Shane Heise with the CWI Tournament Committee (CWI photo)
In his many CWI appearances over the years,
Shane Heise (The Woodlands, Texas) had performed well but had yet to contend for the championship. Until this year. Heise survived a furious final stretch to finish 3 under for the tournament and win the 2024 Carlton Woods Invitational by one shot at The Club at Carlton Woods. Heise was immersed in a five-way tie with three holes remaining, but a birdie on No. 16 gave him a one-shot lead over the field, and pars on the final two holes saw him secure the win. Heise carded rounds of 68-72-73.
Domenic Maricocchi and Kristoffer Marshall were joint runners-up at 2-under, while Kyle Maxwell, Kenneth Cook, and past champions John Hunter and Justin Kaplan finished the tournament at 1-under and T4.
Jason Lina finished in solo eighth place at even-par.
Heise finished T5 in 2009, T11 in 2010, T13 in 2014, T12 in 2018 and T21 in 2021. He also made the final 16 in the 2018 Walter Travis Invitational. He is ranked No. 707 in the Golfweek/AmateurGolf.com U.S. Rankings.
In the Senior Division, Mark Strickland(San Diego, Calif.) and Doug Dvorak (Windermere, Fla.) battled all day for the title, separating themselves from the field and challenging the senior CWI scoring record.
Both players shot rounds of 66-70 and were still tied with four holes to play. Dvorak would fall one behind with a bogey on the par-4 16th, and though he'd put the heat on Strickland with a birdie on the par-5 final hole, Strickland answered with a birdie of his own to take the title.
Strickland finished as the low amateur at the 2023 U.S. Senior Open. He is currently ranked No. 34 in the AmateurGolf.com Senior Rankings.
Billy Joe Tolliver finished in solo third place at 6-under, and John Pierce, Jon Valuck, and Mike Lohner finished at 3-under and T4.
The Carlton Woods Invitational was established to create a tournament rich in quality and detail based on tradition. We continue to build upon the Invitational's history, traditions, and philosophy.
The inaugural Invitational was held in 2006. The Club remains committed to developing it into one of the most prestigious events in amateur golf. We expect to give our players a pure, traditional golf experience while paying attention to the smallest of details. The Invitational has attracted an elite national amateur field and represents one of the finest events in the U.S. The format is a three-day stroke play competition for mid-amateur and senior amateur golfers.
In the first three years, the Invitational was held on our Nicklaus Signature and Tom Fazio golf courses, both of which receive meticulous care and attention. Given the difficulty of the playing conditions, the Tournament Committee decided to hold the tournament on the same course for all three rounds, beginning in 2008. The Invitational was selected as one of Golfweek’s nationally designated tournaments, and at that time, the practice of flying the state flags of each contestant was adopted.
ABOUT THE Carlton Woods Invitational
A 54-hole stroke play golf
tournament
played at The Club at Carlton Woods in the
beautiful
Houston community of The Woodlands,
where
golf is one of the top activities. Entry into the
Carlton
Woods Invitational is strictly
by invitation from the Tournament Committee. The
90-player field will be
comprised of two tournament divisions, a Mid-Am
Division for players aged 25-54,
and a Senior Division for players aged 55 and above.
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