HORSESHOE BAY, Texas (Sept. 20, 2014) —
Terence Begnel admitted to not
playing his best golf Saturday during the second
round of the Texas Mid-Amateur
Championship. He can take solace in the fact
that he’s still looking down at
everyone on the leaderboard.
Begnel, a 28-year-old from Midland, made 15
pars, a birdie, bogey and double-
bogey for a 2-over-par 73 at Escondido Golf &
Lake Club. Combined with his first
round 66, he leads the elite field at 3-under 139
with one round left to play.
Begnel holds a one-shot lead over Brandon
Burke from Houston, who shot second
round 71. Two shots back are John Bearrie from
Arlington and Doug Manor from
Dallas. Both are 1-under 141 through 36 holes.
The final round of the 54-hole, individual stroke
play event begins Sunday at 8
a.m. Begnel began his day with eight straight
pars before he made a frustrating
double-bogey on the par-5 18th hole, which was
Begnel’s ninth of the day.
“I just didn’t play well today,” said Begnel, who
won two junior college events at
Midland College before he finished his collegiate
career at Oral Roberts in
Oklahoma. “I struck it so much better yesterday
in the rain. Today I just found a
way to two-putt from 60 feet and keep in
it.”
After receiving nearly two inches of rain during
the previous two days, Escondido
dried out quickly. Whatever rain was in the
forecast for Saturday averted the
course that has been ranked in in Golfweek’s Top
100 Residential Golf Courses in
America since it opened in 2006.
If Begnel was annoyed with his play Saturday, it
didn’t take long for him to spin
himself into a positive mindset.
“I don’t have to think about today or yesterday,”
said Begnel, who works in sales
for a Midland oil and gas company called
Phoenix Services. “I know I have a one-
shot lead going into tomorrow, and that’s what
I’m focused on.”
He’ll be paired Sunday with Burke, who posted
2-under 140 early in the day to
hold the clubhouse lead until Begnel finished
nearly six hours later.
Playing during the heaviest rains on Friday,
Burke, 25, turned in a 2-under 69, one
of a handful of under-par scores from the first
round’s afternoon wave of players.
On Saturday, the native Houstonian who finished
his collegiate career at Rice
posted an even-par 71, which was the best score
among contenders in the
morning wave.
“I was shooting for very specific targets,” said
Burke, a geologist for Houston-
based Berger Geosciences. “When I needed to
scramble, I have myself plenty of
room and rarely short-sided myself.”
Designed by Tom Fazio and opened for play in
2006, Escondido is as demanding
as it is scenic. Cavernous fairway bunkers,
naturally flowing water features and
dense stands of live oak trees help to frame the
taxing sightlines off tee boxes.
The Zoysia-grass fairways produce near-perfect
lies for those who are accurate
with their tee shots. The firm, undulating greens
feature Champions Bermuda that
have rolled between 12-13 inches on the
Stimpmeter.
“It was tougher today,” Burke said. “It’s
incredible how well this golf course has
handled all the rain we’ve had. Yesterday I
played in the pouring rain. Today the
ball was releasing and rolling out a lot more
than I expected. That was quite an
adjustment.”
Bearrie, the 2012 Mid-Amateur champion, shot a
3-under 68 in the second round.
Manor, the 2013 Texas Amateur champion,
finished at 1-under 70. They share
third place, one shot better than Mike Booker
from The Woodlands, Trevor Hyde
from Kerrville and first round leader Trey Owen
from Austin.
Fifty-four players made the 36-hole cut at 9-over
151. The top five finishers in
Sunday’s final round receive exemptions into the
2015 Texas Amateur, to be
played at Bent Tree Country Club in Dallas.
View results for Texas Mid-Amateur
ABOUT THE Texas Mid-Amateur
Eligibility: Entries are open to male golfers
with a
USGA Handicap index of 8.4 or less, and who
are
25 years of age or older by the first day of
championship qualifying.
Format/Field Size: 54 holes of stroke play. At the
completion of 36 holes the field is cut to the low 54
players and ties. The field is limited to 132 players.
Mid-Master Recognition: In addition to the overall
champion, an award will be given to the low Mid-
Master finisher. (Mid-Master – any player 40+ years
of age)
View Complete Tournament Information