Who are the 5 hottest players in Texas?
17 Jul 2014
by Benjamin Larsen of AmateurGolf.com
see also: Will Zalatoris Rankings
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Will Zalatoris
As major tournaments on the local, regional
and
national levels are being played week in and
week out,
the competitive amateur golf season is
undoubtedly
amidst its prime.
It sure is a good time to be playing good golf.
With that in mind, the team at
AmateurGolf.com has
begun taking a look at the hottest players in
key
amateur golf states.
Today, we look at the great state of Texas.
Now,
these aren't necessarily the Top 5 ranked
golfers in the
state, although there is a bit of correlation.
You can
see our Texas state
rankings
here. Rather, this is a snapshot of the
players who
are currently playing well and among the
hottest in the
state.
Will Zalatoris
The 17-year-old Wake Forest commit has
simply been
phenomenal. In June, he won the Texas State
Amateur
and earlier this month, he claimed the
prestigious
Trans-Miss Championship. We’ll surely be
seeing a bit
more from Zalatoris as he recently qualified for
the
2014 U.S. Amateur in Atlanta. The start to the
2014
season started hot for the Plano, Tex. resident
as he
shot 59 in competition before winning the
Champions
Invitational, one of the top high school events
in the
nation.
Scott Scheffler
No list of the top players in the state of Texas
would
be complete without mentioning Scheffler. The
soon-
to-be Texas Longhorn took fourth at the Terra
Cotta
earlier this spring, tied for 21st at the Trans-
Miss and
23rd at the Sahalee Players. Last month, he
contended
and nearly won the prestigious Northeast
Amateur and
perhaps most impressive, the reigning U.S.
Junior
Champion tied for 22nd at the PGA Tour's
Byron Nelson
Classic -- his PGA Tour debut.
Kolton Crawford
If consistency is worth something in the game
of golf --
hint, it is -- then Crawford is doing something
right.
He's been stellar throughout the 2014 season
and has
continued to contend in high-level events. He
was 36th
last week at the prestigious Trans-Miss
Amateur and
logged a Top 10 at the Texas State Amateur.
He was
fifth at the NCAA Midwest Regional and had
Top 20s at
the Valspar Collegiate, SMU Cabo Collegiate
and Bayou
City Collegiate Championship.
Aaron Hickman
With a win and a Top 5 at two of the top mid-
amateur
events of the season, consider Hickman to be
among
the hottest golfers in Texas. Hickman, who
hails from
Tyler, won the Birmingham National
Invitational, which
featured nationally-ranked contemporaries like
Patrick
Christovich, Tim Jackson, Jack Hall, Garrett
Rank and
Skip Berkmeyer. And earlier this season,
Hickman
earned a Top 5 at the prestigious Lupton
Invitational.
Benjamin Baxter
Soon to start his college career at SMU, Baxter
is
making a name for himself. Baxter tied for 15th
last
week at the prestigious Trans-Miss
Championship and
earlier this year, took Top 15s at the FJ
Invitational,
Junior Invitational at Sage Valley and AJGA
Under
Armour Championship. We likely haven't heard
the last
of Baxter, either, as he recently qualified for
the U.S.
Amateur.