Greater Houston City Amateur Championship News
Randy Lance Wins 2024 Greater Houston Senior City Amateur Golf Championship
By Richard Dean
Randy Lance rolled in a 7-foot birdie putt on the first playoff hole to win the 2024 Greater Houston Senior City Amateur Golf Championship.
After 54 holes of stroke play, Lance was tied with Jeff Bellnap at 4 over at Gus Wortham Golf Course. The two played the No. 1 hole to determine a winner of the three-day tournament, conducted by the Houston Golf Association.
After Bellnap’s longer birdie attempt was not converted, Lance followed by sinking his putt for the victory.
Lance (Spring) carded rounds of 73-72-72.
Bellnap, head boys golf coach at Kingwood High School, posted scores of 70-76-71. Of the three rounds, first-round leader Bellnap had low score on each of the first day and third day.
Jed Shreve (The Woodlands) just missed the playoff by one shot at 5 over, finishing third.
Andrew Whitacre (The Woodlands) and Jeff Kramer (Spring) shared fourth at 6 over.
At the turn on Sunday’s final round, Kramer and Lance shared the lead at 3 over. Just a shot behind the co-leaders going into the final nine holes were Bellnap, David Leiss (Houston) and Daniel Howard (Cypress).
Defending champion Mike Booker withdrew with an illness during Friday’s first round.
Scott Smith, the 2024 Super Senior City Amateur Champion, Plus Round Two of the Senior City Championship Recap
By Richard Dean
Scott Smith played the final two holes better than Terry Childs. That was the difference between Smith winning the tournament and Childs sharing third place.
Smith eagled the par-5 No. 17 hole on Saturday at Gus Wortham Golf Course. Childs parred the next to last hole, but his undoing was a triple-bogey 7 on the finishing hole.
The turn of events made a winner of Smith (Montgomery) in the Super Senior flight of the 2024 Greater Houston Senior City Amateur Golf Championship.
Smith turned in a 1-under-par 141 scorecard to beat runner-up Jerry Hyder (League City) by one shot. The first-round leader following play on Friday, Smith carded rounds of 68-73 in the two-day, 36-hole tournament for ages 65 and over in the Houston city am, run by the Houston Golf Association.
Hyder compiled rounds of 72-70 for even par. Two-time defending champion Steven Moran (Houston) tied with Childs at third at 1 over. Childs (Spring) got off to a great start, making birdie on each of the first three holes, but No. 18 did him in.
Smith, 65, plays out of Woodforest Golf Club.
In the senior division, ages 50 and up, Jeff Kramer’s low round of the day propelled him into a share of the lead with Jed Shreve going into Sunday’s final round.
Kramer (Spring) carded a 1-under-70 on Saturday for a 36-hole total 2 over. Kramer’s scorecard included four birdies, three bogeys. Shreve (The Woodlands) had a blistering start, birdieing holes 1-3.
Alone in third is Randy Lance (Spring) at 3 over following a 1 over second round.
A trio of players share fourth place at 4 over – David Leiss (Houston), Daniel Howard (Cypress) and first-round leader Jeff Bellnap (Kingwood), who began the tournament on Friday with a 71.
Gary Durbin (Houston), Andrew Whitacre (The Woodlands) and David Hurst (Houston) occupy seventh position at 5 over.
Bob Kearney (Houston), who recorded six birdies on Friday to lead the field, managed only one in the second round. Kearney is at 8 over, tied for 12th.
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First Round Recap of the Greater Houston Senior City Amateur Golf Championship
By Richard Dean
Jeff Bellnap of Kingwood was the only golfer to break par during Friday’s first round of the Greater Houston Senior City Amateur Golf Championship at Gus Wortham Golf Course, the annual tournament conducted by the Houston Golf Association.
Bellnap’s 1-under-par 70 gives him a slight one-shot lead over Jody Clark (Highlands) and David Hurst (Houston) heading into Saturday’s second round.
An illness sidelined Mike Booker, the defending champion of this event. Booker, a member of the Texas Golf Hall of Fame, withdrew during the round.
Alone in fourth at 1 over is Daniel Howard (Cypress).
Some of the biggest names in the Houston area among amateur golfers share fifth place. Gary Durbin (Houston) and Bob Kearney (Houston) headline a group of three others (Rance Lance, Spring; Jed Shreve, The Woodlands; Ron Byrd, The Woodlands), who carded a 2 over score.
