Northern Texas PGA Celebrates Award Winners, Conducts 57th Annual Meeting

Molly Rawlins • February 3, 2025

FORT WORTH, TX –  The Northern Texas PGA held their annual Awards Banquet on Sunday, February 2, at River Crest Country Club.


The banquet celebrated the 2024 NTPGA award winners, which included Northern Texas PGA Golf Professional of the Year, the Section's highest award, won by Neil Lockie, PGA director of golf at Dallas National 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!

Nature's Symphony

Breathtaking colors of our planet
Button

Faces of Humanity

Portraits of people from around the globe
Button

Sands of Time

Stark beauty of desolate dunes
Button

Beyond Boundaries

Visual odyssey across continents
Button

On Monday, February 3, the NTPGA staff then conducted a Professional Development Seminar and the 57th Annual Business Meeting at Ridglea Country Club. 


The Professional Development Seminar featured keynote speaker Sonny Dykes, head football coach at Texas Christian University. Dykes spoke to the membership in attendance about leadership. “[Leadership] is incredibly diverse in how you define it and how you cultivate it. Leadership is different for all of us. You need to be able to empower those young people and build them up. [It] has to be practiced every day,” said Dykes.


Following the keynote presentation were three small group sessions conducted by Kevin Scott, chief technology officer at PGA of America and Kelly Williams, PGA, general manager at Greenbriar Golf & Country Club who discussed using AI to enhance your communication skills; Trent Newby, social media icon and former Greg Norman sales representative who discussed building your online brand; and a Q&A session with golf course architect Beau Welling.


After lunch, the 57th Annual Meeting consisted of the recognition of many professionals including the playing award winners honoring Spencer Dillard, Rob Shields and Katelyn Sepmoree. The 2025 Eva Williams A.C.E. Scholarship recipients Stephanie Moorberg and Dustin Nelson were 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.


NTPGA President, Cameron Doan, encouraged the membership to look for opportunities to serve PGA Members and grow the game.

Opportunities like: 

  • Meet new people and make new friends
  • Hang out with old friends
  • Play and compete
  • Learn and develop
  • Serve, volunteer and give back
  • Introduce kids to the game – in an environment that they love so much they beg to come back
  • Use golf as a social connection vehicle
  • Use golf as a therapeutic vehicle
  • Let the wider world know what golf can do for people


Finally, Jon Drago, PGA executive director of THE CJ CUP Byron Nelson, and Todd Harbour, PGA general manager at Royal Oaks Country Club, were elected by acclamation as At-Large Directors to the Northern Texas PGA Board of Directors. Drago, Harbour and Abe Hernandez, the newly elected Metro Chapter President, were sworn in. The current Northern Texas PGA Board of Directors can be found HERE.


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 2025. 

Hendley and Sudinsky Claim the 2025 KBS TOUR Shafts Pro-Assistant Championship

By Steven Clements • March 4, 2025
THE COLONY, Texas (March 3) – The team of Stuart Hendley, PGA director of instruction and PGA Associate Zach Sudinsky from Dallas Athletic Club won the 2025 KBS TOUR Shafts Pro-Assistant Championship by two strokes. The two carded a bogey free, 11-under-par, final score after shooting 64 on Old American Golf Club and a 32 on the back nine of Tribute Golf Links. They bested the team of Robby Bruns and Katrina Prendergast from Trinity Forest Golf Club and the team of Cameron Doan and Spencer Dillard from Preston Trail Golf Club, who finished at 9-under-par. The 27-hole, Four-Ball Stroke Play, championship was hosted at Golf Clubs at The Tribute for the fifth straight year. Teams played Old American Golf Club and the back nine of Tribute Golf Links. Dallas Athletic Club brought nine professionals to play in the championship this year so Hendley and Sudinsky were not paired together. “It was a blast! I was checking on his scores every other hole,” said Sudinsky. “It felt like playing your own ball and grinding out every hole.” Hendley said “It was fun, a nice way to start the year. It’s a tough format. A lot of holes early in the year.” This win was Sudinsky’s second in the last eight months. Last July he won the Golf Pro Payments Western Championship. “Winning is great, but you can’t take it for granted,” he said after today’s team victory. The pair earned $3,000 ($1,500 each) out of the record $30,000 total championship purse. The KBS TOUR Shafts Pro-Assistant Championship was presented by ahead, Club Car, Evolve Golf, Landmark Golf Course Products, Tagmarshal, THE CJ CUP Byron Nelson, Winston Collection. View the final results HERE . Old American Golf Club Par: 35-36–71 Yardage: 6,784 Tribute Golf Links (Back nine) Par: 36 Yardage: 3,420​​

