Tommy Brennan swung his way to the Trans-Miss Senior title
(Trans-Miss Golf Association Photo)
HOUSTON, TX (May 26, 2016) - It’s true there’s no
place like home, but for Tommy Brennan, five hours
west of where he hangs his hat isn’t too bad, either.
Brennan, who lives in Covington, La., and grew up in
New Orleans, won the 17th Trans-Mississippi Senior
Championship on Thursday at Houston Country Club,
a
course and club that gave him nostalgic vibes from
the
moment he stepped on property Sunday morning.
A model of consistency, Brennan shot rounds of
71-
71-70 to finish at 1-under-par 212. He won by four
shots over Mike Booker from The Woodlands and
Trans-
Miss Director John McClure, who tied for second
place at
3-over 216. Brennan commented early in the week
that
Houston Country Club reminded him of New Orleans
Country Club, on which he grew up playing. The oak
tree-lined fairways, tricky doglegs and pushed-up
greens all felt familiar, as did the heat and humidity
the
players experienced throughout the week.
If those weren’t enough to strike sentimental
chords with Brennan, he had to look no further than
to
Houston Country Club’s Head Professional Gordon
Johnson for a friendly, welcoming face. Johnson was
the
head pro at New Orleans Country Club from 1988-92.
“I really like this place,” said Brennan, 55, who
won
the 2015 Louisiana Senior Amateur and was runner-
up
at the 1994 U.S. Mid-Amateur. “I told my caddie as
soon as we got here: This reminds me of home. We
put
in a lot of work on Sunday and Monday in practice
rounds, and everything just felt comfortable. The
staff
did a great job getting this course in shape for
us.”
Brennan led the championship after 36 holes
thanks to consecutive even-par rounds to start the
tournament. In the final round, three birdies and
only
two bogeys allowed him to sign for a red number, a
1-
under 70. Out of more than 50 players in the Senior
Division, Lee Sandlin from Dallas posted the only
other
under-par round Thursday; Sandlin shot 1-under to
score a top-25 finish. Both scores are even more
impressive considering Houston Country Club played
to
a stroke average of 77.58 for the final round.
“Any time you win a national event like this one,
it
means something,” Brennan said. “This isn’t like a
city
championship. This is a big-time national
tournament. I
drove the ball pretty well all week and was proud of
how
I played.”
Booker, the reigning Texas Senior Amateur
champion and winner of nine Texas Golf Association
events, played alongside Brennan in the final round.
“He was very consistent,” Booker said of
Brennan.
“Fairways and greens all day. He played really
well.”
John Dowdall from Fulshear, Texas, took fourth
place at 6-over 219. Eddie Lyons from Shreveport,
La.,
and Chuck Palmer from Dallas shared fifth place with
7-
over 220.
Gary Kirwan from McKinney, Texas, won the
Super
Senior Division for players 65 years and older. The
steady Kirwan shot rounds of 74-75-75 to win with
11-
over 224, two better than five-time Trans-Miss
Senior
champion Chris Maletis from Portland, Ore.
“Other than two holes, I kept it in play all
week,”
said the 67-year-old Kirwan, who was the Society of
Seniors’ 2015 Super Senior Player of the Year after
eight top-5 finishes last year. “It’s an honor to win a
Trans-Miss event because it’s a big deal. This is a
good
course, a historical course. And it’s a great course to
win on, that’s for sure.”
Jody Vasquez from Aledo, Texas, claimed third
place at 14-over 227. Houston Country Club member
Hunter Nelson shared fifth place with Bob Hullender
from San Antonio. Nelson and Hullender finished at
16-
over 229.
The Trans-Miss Senior Championship features
three
age divisions, one of which completed play
Wednesday.
In the Legends Division for amateurs aged 70 and
older,
players compete over 36 holes. Jim Martin from
Dallas
successfully defended his 2016 Legends Division title
with a score of 6-over 148. Phil Patterson, the
current
Trans-Miss Golf Association President, finished in
second
place in the Legends Division at 10-over 152.
It was a special victory for Martin, who began
his
30-year Trans-Miss playing career at Houston
Country
Club in 1982 at the Four-Ball Championship. Martin
also
won the 1987 Trans-Miss Four-Ball with partner
Travis
Thompson from Dallas.
Houston Country Club is one of the most storied
institutions in Texas. Founded in 1908, the club
originally was located in southeast Houston and
featured a course designed by Tom McNamara. In
1956,
the club relocated to Houston’s upscale Tanglewood
area. The current course is an original Robert Trent
Jones design, an old school gem that challenges
golfers
with narrow, tree-lined fairways and devious green
complexes. The 7,009-yard, par-71 layout rests
adjacent to Buffalo Bayou, which comes into play on
a
handful of holes.
A longtime Trans-Miss Golf Association Member
Club, Houston Country Club previously hosted the
1982
Four-Ball Championship, won by John Jennings, Jr.
and
John Paul Cain. The 17th Trans-Miss Senior was the
third championship contested in the Houston area in
the
association’s 115-year history. Houston Country Club
also was the site of a 1964 match between Ben
Hogan
and Sam Snead that was televised to more than 3
million viewers on “Shell’s Wonderful World of Golf.”.
Hogan beat Snead by three shots.
ABOUT THE
Trans-Miss Senior
The championship will be contested over 54 holes
of individual stroke play with three divisions:
Senior
(55+, max
handicap 6.0), Super Senior
(65+, max handicap 10.0) and Legends (70+, max
handicap
12.0).
Must be a
member
of
Trans-Mississippi Golf Association member
club
(players may make an individual contribution of
$100
minimum to the Turf Scholarship Fund as part of the
entry process, in lieu of club membership).
View Complete Tournament Information