2007 Valero Texas Open Page

This year, the Open was moved from the September time frame that conflicted with the President's Cup and the Ryder Cup, to the first weekend in October, and was held from Oct. 1 to 7. I kept score as a volunteer on Thursday, and Saturday (Oct. 4, 6)

Thursday: kept score for Mark Wilson, Dean Wilson, and Heath Slocum. Mark was 5 over, Dean was 2 under, and Heath was 1 under par. Heath and Dean made the cut, and Mark did not.

Saturday: Kept score for Rich Beem (2nd time - 2005), David Branshaw, and Bob May. All 3 started the day at -1 (the cut line). David had a tough day in the Texas heat, and finished 7 over. Rich finished the day at par, and Bob finished the day at 4 under.

Sunday: I didn't keep score, but this is an update of the tournament, and the pros that I kept score for - -

Saturday's guys finished at 76th (David), 71st (Rich), and 64th (Bob).

Thursday's guys did much better. Dean Wilson had rounds of 68, 67, 66, and 66 to finish at 13 under, and in 6th place (tied with 4 others). And Heath Slocum followed his 69 with 65, 70, and an awesome 62 finish to close at 14 under, and in 5th place alone.

As for the tournament, Justin Leonard (Texan), and Jesper Parnevik (Swede) ended regulation tied, and went to a playoff. Justin came from 4 shots back to tie Jesper. The 1st playoff hole was the 18th, and both golfers parred it. Jesper's par was a tee shot into the brush beyond the cart path, a penalty drop, and then a full wedge to about 3 feet. Justin's was a fairway shot past the hole and the green with a chip to about 2 feet. The 2nd playoff hole was the 16th, and then Justin won it with a birdie on the Par 3 17th, by 1 stroke over Jesper. Wow!

Highlights: On the Par 4 (361 yards) 8th hole on Saturday, Bob May holed his 2nd shot for Eagle. No one on the course saw it, as there are bunkers and berms between where the ball was, and the hole.

Lowlights: who thought it would be a good idea to have 2 Wilsons in the same threesome?! It took me a little longer than usual to figure out "Who's Who?" David and his caddy were both pretty toasted by the hot Texas sun on Saturday.