Zalatoris wins rain-shortened Trans-Miss at Southern Hills
TULSA, Okla.–Will Zalatoris has won golf tournaments a lot of different ways, but never like this.
The 17-year-old from Plano, Texas, on Thursday won the 111th Trans-Mississippi Championship presented by TaylorMade-Adidas without swinging a club on the final day. Severe thunderstorms wiped out the last two rounds of the prestigious annual event after tournament organizers made multiple attempts to get the 68 players who made the cut back on the golf course at Southern Hills Country Club. Zalatoris won with a two-day total of 5-under-par 135.
"It’s mixed emotions, because I rather would have played golf today," said Zalatoris, who in June also won the revered Texas Amateur Championship at Brook Hollow Golf Club in Dallas. "I wanted to play for two reasons. One, I’m 17 and I wanted the experience of playing under pressure. One day I hope to play professional golf and this is part of that process. And two, I absolutely love this golf course. I’m biased, but Southern Hills is seriously one of the best courses I’ve ever played. Everything is right in front of you; nothing is tricked up. And it is hard. I mean, this is a really hard golf course, and I love it."
Alex Franklin, a senior at Oregon State, finished in second place. He said at the beginning of the week his goal was to make the cut. He did much better than that, registering the only bogey-free round of the championship with a 3-under 67 in the first round. Franklin, who hails from San Rafael, Calif., added a 1-under 69 in the second round to post 4-under 136 for the weather-shortened championship.
"It’s bittersweet for me," Franklin said. "Obviously you want a chance to win that trophy, and this course is so awesome that I wanted to keep playing it. Getting the chance to play Southern Hills in championship condition was a special treat, and I’m grateful for the opportunity. But it’s definitely still a ‘win’ for me. I didn’t have very good form coming into this week, so I’m very happy with how I played. There are a ton of positives to take away."
Matt Gilchrest from Southlake, Texas, took third place at 2-under 138 with a pair of 1-under 69s. Jonathan Sanders from Chatsworth, Calif., Kyle Weldon from Des Peres, Mo., and Brian Campbell from Irvine, Calif., rounded out the top-five. They all tied for fourth place at 1-under 139.
The day began with a five-and-half-hour delay after early morning thunderstorms brought dangerous lightning strikes near the golf course. After Tournament Director Dave Prinz canceled the fourth round and attempted to shorten the Trans-Miss to 54 holes, play re-started at 1 p.m.
It didn’t last long, however.
Twenty-eight minutes later more serious weather blew in, bringing more lightning. By 3 p.m. Prinz again tried to re-start play, but another round of lightning forced his hand.
"Today was a little bit of a challenge," said Prinz, also the Director of Operations for the Trans-Miss Golf Association. "We knew there would be thunderstorms today, but we tried to give it a shot. Ultimately Mother Nature won out."
So did Zalatoris. Headed to Wake Forest this fall on the Arnold Palmer Scholarship, it wasn’t lost on Zalatoris that fellow Texan Kelly Kraft in 2011 won the Texas Amateur and Trans-Miss Championship before going on to win the U.S. Amateur. With the victory at Southern Hills, Zalatoris has two legs of the major amateur trifecta under his belt.
"I would love to follow in those footsteps, obviously," he said. "I have my U.S. Amateur Qualifier coming up, so I’m hopeful that it can happen."
Regardless of his U.S. Amateur outcome, Zalatoris qualified for another big tournament with his Trans-Miss Championship. He’ll receive a sponsor’s exemption into the 2015 Air Capital Classic on the Web.com Tour. The TMGA on Wednesday announced the new agreement with the PGA Tour’s developmental circuit, and Zalatoris said he can’t wait to tee it up in Wichita, Kan., next spring for the Air Capital Classic.
Though they weren’t playing in the same group during the second round, Zalatoris and Franklin were tied for the lead several times. Zalatoris moved ahead for good with a birdie on his 10th hole, then willed in eight straight pars to post his 2-under 68.
"On the scorecard it may have looked like I cruised in, but I definitely didn’t," he said. "I only hit three greens on my final eight holes. I had to make some seriously difficult par saves. I’m really proud of the way I played this week."
Throughout the storied 111-year history of the Trans-Miss Championship, only a handful of players have successfully defended their titles. One of those was 18-time major championship winner Jack Nicklaus, who won the Trans-Miss in 1959 and ’60. Zalatoris has a chance to do the same next July at Flint Hills National Golf Club in Andover, Kan.
"I’ll definitely be back for this next year," Zalatoris said. "This is a very well-run championship with a great reputation. I’m proud to have won it."
