Registration Now Open for Energy Producers, Inc. Texas Women's Open at Rolling Hills Country Club, LPGA Tour Exemption Once Again to be Offered
NTPGA • June 6, 2017
DALLAS, Texas –
The Northern Texas PGA is pleased to announce that the Volunteers of America Texas Shootout and the Energy Producers, Inc. Texas Women’s Open at Rolling Hills Country Club have continued a partnership that will involve an exemption into the 2018 Volunteers of America Texas Shootout to the 2017 Energy Producers, Inc. Texas Women’s Open at Rolling Hills Country Club champion.
The 2017 Energy Producers, Inc. Texas Women’s Open at Rolling Hills Country Club is scheduled for July 12-14 at Rolling Hills Country Club in Arlington, Texas. Entry forms and online registration are now available. The entry deadline for all contestants is Thursday, July 6 at 5:00 p.m. CDT. All entries must be received by the Northern Texas PGA via online registration, mail, facsimile, overnight carrier or in person by this time. Contestants do not have to be residents of Texas to play.
The 54-hole stroke play event with a cut to the low 50 scores and ties after 36-holes will be limited to the first 144 professional and amateur contestants over the age of 17. Professionals and amateurs will be competing for a projected overall purse of $27,500 (based on a full field).
The field will include the following exempt players should they choose to participate: Past champions, top 10 professionals and ties from the 2016 Texas Women’s Open, top 5 amateurs and ties from the 2016 Texas Women’s Open, LPGA Tour Members, Symetra Tour Members with Priority A or Priority C status, 10 exemptions from Junior Tour qualifying and 2 sponsor exemptions.
Unless otherwise exempt, amateurs who are 17 years of age or younger (as of July 12, 2017) shall gain access to the 2017 Texas Women’s Open via qualifying tournaments. Information on those events can be found at www.ntpga.com.
Entry fees for the event are as follows: Amateurs - $265; LPGA Members and PGA Members and Apprentices - $315; Other Professionals - $365.
Presenting sponsors of the 2017 Energy Producers, Inc. Texas Women’s Open at Rolling Hills Country Club include, Antigua-Slazenger, Arlington Convention and Visitor Bureau, El Gabacho Tex-Mex Grill and the University of Texas at Arlington.
For further information about the Energy Producers, Inc. Texas Women’s Open at Rolling Hills Country Club, or to register, please contact the Northern Texas PGA at (214) 420-7421 or visit the NTPGA website at www.ntpga.com.
About the Texas Women's Open
The Women's Texas Open was played from 1935 - 1955. Over the span of two decades, the event was held 17 times - 13 years at River Crest Country Club and four years at Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth. The event was conducted by the Fort Worth Women's Golf Association, supervised by River Crest's longtime professional A.G. Mitchell, and was last played in 1955. Some of the game's greatest names captured the event including Babe Zaharias who won the title five times, Aniela Goldthwaite, a three-time winner, and Betsy Rawls, Beverly Hanson, Polly Riley, and Betty Jameson who each captured the title twice. The event was revived in 2001 by the Northern Texas PGA to promote the game to female golfers throughout the region and the name was changed to the Texas Women's Open.
About Energy Producers, Inc.
Energy Producers, Inc. is an exploration, exploitation and development company comprised of six (6) industry and financial professionals with over 175 years of experience in finding and delivering hydro-carbons to the market. Energy Producers, Inc. has both domestic and international experience. In the last 10 years, Energy Producers, Inc. has concentrated its work in the following fields: Barnet (North Texas), Bakin (North Dakota), Permian Basin (Texas), Eagleford (South Texas), and Eastern Oklahoma. Energy Producers, Inc. has participated in drilling and completing horizontal wells and straight holes in all of the above fields. Energy Producers, Inc. has done all of the following: Title work, lease acquisition, site work, contracting rigs, well planning, drilling and completing, and infrastructure (surface equipment, pipelines). Energy Producers, Inc. is the parent company of EPI Oil & Gas, Inc. which specializes in loss circulation prevention products and services. Energy Producers, Inc. is also the parent company of EPI Operating, Inc. that focuses on oil field services, drilling and operating wells with over 100 years of experience.
About Rolling Hills Country Club
In 1954, local golfing families in the area got together and decided to form a country club. After acquiring the necessary land, the club was able to begin construction on the first nine holes in early 1955. By 1962 the course had been enlarged to 18 holes. In May 2001, the club moved into a 17,000 square foot facility encompassing a golf shop, restaurant and banquet room, locker rooms and private member areas. Today, Rolling Hills boasts of some of the best greens and fairways in the Metroplex with a renovation completed by Colligan Golf Design in 2014. For more information on Rolling Hills Country Club: (817) 274-1072, http://www.rolling-hills.net.
