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 | | Valero Junior Texas Open Final Round is Underway | |
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The Valero Junior Texas Open kicked off its 25th annual event on Monday with a Junior-Am. The competition is taking place this week, July 12-14, and the final round is presently underway. For the second consecutive year, the tournament is being held at TPC San Antonio on the AT&T Oaks Course, home of the Valero Texas Open.
Over the past 25 years, the Valero Junior Texas Open field has gone on to do great things. LPGA golfer Brittany Lang of McKinney, Texas, who won the 2016 US Women’s Open on Sunday, also won this event twice during her AJGA days. Lang first won the event in in 2001 at the Fair Oaks Ranch Golf & Country Club – Live Oak Course and again in 2002 at The Club at Sonterra, South Course.
Tiger Woods won the inaugural Valero Junior Texas Open event in 1992 at the San Antonio Country Club. Jimmy Walker, the 2015 Valero Texas Open champion, also first won the junior event in 1996.
The 96 player field (72 boys & 24 girls) this week has a broad reach, representing ten states and four countries including Australia, China, South Korea, and Mexico.
| Round 1 Recap: Dally leads the Boys at even-par 72 | Kidd leads the Girls at 2-over-par 74 |
 | Dawson Dally of Katy, Texas, leads the Boys Division with a score of even-par 72. Dally carded five birdies in the first round. | |
| Madison Kidd of Lake Jackson, Texas, leads the Girls Division at 2-over-par 74. The Valero Junior Texas Open is Kidd’s last AJGA event before she goes on to play golf at University of Texas at San Antonio in the fall. | |
| Amber Park trails behind Kidd by one stroke with a first-round score of 3-over-par 75. Park is chasing her first AJGA win. She finished in second place at the Insperity Invitational / Patrick Reed AJGA Junior Championship presented by Callaway Golf in June and in third at Under Armour® / Jordan Spieth Championship presented by American Campus Communities last week. | |
| John Hill of Adkins, Texas, finished second in the Boys Division with a score of 1-over-par 73. Hill is a 2014 and 2015 Leadership Links participant and has committed to play golf at the University of Incarnate Word in San Antonio. | |
| Round 2 Recap: Jake Kuwitzky leads the Boys Division with a 6-over-par 152 | Amber Park leads the Girls Division with an 8-over-par 152 |
| Jake Kuwitzky of McKinney, Texas, leads the Boys Division after the second round with a 6-over-par 150. Kuwitzky carded three birdies today. Four juniors are tied for second going into the final round. | |
| Amber Park of Allen, Texas, leads the Girls Division after the second round with a score of 8-over-par 152. Park, a Texas A&M commit, carded four birdies in 36 holes.
Grace Do of Coppell, Texas, and Ariana Saenz of Porter, Texas, are tied for second after the second round with a score of 13-over-par 157. | |
| Twins Parker and Pierceson Coody of Plano, Texas, are neck and neck after the second round. Parker carded a two-day total of 7-over-par 151 while Pierceson tallied an 8-over-par 152. Both brothers are committed to play golf at the University of Texas. | |
| Stay informed with the Live Leaderboard to see who will be this year’s Girls and Boys Division Champions. | |
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| | Birdies for Charity – Breakfast of Champions | |
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The inaugural Birdies Breakfast of Champions took place Monday, June 27 at Brick House Tavern. Representatives from over 100 organizations -- charities and program sponsors -- from San Antonio, Austin and Corpus Christi attended the event as funds raised through the eight month-long Birdies for Charity campaign were distributed to seventy-two (72) participating agencies. More than $2.2M of this year’s $2.77M fundraising total was presented to a wide-variety of worthy causes.
The Birdies for Charity® campaign is a charitable initiative organized and supported by the Valero Texas Open, providing over 150 charity organizations throughout the greater San Antonio community and beyond with a fun and unique fundraising platform.
Individuals who made pledges or monetary contributions to Birdies for Charity had the chance to participate in one of several give-away contests provided by the Valero Texas Open.
| GUESS THE BIRDIES CONTEST |
Although no donor correctly guessed the exact number of birdies made during the Valero Texas Open – 1,834 birdies – a random draw of the 3,300 donors resulted in Marlo Branham winning a Stay-and-Play Package at the J.W. Marriott San Antonio Hill Country Resort & Spa and TPC San Antonio. Branham made a contribution to the Birdies for Charity campaign in support of Communities In Schools of San Antonio.
