The South Texas PGA announces 2013 Recipients of George Hannon Scholarships
Brandon Pederson
Brandon began golfing with his Grandfather when he was 4 years old. He started out playing with The First Tee of Austin when he was 8, and played for 3 years, where he earned Player of the Year twice. He then joined the STPGA, where he played and competed for 5 years, winning 15 tournaments, and earning Player of the Year twice. One of his biggest accomplishments to date was winning the AJGA Randy Smith Classic at Texas Tech in 2009. He also followed that win up with a 5th place finish at the AJGA Mayakoba Junior Golf Classic at El Camaleon Golf Club in Playa delCarmen, Mexico in 2009. After playing on the Varsity Golf Team at Lake Travis High School for 4 years, they won the State Championship his senior year. Brandon currently attends and plays golf for Concordia University and will be a junior this fall.
Dillon VanEssen
Dillon began playing golf when he was 10 years old at Live Oak Golf Course in Lakeway, Texas. From 2006-2009 he played in over 22 South Texas PGA tournaments. In 2009 he joined the TJGT, TLJT and AJGA tours playing competitive golf. Dillion played on the State Champion Lake Travis High School team in 2012 and 2013. He was named First Team All-State in 2012. Bill Moretti, Van Johns, Erik Henson and many other Lake Travis high school golfers inspired him. Dillion plans to continue his competitive golf career at St. Edwards University this fall.
James Jasso
James was introduced to golf at the City of Austin Junior Golf Academy at the age of ten. He continued playing golf at The First Tee of Greater Austin, and became a junior golf coach when he was 16. James says that the 9 Core Values taught at the First Tee have greatly influenced his life on and off the course, especially confidence and perseverance. During his years at James Bowie High School, James played in the marching band for two years, was on the Varsity Golf Team, JV Lacrosse Team and Ultimate Frisbee Team. At the end of his junior year James earned the rank of Eagle Scout and was elected to serve as Vice President on Bowie's Student Council. He is a National Honor Society member, a National Hispanic Scholar and is graduating in the top 15% of his class. James will be studying Mechanical Engineering at Texas A&M next school year, and will be playing club golf.
Kraig Zimmerhanzel
Kraig's love for the game was evident at a very early age. When he was 3 he started hitting shots along beside his father and was hitting off the tee not long after. He started competing in area junior tournaments at the age of 7 and at 10 became involved with the STPGA. For 8 years he competed in tournaments on all levels of the program from Little Linksters to the Prestige Tour. Kraig also played football, and baseball but golf was where his heart was. He played varsity golf all 4 years at Smithville High School and as a medalist is a District champion and four time Regional qualifier. The highlight of Kraig's high school golf career was winning the 2012 3A Texas State Golf Championship. He is excited to be furthering his golf career as a member of the Texas Lutheran University men's golf team and will be majoring in Accounting.
Leanne O'Donnell
Leanne is a Junior Art History and Writing double major, Arts Administration minor at Texas Christian University. Golf has always been an important part of her life; growing up the daughter of a golf pro, it was a way for her and her father to bond, and has provided her with many educational and personal growth opportunities for which Leanne is grateful. At TCU, Leanne is a member of the TCU triathlon team, is the Director of Student Programing for Student Activities community building organization, is a member of the Chancellor's Leadership Program, and serves on the Student Honors Cabinet, the student voice for the Honors College. Leanne hopes one day to work in arts industry either through museum career, or as an art appraiser for an auction house.
Michelle Hartenstein
Michelle just finished her junior year at Wake Forest University. She is majoring in Accountancy and minoring in Religion, and after she graduates next year she plans to return to Wake Forest for one more year to complete her Masters of Science in Accountancy. This past year Michelle served as co-captain of the golf team and is looking forward to her senior year. In addition to playing on the team, she also represents her team and Wake Forest on the Atlantic Coast Conference Student Athlete Advisory Committee. She is also involved with the Lutheran Campus Ministry, Accounting Society, and Volunteer Service Corps. This summer Michelle will be doing a finance internship in Atlanta and continuing to improve her golf game.
Shane Morris
Shane is a junior at Texas State right now with a selected major in the field of Biology and a minor in business management. He completed his basics at ACC and the George Hannon Scholarship paid for it completely. Shane still plays golf and has actually come up with a patented golf training aid. This fall semester he will be a continuing junior and has another year and a half to complete his degree plan. The thought of Texas State golf team this fall might be in mind.
Victoria Gomez
Victoria was introduced to golf by her father, who worked in the golf industry and taught her to play. It was their favorite father-daughter pastime. She started playing competitively in the seventh grade and by the time she was a freshman, she made the varsity team. Each year she enjoyed spending time with her teammates as they worked to improve their game. Senior year, she placed as the first medalist in District to advance to Regionals. Victoria will be heading to Texas A&M this fall to pursue a degree in Sports Management with a focus on golf. After college she hopes to work for a prestigious organization such as the PGA Tour, organizing and directing golf tournaments.