$268,000 Donated to Foundation
Doggett (a) and McIlwain (a) Share Low Amateur Honors Walts Finishes as Top PGA Professional
TYLER, Texas (July 30) – Matthew Watkins of Rockwall, TX, carded a third-round 35-35–70, even par, and maintains the 54-hole lead at the 56th M&P Group Texas State Open. After a 36-hole score of 61-61–122, Watkins sits at 18-under-par for the championship. “I just kind of hung in there on the front nine, shot even. Then, kind of had it going just a little bit on 10 through 12. It was just an up-and-down day overall,” said Watkins. Watkins held a 6-stroke lead heading into the third round, but the field has cut it to just four. “Definitely going to be a little different than going into today. Probably a lack of concentration problem today, but still hung in there well.” Last year, Watkins held the 54-hole lead and said he was battling some nerves. “I’m definitely more comfortable, but still have to have a good round tomorrow if I want to win. Four [shots] can happen in three holes,” Watkins added. Watkins will look to defend his title beginning at 9:50 tomorrow morning. There is a three-way tie for second at 14-under-par between Cameron Sisk of Scottsdale, AZ, Cooper Schultz of Wichita, KS, and John Sand of Irving, TX. Cameron Sisk is a former Arizona State University standout. He finished his career there as a three-time All-American, two top-ten finishes at the NCAA individual Championships and 14th in the PGA TOUR University rankings. Sisk found himself behind the pack early this week, but with a second round of 64 and a 32-33–65 in today’s third round, Sisk has climbed back into contention. On the 12 par 5s Sisk has played this week, he is 12-under-par and credited his play on those holes as the reason he is tied for second heading into tomorrow’s final round. “You really got to take care of the par 5s out here. There are a few tougher par 3s and par 4s out here, so as long as you birdie the gettable holes, you’ll be in good shape,” said Sisk. After his 63 yesterday, Cooper Schultz shot a bogey-free 33-33–66 to cut his eight-shot deficit in half today. Of the three players tied for second, Schultz will be the first one out tomorrow as he tees off right before the final group. “It’ll be nice, I won’t feel like I have to press or anything. I’m just going to try and take what the course gives me. If I end up shooting 9-under, then great, if I shoot 2-under, that’s fine too, but I’ll just stay within myself and play the game I know I can play,” said Schultz. John Sand fired a bogey-free, 32-32–64, good for the joint low round of the day. He finished strong with birdies on holes 14, 15 and 16. The week has been steady so far for Sand, with rounds of 66, 66, 64, he sits just four back of Watkins. Sand and Sisk will join Watkins at 9:50 a.m. tomorrow, while Schultz precedes them in the 9:40 a.m. grouping. Bret Gray, PGA Member, is in solo fifth after a round of 34-30–64 and is the Low PGA Professional in the championship. Gray graduated from Sam Houston State University’s golf management program last December. He holds a one-stroke lead over Chase Walts, PGA assistant professional at Trinity Forest Golf Club in Dallas, TX in the PGA Member Division. Gray said, “I’ve done a lot of preparation and practice for moments like this, so I’m excited to tee it up tomorrow.” Gray and Walts both tee off at 9:40 a.m. Blake Elliott of Bullard, TX, continues to climb the leaderboard after a third-round 31-34–65, 5-under-par that propelled him 18 spots up the championship leaderboard. His round moved him to 10-under-par and he currently sits tied for eleventh place. Elliott has been battling an injury this week, but continues to fight through it. “It is what it is at this point. My speed’s down right now and kind of flinching at it a couple of times here and there, but it is what it is.” Grant Doggett (a) of Beach City, TX, leads the Amateur Division at 6-under-par. His third round 33-36–69, 1-under-par has him tied for 32nd overall. Doggett (a) is the defending Low Amateur after finishing at 11-under-par and 12th place overall last year. Doggett (a) is a senior at the University of Houston and grew up playing golf on the Southern Texas PGA Junior Tour. He holds a one-stroke lead over the next closest amateur, Kaelen Dulany (a) of Keller, TX. The 56th M&P Group Texas State Open is a 72-hole stroke play event with a field of 156 professionals and amateurs. The 36-hole cut was made to the low 55 players and ties. 66 players (59 professionals and 7 amateurs) made the cut at 2-under-par and are competing for a $203,850 Championship purse. The champion, if a professional, will take home $40,000. The only amateur to win the Texas State Open was Homero Blancas in 1960. The final round starts at 8:00 a.m., and players will begin on the first and tenth holes and play in threesomes. This is the M&P Group’s fourth year as the title sponsor, and the Championship is presented by Joyce Crane and Higginbotham and supported by CHRISTUS Trinity Mother Frances, Holiday Inn - Tyler Conference Center and Patterson Tyler. The championship is being played at Cascades Country Club for a record 15th time. Cascades Country Club Par: 35-35–70 Yardage: 6,882 yards