111th Trans-Mississippi Championship
Southern Hills Country Club – Southern Hills
Tulsa, Oklahoma
7/10/2014
1 Will Zalatoris, Plano, Texas – 67-68–135
2 Alex Franklin, San Rafael, Calif. – 67-69–136
3 Matt Gilchrest, Southlake, Texas – 69-69–138
T4 Jonathan Sanders, Chatsworth, Calif. – 69-70–139
T4 Kyle Weldon, Des Peres, Mo. – 71-68–139
T4 Brian Campbell, Irvine, Calif. – 72-67–139
7 Taylor Moore, Edmond, Okla. – 70-70–140
T8 Michael Gellerman, Sterling, Kan. – 67-74–141
T8 Aj McInerney, Henderson, Nev. – 69-72–141
T8 Taylor Funk, Ponte Vedra, Fla. – 69-72–141
T8 Max Mcgreevy, Edmond, Okla. – 70-71–141
T8 Curtis Reed, Castroville, Texas – 71-70–141
T8 Cameron Harrell, Colorado Springs, Colo. – 72-69–141
T8 Brendon Jelley, Tulsa, Okla. – 72-69–141
T15 Benjamin Baxter, Flower Mound, Texas – 69-73–142
T15 Carl Jonson, Bainbridge Island, Wash. – 69-73–142
T15 Walker Huddy, Studio City, Calif. – 69-73–142
T15 Matt Mabrey, Little Rock, Ark. – 72-70–142
T15 Chelso Barrett, Surry, N.H. – 74-68–142
T15 Justin Keiley, Provo , Utah – 74-68–142
T21 Lorens Chan, Honolulu, Hawaii – 69-74–143
T21 Stratton Nolen, Austin, Texas – 70-73–143
T21 Scottie Scheffler, Dallas, Texas – 71-72–143
T21 Ryan Grider, Lewisville, Texas – 71-72–143
T21 Daniel Hudson, Western Springs, Ill. – 73-70–143
T21 Kade McBride, Queensland, Australia – 73-70–143
T21 Cheng Jin, Singapore, China – 76-67–143
T28 Austin Smotherman, Loomis, Calif. – 69-75–144
T28 Clancy Waugh, North Palm Beach, Fla. – 72-72–144
T28 Colby Harwell, Robinson, Texas – 72-72–144
T28 Anthony Marchesani, Oklahoma City, Okla. – 72-72–144
T28 Bryson Dechambeau, Clovis, Calif. – 73-71–144
T28 Matt Van Zandt, Houston, Texas – 73-71–144
T28 Will Griffin, Lufkin, Texas – 73-71–144
T28 Ian Vandersee, West Des Moines, Iowa – 75-69–144
T36 Matthew Perrine, Austin, Texas – 69-76–145
T36 Grady Brame Jr, Hammond, La. – 70-75–145
T36 Kolton Crawford, Mansfield, Texas – 71-74–145
T36 Xander Schauffele, San Diego, Calif. – 71-74–145
T36 Jeff Swegle, West Des Moines, Iowa – 72-73–145
T36 Aaron Cockerill, Manitoba, Canada – 76-69–145
T42 Beau Titsworth, Wexford, Pa. – 71-75–146
T42 Luke Vivolo, Carmel, Calif. – 71-75–146
T42 Gregory Yates, Mansfield, Texas – 73-73–146
T42 Kyle Pilgrim, Colleyville, Texas – 73-73–146
T42 Christian Cichan, Charlotte, N.C. – 74-72–146
T42 Sam Daley, Ames, Iowa – 74-72–146
T42 Cameron Jones, Auckland, New Zealan – 74-72–146
T42 Aaron Hickman, Tyler, Texas – 74-72–146
T42 Vincent Martino, Southlake , Texas – 75-71–146
T42 Miguel Delgado, Novato, Calif. – 77-69–146
T52 Andrew Buchanan, Los Altos Hills, Calif. – 70-77–147
T52 Sam Stevens, Wichita, Kan. – 71-76–147
T52 Kevin Schultz, Tulsa, Okla. – 72-75–147
T52 David Fink, Kailua, Hawaii – 72-75–147
T52 Jeremy Sanders, Chatsworth, Calif. – 73-74–147
T52 Josh Swanson, Bee Cave, Texas – 74-73–147
T52 Andrew Wyatt, Midland, Texas – 74-73–147
T52 Tayler Termeer, Austin, Texas – 74-73–147
T52 Chad Merzbacher, Eden Prairie, Minn. – 74-73–147
T52 Stuart Smallwood, Paris, Texas – 74-73–147
T52 Gavin Green, Petaling Jaya, Malaysia – 75-72–147
T52 Dylan Meyer, Evansville, Ind. – 75-72–147
T52 Alec Heinen, Edmond, Okla. – 75-72–147
T52 Andrew Lister, Katy, Texas – 76-71–147
T52 Anthony Maccaglia, Tampa, Fla. – 77-70–147
T52 Myles Lewis, New Orleans, La. – 77-70–147
T68 Cy Moritz, Owensville, Mo. – 73-75–148
—— Did Not Make Cut ——
T68 Zach Wright, Phoenix, Ariz. – 74-74–148
T68 Sam Humphreys, Edmond, Okla. – 74-74–148