Northern Texas PGA and Lajitas Golf Resort Expand Partnership to include NTPGA Women’s Section Championship

By Steven Clements • February 25, 2025
Duel in the Desert to Continue Through 2027

Ewing Automotive NTPGA Junior Tour to PGA Professional: Spencer Dillard’s Journey to Success

By Sarah Jordan • February 11, 2025
Spencer Dillard’s rise from a young golfer to a devoted PGA of America Golf Professional is a story of passion and purpose. His love for the game began when he was gifted a Tiger Wood’s golf video game as a kid. Spencer, who is now an Assistant Golf Professional at Preston Trail Golf Club, reflects on a journey shaped by the Ewing Automotive NTPGA Junior Tour. Spencer’s golfing journey began at the age of seven when his parents enrolled him in a small golf camp in McKinney, Texas. A year later, he discovered the Ewing Automotive NTPGA Junior Tour and started competing in tournaments. These early experiences helped him develop both his skills and excitement for the game. Spencer’s first experience on the junior tour was memorable. “I think I shot 72 for my very first [Prep Tour] event,” Dillard shares. “By the end of that year, I shot a 46. I was so happy to go from shooting a 72 for nine holes to [shooting] in the 40s.” 

Northern Texas PGA Receives 2025 Herb Graffis Award

By Sarah Jordan • January 22, 2025
Today, our Section was selected as the 2025 Herb Graffis Award recipient! The award is given annually to one of the 41 PGA of America Sections for tireless dedication to growing the game of golf and furthering player-development programming in the community. Thank you to all of our PGA of America Golf Professionals who are involved in so many of our Foundation programs, helping us to impact lives in the communities we serve in North Texas!  Led by President Cameron Doan, PGA, and Executive Director Kelly Gilley, PGA, the Section is backed by a membership of more than 1,000 PGA of America Golf Professionals who are employed at more than 300 facilities. The Section’s mission is to promote the enjoyment and involvement in the game of golf and to contribute to its growth by providing services to golf professionals and the golf industry. The NTPGA’s success is fueled by the Northern Texas PGA Foundation, a 501 (c)(3) tax-exempt organization dedicated to promoting and growing the game of golf among diverse groups of kids in North Texas, and instilling in them the positive, character-developing traits for which the game is known. Annually, approximately 10,000 children and their families are impacted through the Foundation’s full circle of programs and services. Today, based on the three key pillars of the PGA of America REACH Foundation—Youth, Military, Diverse populations—as well as pillars for college scholarships, internships and inclusion, the Foundation reaches a greater audience to promote and grow the game. The centerpiece of the Foundation’s golf programming is the Ronny Golf Park, a first-of-its-kind facility that features a two-acre, lighted golf park made entirely of fully synthetic turf. It can be enjoyed rain or shine, day or night. It is designed with junior golfers in mind, and led by the Section’s PGA-led staff, who offer a variety of programs for children ages 3-14. The Section will be formally recognized again later this year when the PGA of America hosts its Annual Meeting at PGA Frisco in November. Congratulations to all of the 2025 PGA of America award recipients! A full list can be found HERE .
More Posts
Share by: