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