T68 Logan McCracken, Oklahoma City, Okla. – 75-73–148
T68 Wesley McClain, Diboll, Texas – 75-73–148
T68 Ryan Han, Hollister, Calif. – 76-72–148
T74 Sam Saunders, Albuquerque, N.M. – 70-79–149
T74 Sarosh Adi, Frisco, Texas – 70-79–149
T74 Grant Houser, Holly Springs, N.C. – 71-78–149
T74 Landon Lyons, Baton Rouge, La. – 73-76–149
T74 Bryon Shumate, Fort Smith, Ark. – 73-76–149
T74 Eric Ricard, Shreveport, La. – 73-76–149
T74 Joseph Abella, Plano, Texas – 73-76–149
T74 Hudson Carpenter, Stillwater, Minn. – 76-73–149
T74 Patrick Grimes, Palo Alto, Calif. – 77-72–149
T74 Rylee Reinertson, Gibbon, Neb. – 77-72–149
T84 Gene Elliott, West Des Moines, Iowa – 73-77–150
T84 Tyler Thomas, San Marcos, Texas – 73-77–150
T84 Hayden Wood, Edmond, Okla. – 74-76–150
T84 Santiago Gavino, Austin, Texas – 74-76–150
T84 Connor Black, Humble, Texas – 76-74–150
T84 Zach Cabra, McKinney, Texas – 76-74–150
T84 Chase Hanna, Leawood, Kan. – 76-74–150
T84 David Lee, Houston, Texas – 76-74–150
T92 Shotaro Ban, San Jose, Calif. – 73-78–151
T92 Connor Peck, Ankeny, Iowa – 73-78–151
T92 Paul Smith, Turlock, Calif. – 74-77–151
T92 Kenneth Fadke, Hobbs, N.M. – 76-75–151
T92 Sean Walsh, Keller, Texas – 76-75–151
T92 Nick Heinen, Edmond, Okla. – 76-75–151
T92 Kevin Dehuff, Coto De Caza, Calif. – 76-75–151
T92 Eric Hallberg, Parker, Colo. – 77-74–151
T92 Colton Staggs, Tulsa, Okla. – 77-74–151
T92 Andrew Presley, Fort Worth, Texas – 78-73–151
T92 Scott Verplank, Edmond, Okla. – 78-73–151
T103 Sam Johnston, Edmond, Okla. – 73-79–152
T103 Tyler Klava, Pace , Fla. – 76-76–152
T103 Hayden Beard, Mt Maunganui, New Zealan – 76-76–152
T103 Brian Jung, Corvallis, Ore. – 76-76–152
T103 Calvin Pearson, Wichita, Kan. – 77-75–152
T103 John Sawin, San Francisco, Calif. – 77-75–152
T103 Tyson Reeder, Edmond, Okla. – 77-75–152
T103 Griffin Pierce, Edmond, Okla. – 78-74–152
T103 Conrad Walcher, Oklahoma City, Okla. – 78-74–152
T112 Frederick Wedel, Roseville, Calif. – 74-79–153
T112 Andrew Morgan, Long Beach, Calif. – 74-79–153
T112 Jack Watson, Lincolnshire, Ill. – 75-78–153
T112 Michael McGowan, Southern Pines, N.C. – 78-75–153
T112 Jacob Bishop, Edmond, Okla. – 78-75–153
T112 Dominic Kieffer, Byron, Minn. – 80-73–153
T118 Andrew Cornella, Colorado Springs, Colo. – 76-78–154
T118 Brax McCarthy, Fort Worth, Texas – 76-78–154
T118 Chris Karlovich, Broken Arrow, Okla. – 77-77–154
T121 Austin Eoff, Benton, Ark. – 75-80–155
T121 Luke Toomey, Melville, New Zealan – 79-76–155
T121 John McClure, Austin, Texas – 80-75–155
T121 Jack Smith, Knoxville, Tenn. – 80-75–155
T125 Grant Bennett, Lewisville, Texas – 74-82–156
T125 Andy Johnson, Tulsa, Okla. – 77-79–156
T125 Drew Kirby, Baton Rouge, La. – 78-78–156
T125 Jim Liu, Smithtown, N.Y. – 79-77–156
T125 Peter Krsnich, Wichita, Kan. – 79-77–156
T130 Preston Fleenor, Mission Hills, Kan. – 75-82–157
T130 Brett Walker, Las Cruces, N.M. – 77-80–157
T130 Jack Persons, San Francisco, Calif. – 78-79–157
T130 Sean Romero, Texarkana, Ark. – 79-78–157
T130 Gio Gandionco, Santa Clara, Calif. – 80-77–157
T130 Marcus Jones, Argyle, Texas – 80-77–157
T130 Blake Pugh, Southlake, Texas – 80-77–157
137 Eamon Bradley, Hammond, La. – 82-76–158
138 Jordan Rodgers, Salt Lake City, Utah – 84-75–159
139 Lawrence Field, Tulsa, Okla. – 77-83–160
140 Charles Valluzzo, Mt Pleasant, S.C. – 84-78–162
141 Mark Mance, Whitefish, Mont. – 87-78–165
142 Joe Parkinson, Alpine, Utah – 71-DQ–DQ
143 Brent Brockermeyer, Los Angeles, Calif. – 76-WD–WD