse of $200,000. Qualifying for the championship will be conducted in June and July of 2017. More information about the 2017 Veritex Bank Texas State Open will be available at www.ntpga.comearly next year.


About Trinity Forest Golf Club
Trinity Forest Golf Club was created explicitly to attract prestigious golf championships back to Dallas. Designed by Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw, the championship course at Trinity Forest Golf Club adheres to their design philosophy that traditional, strategic golf is the most rewarding. Built in the Great Trinity Forest and surrounded on its edges by thousands of majestic hard-wood trees, the classic links-style course artistically meanders through an open meadow of rolling, rumpled sand recalling the wind swept land of Great Britain or the Northeastern US. Trinity Forest is the future home of the AT&T Byron Nelson Championship, and the home course for SMU’s golf teams.

About the Northern Texas PGA
The Northern Texas PGA is one of 41 Sections that comprise the PGA of America and has a professional membership of over 850. The geographic territory includes the state of Texas north of the 31st latitude, or just north of Austin. The Dallas based office has a staff of 14 full-time employees with an additional 60 part-time staff. The Section is a not for profit organization governed by an elected board of directors, who are PGA golf professionals. The operational focus of the Section is to provide services to golf professionals and the golf industry, while stimulating interest and promoting the game. For more information, visit www.ntpga.com.

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

Lohmeyer Earns Player of the Year Honors

By Molly Rawlins • December 17, 2025
Paez, McCorkle, Shields also honored with Playing Awards