Kearney recorded six birdies to lead the field in that statistic.
Aside from a stretch of three straight bogeys in the middle of the front nine, Bellnap played well, racking up five birdies. A member of the Sam Houston State Letterman’s Association Hall of Fame, Bellnap is golf coach at Kingwood High School.
The three-day, 54-hole tournament concludes on Sunday with 18 holes.
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Russell Chabaud Lays Claim as the Best Amateur Golfer in the Region, Named 2024 Greater Houston City Amateur Champion
A birdie machine over four rounds, Russell Chabaud ,outplayed all the other golfers at Gus Wortham Golf Course in laying claim as the best amateur golfer in the Houston area. He has the winner’s trophy to show for it.
Behind a tournament-best 23 birdies, Chabaud won the 2024 Greater Houston City Amateur Golf Championship by a comfortable 4 shots over Garrett Driver, who in the past three years at this tournament has finished second, first and second respectively.
Enjoying a substantial 5-shot lead going into the final round, Chabaud did not need to shoot lights out over the final 18 holes. He had built up a big enough cushion that shooting an even-par 70 for the final round was sufficient.
Chabaud’s winning score was 10 under over 72 holes. Sunday’s final day was two rounds and 36 holes of competition. For The Woodlands resident, who plays out of Conroe Country Club, it was his first time winning the city amateur after a handful of top-10 finishes.
“To battle through and get it done, it’s a huge accomplishment,” said Chabaud, whose scorecard read 69-64-67-70. “It’s a really good field with a lot of good players, good high school players.”
Driver (Humble) shot rounds of 70-70-67-67. Nickolas Martinez (Cypress) was third at 5 under following a final-round 67. Young Gabriel Garson-Goroway (Missouri City), placed fourth at 3 under. First-round leader Jayk Altic (Houston), another youngster, who contended in the early rounds, finished fifth at even par following a final-round 5 over.
Garson-Goroway, who recorded two eagles and 18 birdies for the tournament, and Altic, who is committed to play golf at University of Houston, are both 17-years-old. Luke An, a 12-year-old from Houston, also qualified for the tournament. He finished with a respectable 18 over for a share of 34th.
Chabaud followed an opening 69 with a second round 6-under 64 to take a 4-shot lead at 7 under and set the pace. He went into the final round with a 6-shot advantage over second-place Garson-Goroway.
As well as he played, Chabaud gives Driver, 35, some credit for the victory. The two are good friends and Driver has played exceptionally well on this golf course. A summer conversation between the two included advice from Driver explaining that to score well at Gus Wortham, a golfer needs to leave their approach shots below the hole.
“Sometimes 25 feet below the hole is better than 5 feet above it,” Chabaud, 38, said.
One of the top amateur golfers in the Houston area, Chabaud teamed with partner A.J. Ferries to win the prestigious 2023 Champions Cup at Champions Golf Club.
It was a fun weekend for Chabaud and the family at the Houston city amateur. His 18-year-old son Preston pulled in a 12th place showing.
Over the three-day, four-round tournament, conducted by the Houston Golf Association, the winning Chabaud controlled the golf ball and benefitted from his prowess on the greens.
“It's a great test, it’s fun, you can hit every club in your bag,” Chabaud said. “I love the course.”
Gus Wortham is not a long layout, playing less than 6,400 yards. But it has teeth.
Par was set at 70 for play in the city amateur. For recreational golfers, par is 71. For the tournament, there are a handful of holes that are 450-plus yards for par 4s. A couple par 3s play to 200-plus yards. The par 5s are not difficult, but there are only three, so golfers need to take advantage. Hitting well-place shots with irons and wedges is a premium to score well.
“Because if you get out of position, it’s not only hard, it’s hard to make pars,” Chabaud said. “You’re definitely not going to make birdies.”
Chabaud positioned himself well enough to make the 23 birdies and lead the tournament over the final three rounds.
Driver (Humble) has absolutely tore up the course in the past three years. In winning last year’s city amateur by 6 shots, he shot 16 under. In 2022, Driver shot 12 under, six shots behind winner Alex Papayoanou.
“For some reason, it sets up well for me,” said Driver, who plays out of Eagle Pointe Golf Club. “This week I didn’t hit the ball great for the most part until (final day).”