TYLER, Texas (July 29) – Defending Champion Matthew Watkins of Rockwall, TX, fired a bogey-free second round 31-30–61, 9-under-par, to take a six-stroke lead at the 56th M&P Group Texas State Open. Back-to-back 61s for a 36-hole total of 18-under-par, 122, breaks the 36-hole M&P Group Texas State Open scoring record previously held by Tanner Napier after his 15-under-par, 125, in 2024. Watkins started on hole 10 and made four pars to begin his round. He closed his opening nine with five straight birdies to shoot 30. “The first three holes I didn’t really hit my best shots, but I got those up-and-down, and that was big,” he said. Watkins made the turn and continued his fantastic round with four birdies in his final six holes. “I’m just playing really solid. That’s all I really got. It’s hard to imagine,” Watkins said about his pair of 61s. “Back-to-back 61s is really good, but we're only halfway there.” Out of the eight par-5s that Watkins has faced this week, he has birdied seven of them. “My grandpa will let me know [about it] when I make a par on a par-five. I made par on that second-to-last hole, so I’m sure I’ll hear about it,” Watkins joked. Watkins is a former Ewing Automotive NTPGA Junior Tour member. After starting his junior golf career playing the NTPGA’s team golf on the Buffalo Creek Aces, he played on every level of the junior tour. “It was a lot of fun; that’s where I met my caddie, and we’ve been friends ever since. I loved it a lot,” said Watkins about his time on the team. In solo second place is Eli Ortego of Lafayette, LA. After a first round 32-34–66, Ortego carded an eight-under-par, 32-30–62. Today, Ortego teed off on hole 10 and came out firing. “I got off to a good start. I hit a pitching wedge to probably 10 feet and made the putt. Then, I actually chipped in on 12, so pretty quick start. I was lucky enough to birdie some par-5s coming in, and kept it going on the back nine,” said Ortego. Ortego said he checked the leaderboard after he finished, and it is “kinda crazy” that he’s six strokes back. “I just got to keep the pedal down and keep making birdies.” A two-way tie for third includes former champion Kyle Pritchard of Castroville, TX, and Cooper Schultz of Wichita, KS, both at 10-under-par. Schultz was the only player out of the four to tee off in the morning wave. He was the leader in the clubhouse after a round of 31-32–63. “It was a pretty good day. There were definitely a lot of putts I could have made, but yeah, solid day,” he commented. Pritchard was the champion of the 2019 Texas State Open and has made ten straight cuts. “There were definitely some nerves,” Pritchard said, talking about trying to make the cut this week. Pritchard played with Watkins the past two days and said his round today felt like one or two under despite his 31-34–65. “He couldn’t do anything wrong; I’d hit close, and he’d hit it closer. It was frustrating, but fun to watch.” Watkins, Ortego and Schultz tee it up at 9:50 a.m. tomorrow. Pritchard goes off right before them at 9:40 a.m. Grant Doggett (a) of Beach City, TX, currently sits in first place on the Amateur leaderboard and tied for 25th place overall at 5-under-par. Doggett (a) is the defending low amateur after finishing at 11-under-par and 12th place overall last year. “I love coming up here and playing this event; the golf course is always great.” Doggett (a) will start his senior year on the University of Houston golf team this fall. Chase Walts, PGA assistant professional at Trinity Forest Golf Club in Dallas, TX, and Bret Gray, PGA Member, lead all other PGA Members for the honors of low PGA Professional. Both sit at 7-under-par and tied for ninth overall. Walts will tee off at 9:20 a.m. and Gray at 8:50 a.m. Seven PGA of America Golf Professionals made the cut. Five from the Northern Texas Section and two from the Southern Texas Section. The 56th M&P Group Texas State Open is a 72-hole stroke play event with a field of 156 professionals and amateurs. The 36-hole cut was made to the low 55 players and ties. 66 players (59 professionals and 7 amateurs) made the cut at 2-under-par and are competing for a $203,850 Championship purse. The champion, if a professional, will take home $40,000. The only amateur to win the Texas State Open was Homero Blancas in 1960. The third round will begin at 8:00 a.m., and players will begin on the first and tenth holes and play in threesomes. This is the M&P Group’s fourth year as the title sponsor, and the Championship is presented by Joyce Crane and Higginbotham and supported by CHRISTUS Trinity Mother Frances, Holiday Inn - Tyler Conference Center and Patterson Tyler. The championship is being played at Cascades Country Club for a record 15th time. Cascades Country Club Par: 35-35–70 Yardage: 6,882 yards