The day started out cold, wet, and miserable at Tour 18 Houston on Friday - and it finished up cold, wet, and miserable. There was very little let-up in between, but still some players were able to maximize their potential to claim Houston Amateur Prelude trophies.

 

 

 

  

 

   

 

     In one of the more comfortable wins of the day, Jack Iglesias fired 89 to win Snead by seven shots. A six-time winner last season, Iglesias seems to be set to dominate again in 2019-20.

 

     

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

    

 

     Michael Fulghum pieced together four pars on Friday, but none were more important than the ones he made on the 16th and 18th holes. The Jones flight player notched his first Tour win with a 94 that featured those clutch pars on 16 and 18, cementing a four-shot triumph.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

     

 

 

The Sarazen flight was extremely tight, with only two strokes separating the top three finishers. A late birdie propelled Charles Ackerman to a third-place finish with 92, and Patrick Richardson racked up four pars on his way to 91. In the end however, it was John Scott who was able to avoid disaster at 18 and cash in the win, his first of the young season. 

 

 

 

 

 

     

 

In Sr. Hogan, things were just as tight, with only a two-stroke gap between the top three. Benny Silva fired 85 on the strength of a back-nine 40, which lifted him into second place after a scorecard playoff with Mike Hafner. The front nine, and eventually the trophy, was owned by Michael Clawson, who fired an outward 39 on his way to 84 and his first win of 2019-20.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

     

 

 

 

     Kyle Young played his final four holes in five over par on Friday in the Hogan flight - thankfully for Young he was seven clear at the time the freefall began, and picked up a two-stroke win for his troubles. Ken Johnson was rock-solid down the stretch to garner runner-up accolades with an 85.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

     After a wild start, Charlie Baumann settled in to a nice groove on Friday, parring eight consecutive holes at one stage. That stretch proved important, as a +6 run of six holes would follow. Two closing pars proved the difference in his 80, as Ernie Dyer earned 2nd in a scorecard playoff over John Harvell at 83. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

     

 

 

 

 

      The Championship flight was a two-horse race at the start - but Chad McGraw essentially ran alone after the 12th hole. Only one ahead at that stage, McGraw turned on the jets, finishing his final six holes in two under par to fire 73 and earn his second win of the season, this one by six shots.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Tour would like to thank Tour 18 Houston for their help in dealing with the challenging conditions, as well as all the participants who made the event possible!