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 Another battle is brewing. The setting will be Miramont Country Club in Bryan, and the issue will be settled Nov. 9-10 when the Southern Texas PGA hosts the 29th renewal of the Texas Joe Black Cup Matches.
The Ryder Cup-style tournament features teams of Southern Texas PGA Professionals against a similar team of Professionals from the Northern Texas PGA. The tournament was established in 1981 to honor Texas native Joe Black, who was then completing his first term as president of the PGA of America.
A key figure in the history of the PGA and both the Northern and Southern Texas Sections of the PGA of America, Black now resides in Dripping Springs. He remains active in golf and currently sits on the Board of Directors of the Texas Golf Hall of Fame, which he helped re-establish and relocate to San Antonio’s historical Brackenridge Park Golf Course.
The memberships of both 2009 teams have now been named. Led by Captain Jeff Strong and Assistant Captain Gordon Johnson, the Southern Texas PGA team will include nine professional who played their ways onto the team via the Section’s tournament-based points competition.
The following players will represent the STPGA: James Brown (River Oaks Country Club, first appearance); Toby Grubert (The Club at Falcon Point, first appearance); Jesse Horner (Horseshoe Bay Resort, first appearance); Tony Johnson (The Club at Comanche Trace, second appearance); Randy Jones (Alamo Golf Club, second appearance); Brad Lardon (Miramont Country Club, third appearance); Ken McDonald (BraeBurn Country Club, 18th appearance); Wes Skaggs (Crystal Falls Golf Course, third appearance); and Matt Trevino (Riverhill Country Club, fourth appearance).
Joining them will be STPGA President Marc DeWall (The Clubs of Cordillera Ranch, first appearance), Captain’s Pick Bret Nutt (Redstone Golf Club, second appearance) and senior representative David Lundstrom (PGA of America Life Member, first appearance).
Led by Captain Darrell Crall and Assistant Captains Philip Bleakney and Ed Gatlin, the NTPGA team also includes nine Professionals who gained team membership through points earnings.
The players representing the NTPGA are: Greg Antunes (Stonetree Golf Club, 13th appearance); Larry Bryan (Big Spring Country Club, eighth appearance); Gilbert Freeman (Lakewood Country Club, third appearance); Ronny Glanton (Sherrill Park Golf Course, 11th appearance); Billy Harris (Dallas Country Club, seventh appearance); Britt Patton (Dallas National Golf Club, fifth appearance); Jim Stalder (Hurricane Creek Country Club, fifth appearance), Chad Williams (Coriscana Country Club, fourth appearance), and Carl Worley Jr. (Holly Lake Ranch Golf Club, fourth appearance).
Those nine will be joined by NTPGA President Mark Viskozki (Tangle Ridge Golf Club, third appearance), Captain’s Pick Cameron Doan (Preston Trail Golf Club, ninth appearance), and senior representative Perry Arthur (Sherrill Park Golf Course, 10th appearance).
The Northern Texas PGA won the 2008 Texas Joe Black Cup Matches by a 14-1/2 to 9-1/2 margin at Crown Colony Country Club in Lufkin, and holds a 14-13-1 lead since the matches began.
As the defending champion, the NTPGA will need to accumulate 12 points in the 2009 matches to retain the Cup. The STPGA will have to win 12-1/2 points to wrest control of the trophy from the northerners. The 2009 contest will kick off with six four-ball and six foursome matches on Nov. 9, followed by a dozen singles matches on Nov. 10.
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