Some of the state’s best amateurs will come together this week in Odessa for the 94th playing of the West Texas Amateur.
“It’s always exciting to host an event like this where you’re going to have people coming in from all over, in this case all over the state. It’s special, because not every place gets to do it and we’re excited to showcase our facility,” said Jake McCullough, Head PGA Professional at Odessa Country Club.
The West Texas Amateur trophy has been hoisted by some historic names, including Charles Coody, champion of the 1971 Masters, and Bob Estes, a four-time PGA Tour winner.
The just-under 6900-yard Old Course at Odessa Country Club will serve as the venue for the tournament for the first time since 2015, when the late Mark Jones Jr. took home the title.
The tournament begins Friday, with champions set to be crowned Sunday.
“Last time we had this event the winning score was a fairly high number, only six, seven-under-par. We’d had a good year of rain, we had a lot of rough and the golf course played very difficult,” McCullough said.
This time around, a shortage of rain in the area has taken away a majority of the rough that defended the course in the past.
”With the rough not being quite so thick this year, I’m going to say it’ll be in the 12-under-par range,” McCullough said.
Despite the lack of rain in West Texas, the course remains in prime shape for the championship.
“We’ve only measured an inch-and-a-half of rain for the year, and the condition of the golf course with that in mind is pretty amazing,” McCullough said.
McCullough credits the condition of the course to his greenskeeping staff.
“The job they have done is absolutely unbelievable. Whenever I talk to people about course conditions, I say that you really see a greenskeeper’s talent when you take away all the help that mother nature can give. Our guys, Robert Campbell and Chase Thatcher, the job they have done is really unimaginable,” McCullough said.
In order to take home the victory, players will have to tame the Old Course’s tricky,undulating greens which favor a specific kind of player.
“I’d lean toward someone who’s fairly accurate. You can get into some trouble out there with all the trees,” McCullough said. “Also someone with a strong short game. With the amount of undulation on the greens and the runoffs around the greens, being able to get up and down, save par and keep the momentum going is important.”
The field for this weekend’s tournament includes past champion J.T. Pittman, who won the event in 2020 at Bentwood Country Club in San Angelo.
He’ll begin his first round at 1:51 PM off the first tee, paired with former pro and now ACU head coach Tom Shaw, as well as former Permian standout Jaden Chavez.
Follow Nicholas Pursley on Twitter @nicholaspursley.
