Walts Crowned Champion at Joyce Crane | Huntington Bank Section Championship
Little Secures Senior Division
LEWISVILLE, Texas (September 15) – Chase Walts, PGA assistant professional at Trinity Forest Golf Club, captured the Joyce Crane | Huntington Bank Section Championship. Walts’ first round 32-32–64, gave him a four-shot lead headed into the final round. A 39-33–72, even par in the final round was enough for Walts to close out the Championship and earn his first NTPGA Section Championship. It also earned Walts an exemption into the 2027 THE CJ CUP Byron Nelson.
Walts made nine birdies and just a lone bogey in his first round. “I’ve been striking the ball well for the last few months. I’ve just been waiting for the putts to drop,” said Walts. “Yesterday, it really lined up for me. I had a lot of luck on the greens, and had a couple go in that are a little outside the range where you expect them to.”
His final round began with two pars and a bogey before a bounce-back birdie on the par-5 fourth hole. A tough stretch led to three straight bogeys before Walts made the turn.
“I knew I was still hitting it well; I knew my game was still there. I got to hole 10, grabbed a new golf ball and just reset. What happened on the front, you can’t control when you get on to the back,” said Walts.
Walts steadied himself with a lengthy par putt on 10 and birdies on holes 11 and 12. After a stretch of pars, he suddenly found himself one-back of Kent Graham, PGA director of golf at Gleneagles Country Club, after Graham eagled the 18th hole.
“I love watching the leaderboard. I want to know what I have to do. Pressure is a privilege, and you have to earn it. It was nice to have that pressure feeling again,” said Walts.
Walts hit his tee shot on 17 into the fairway bunker, before hitting his approach to six feet. “I had 188 [yards], downwind. It was a perfect 7-iron that I hit right at the flagstick. It was probably the best shot I hit all week.” Walts knocked in the 6-footer and headed to the par-5 18th needing birdie to win.
“I was just trying to get the ball in play. I knocked one on the green and had a pretty simple two putt. I made it a little friskier than I needed to, but I got the job done,” said Walts.
Walts earned $9,300 along with his exemption into THE CJ CUP Byron Nelson. “I grew up watching that tournament. Actually, when I got into golf, the first professional event I went to was the Web.com Tour event [now Korn Ferry Tour] out here at Castle Hills. I took a picture on the top of that hill and it’s one of my first memories in golf. Being able to qualify for a PGA Tour event out here is really, really cool,” said Walts.
Brennan Little, PGA Member, claimed the Senior Division after rounds of 66-68–134, 10-under-par. This is his third NTPGA Section Major Championship victory and second Joyce Crane | Huntington Bank Section Championship in the last three years.
In round one, Little carded a 35-31–66 that had him in a tie for first with Rob Shields, PGA Member at The Winsford Group. Yesterday, Little made five birdies in his last seven holes and looked to keep the momentum going into the final round.
Today, Little made two pars and a bogey to start his final round, but from there he was back to his opening round form. Birdies on holes four, six, seven and eight saw him quickly open up a five-shot lead over the rest of the field.
“I hit a couple of decent shots early; I just couldn’t make anything. Then I had a few good holes there and got rolling. I was feeling much better and actually wanted to get a few more,” said Little.
Little added, “I know there’s a bunch of guys that could come back, and I know it's a cliché, but I just had to play my game. I didn’t have it quite as much today, but it seems like it worked out okay.”
Little is a full-time caddie for PGA TOUR player Gary Woodland, and when asked what lessons he has learned as a caddie that translate to his own game, he said, “The main thing is I see guys shooting eight, nine, ten under, and so there’s a level of comfort when you’re six under like I was yesterday. Mentality-wise, you have to keep hitting good shots, and at the end of the day it’s just a golf course. It doesn’t matter whether it’s a tournament or not.”
Little’s victory today earned him $4,600.
This 36-hole Northern Texas PGA major championship was the final of four individual stroke play events that comprise the Yamaha Golf-Car Company | Srixon / Cleveland Golf Player of the Year Points Challenge presented by Adventures In Golf and Good Good Golf. The field competed for a Championship purse of $112,500.
It was also the final opportunity for professionals to earn points to qualify for the Texas Joe Black Cup and Levy Cup teams. Teams will be announced in the coming weeks.
The Joyce Crane | Huntington Bank Section Championship was presented by BlueGolf, bogeys2Birdies, Ewing Automotive Group, GT Golf Supply, PGA TOUR, Kohler, Wisconsin, Strike Visuals, Super Mex Golf, THE CJ CUP Byron Nelson, and TITE Eyewear.
The Lakes at Castle Hills
Par: 36-36-72
Open Division Yardage: 7,069 yards
Senior Division Yardage: 6,514 yards