As has become a Birdies for Charity tradition, donors who attend at least one day of the Valero Texas Open (Thursday-Sunday) were entered into a grand prize drawing to win a two-year lease on a brand-new 2016 Ford Mustang courtesy of South Texas Ford Dealers.
At the conclusion of the Birdies Breakfast of Champions, representatives from South Texas Ford Dealers together with the Valero Texas Open surprised Joe Karolefski with the keys to his new Ford Mustang.
“I’ve always wanted a Ford Mustang but would talk myself out of it. This is great… I finally get one!” explained Karolefski, who made a contribution to the Bulverde Humane Society through Birdies for Charity and attended the Valero Texas Open.
By winning the Donor Attendance contest, Karolefski also earned Bulverde Humane Society an additional contribution of $20,000 from the Valero Texas Open.
President of Bulverde Humane Society, Tom Blacklock and his wife were moved by the surprise contribution awarded through this contest.
“This means so much and will do great things for our organization,” said Blacklock.
As participating Birdies for Charity organizations continue to finalize their annual collections in the days ahead, the remaining funds raised through the campaign will be distributed by the Valero Texas Open. Birdies for Charity, thanks to its corporate supporters, is able to deliver 100% of all funds raised to participating organizations.
Please visit www.ValeroTexasOpen.com/birdies to learn more about the Birdies for Charity program.
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| | Executive Women’s Day, Hosted by Rackspace | |
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The 4th annual Valero Texas Open Executive Women’s Day, Hosted by Rackspace provided San Antonio area executive women the opportunity to create social and business relationships through an exclusive and advanced forum of over 300 like-minded successful, professional women. The day-long event on Tuesday, April 19, covered the topic the “Power of Brand” as a business asset and career strategy, along with professional networking, and how to use golf as a business and relationship builder. Event proceeds benefitted Girl Scouts of Southwest Texas.
The special event included a business panel discussion sponsored by Generations Federal Credit Union:
| Suzanne Wade – President of San Antonio Food/Drug Division, H-E-B | |
| Angela Salinas – Major General (ret.), United States Marine Corps; CEO, Girl Scouts of Southwest Texas | |
| Carla Piñeyro Sublett – SVP, Chief Marketing Officer, Rackspace | |
| Veronica Muzquiz Edwards – President & CEO, InGenesis | |
Attendees began the event with a Behind-the-Scenes Walking Tour Sponsored by Humana. Carla Piñeyro Sublett – SVP, Chief Marketing Officer of Rackspace spoke during the Avnet sponsored luncheon. The day concluded with the Frost Bank Networking Mixer which featured a Tito’s Handmade Vodka Tasting.
 | | Click to view video highlights from the event. |
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| | PGA TOUR Game Show Night | |
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On Monday, April 18, the Valero Texas Open partnered with the PGA TOUR Wives Association to debut the inaugural, PGA TOUR Game Show Night. Game Show Night provided sponsors and guests an intimate and exclusive forum to interact with PGA TOUR players and their spouses. During the Game Show Night, over 150 VIP guests enjoyed socializing at a cocktail reception and plated dinner followed by entertainment led by PGA TOUR professionals and their spouses.
Three classic game show formats — Family Feud, the “Not So” Newlywed Game, and Win, Lose or Draw – were on tap for the evening, giving those in attendance a glimpse of the true personalities of these widely recognized athletes.
Led by Master of Ceremonies, Golf Channel’s Scott Walker, the following PGA TOUR couples participated in the fun-filled event:
| Ben & Heather Crane | |
| Andres & Kristin Gonzales | |
| Chesson & Amanda Hadley | |
| Charley & Stacy Hoffman | |
| Billy & Brittany Horschel | |
| Peter & Alicia Malnati | |
| D.A. & Lori Points | |
| Brendan & Anastassia Steele | |
| Daniel & Emily Summerhays | |
| Hudson & Katherine Swafford | |
| Jimmy & Erin Walker | |
Proceeds from the event went to support the PGA TOUR Wives Association charitable initiatives and Valero Texas Open’s Birdies for Charity.
 | | Click to view video highlights from the event. |
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| | Sponsor Spotlight | |
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