In the first two rounds, Driver tried to stay in the tournament by playing par golf. His 53 pars were five more than anyone else in the field. Once he regained his driving and short game touch on the final day, Driver began to post good numbers. His focus was staying below the hole, setting up uphill putts on the fast greens.
“It’s not real long and it is fairly wide open, but you have to hit your irons and wedges well to play well,” Driver said. “You can’t just hit the ball somewhere on the green and make the putts, you have to hit the correct spots on the putting surface.”
Chabaud, who does landscaping for a living, loves what the HGA has done with Gus Wortham Golf Course. The HGA operates the facility through a contract with the City of Houston.
“The HGA has absolutely killed it with this piece of property and I enjoy it every time I am here,” Chabaud said.
A high school golf coach at Atascocita High School, Driver also is a fan of Gus Wortham. His game likes it as well. Driver collected an eagle and 11 birdies in the tournament.
“The greens were perfect,” Driver said. “I don’t know what they were rolling, but they were fast. They rolled true. The course is in great shape.”
Only four golfers managed to shoot under par. Martinez posted an eagle, and his 20 birdies were second only to Chabaud. Garson-Goroway carded two eagles and 18 birdies.
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Second Round of the Greater Houston City Amateur Championship
By Richard Dean
For the second straight day Russell Chabaud shot under par. And on Saturday, he really went low.
Chabaud followed an opening 69 with a second round 6-under 64 to take a 4-shot lead at 7 under at the Greater Houston City Amateur Golf Championship. For the second straight day, Chabaud (Conroe Country Club) secured six birdies over Gus Wortham Golf Course. He played the back nine in 4 under.
First-round leader Jayk Altic (Westwood Golf Club) did not play as well as he did on the first day, but Altic sits in second place heading into Sunday’s final 36 holes.
Altic was 1 over and is at 3 under for the tournament, conducted by the Houston Golf Association. On Friday, Altic carded a 4 under.
Tobey Wills (Pecan Grove Plantation Country Club) and Nickolas Martinez (Pine Forest Country Club) made moves on Saturday to share third place at 1 under. Martinez’s 4 under was the second-lowest round of the day behind only Chabaud. Wills posted a 3 under round.
Defending champion Garrett Driver (Eagle Pointe Golf Club) is within striking distance. Driver is even par after 36 holes. He shares fifth with Kolby Stork (Eagle Pointe), who shot 2-under-68 in the second round.
Ten golfers just made the cut at 9 over. Forty golfers advance for Sunday’s final day of play.
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First Round of the Greater Houston City Amateur Championship
By Richard Dean
Jayk Altic and Justin Skorheim avoided big numbers on Friday. That is what it takes to contend. Clay Fullick was not as fortunate, despite his scorecard reading an eagle and six birdies.
A triple-bogey 6 on his 14th hole proved costly for Fullick and opened the door for the 17-year-old Altic to take the first-round lead of the Greater Houston City Amateur Golf Championship. Altic (Westwood Golf Club) finished the first of four rounds over three days at 4 under, one shot ahead of Skorheim.
Altic posted six birdies and two bogeys in the prestigious tournament conducted by the Houston Golf Association.
Playing out of Northgate Country Club, Skorheim was the early leader, finishing 3 under at Gus Wortham Golf Course. But that was before Fullick’s surge to get to 4 under, followed by his 6 on No. 5 and bogey on No. 7.
Fullick, who plays out of Conroe Country Club, had an up-and-down front nine as well, carding only two pars. The 45-year-old’s front nine was highlighted by an eagle-2 on the 12th hole. Over the first nine holes he also scored three birdies and three bogeys.
Sharing third place after the opening round with Fullick at 1 under are Eric Heinle (The Woodlands Country Club), Tino Flores (Black Horse Golf Club), Weldon Martin (Houston Country Club), Michael Pimentel (Hermann Park Golf Course) and Russell Chabaud (Conroe Country Club).
Chabaud tied for the most birdies (six birdies), but he slumped with double bogeys on holes 2 and 6. Cory Berg (Houston) also converted six birdies. Berg is in a tie for ninth at even par with four others, including defending champion Garrett Driver.
Golfers played in pleasant conditions under a clear sky with temperatures in the high 80s and a 5-mph wind. Round 2 is on Saturday. The tournament concludes with 36 holes on Sunday.
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