Jordan Sanders Wins Austin Men’s City Championship

Steve Hammond (l) presented Jordan Sanders with winning trophy

Jordan Sanders started the final round of the 2016 Austin Men’s City Championship with a six shot lead.  He posted one under 71 in the final round to win by five shots over the defending champion Jay Reynolds, who shot 70 on Sunday.  The winning total of 281 was 16 under par.  That is an average of four under per day over four different golf courses.  Pretty good shooting there partner……the coach at the University of North Texas should be pleased about that performance.

Jay Reynolds (r) with Mid Am Trophy 2016 Men’s City

Jay Reynolds won the mid-amateur division by two shots over Patrick Datz.  Reynold was 11 under par for the tournament and Datz was nine under.  Reynolds leads the Austin amateur golf rankings by a substantial margin and this performance will further solidify his standing. Reynolds is well known in local golfing circles but Patrick Datz is a relatively new to the Austin golf scene.

Patrick Datz

Datz plays at Spanish Oaks and is in the insurance business.  He played collegiate golf at the University of Minnesota and then played professional golf for a year on the mini-tour circuit.  He was the assistant golf coach at Iowa State for three years before moving to Austin and getting into the insurance business.  He has been in Austin about three years.  He played in the Hannon Cup Matches last year and will play in city events as his schedule allows.  Players who were paired with him say he is very long off the tee and has a solid game in general.

Zach Slayton

Zachary Slaton won the Junior division.  He was one of three juniors to make the cut.  Zach shot 76 in the final round and beat both Forrest Miller and Lucas Garza by a single shot for the championship.  His four day total was 304.  Forrest Miller, who plays at Austin High and almost won the Firecracker earlier this year, played well for three rounds but posted a high score at Grey Rock that hindered his effort to win the junior division.

Gene Black – 2016 Men’s City Low Senior

In the senior division, Gene Black won by a single shot over Chris Hartenstein.  Both players were tied headed into the final round with four over par totals for three rounds.  They both played well but Black’s one under 71 was one shot better than Hartenstein’s final round of even par.

There was drama throughout their round and it was a bit of an up and down situation.  Holes 9 and 10 where the turning point in deciding the eventual outcome. Black narrowly escaped disaster after his tee shot on nine almost went out of bounds and came to rest on a root.  He chipped out then hit an approach to three feet and made par.  He turned in 34, one ahead of Hartenstein who birdied nine to pull within one shot of Black.

Gene Black (l) and Chris Hartenstein.

On the tenth hole Hartenstein hit what looked like a good drive but it crept into the water at the edge of the slight dogleg.  He went on to make a double bogey while Black made a birdie for a three shot swing.

Hartenstein played one under par from there in but fell short by one shot.  Both players enjoyed the competition, as is evident from the photo.  They commented that it was fun to play well and be in contention coming down the stretch.

Jonathan Alden had the low round of the day with 67 to finish at six under for the tournament.   Hudson Ross shot 68 and was close to posting a really low round. He had it seven under par after seven holes but faltered coming in with a double bogey on 16.  He is showing a lot of promise and his grandfather Nick Morris was present to watch his fine play.

Tim Wilson was present on Sunday.  Tim played for UT and won the Firecracker twice.  In 1976 while Lions was being remodeled, he defeated Mike Allen in a playoff at Jimmy Clay, where the Firecracker was held that year.  Tim has been facing some physical challenges and his wife Cathy brought him out to be around old friends.  It was great to see Tim and we all wish the best to him and his family.

Congratulations to all the city staff who ran the tournament.  The pace of play was good in all four rounds with average times of about four hours and twenty minutes.  The courses were in good condition and well marked.  Thanks to all the rules officials and volunteers that helped with the scoring.

Top golf was on hand for part of the tournament and provided some giveaways for a promotional event.   They are hosting a regional tournament on August 28th that is a qualifier for a National event and are inviting local players to participate.  Check it out at this link.

Final scores are below.

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