Year two for the Golden Triangle Region of the Beltway Junior Golf Tour kicks off today at Bayou Din. For parents and juniors not aware of the BJGT, it’s a wonderful opportunity for young golfers to improve by playing against all levels of competition on quality golf courses.
The BJGT is the brainchild of Houston-area high school golf coaches and has taken off like wildfire. There are now 12 regions of the BJGT offering summer tournament schedules.
Those regions encompass San Antonio, Austin, Dallas, the Pineywoods, the Golden Triangle, Montgomery County and five separate areas of Houston. On any given week, a member of the BJGT can compete anywhere a tournaments is being offered.
For players hoping to grow their games, compete against top players from other areas and attract the attention of college coaches, it’s an excellent next-level opportunity. Playing options extend all the way to five-hole and nine-hole events for the youngest players.
Those seeking information on the BJGT should check out its website at www.beltwayjgt.com. PN-G golf coach Rickey Keyes is the director of the Golden Triangle Region of BJGT and he can be e-mailed at rkeyes@pngisd.org or phoned at 409-466-1263.
After Bayou Din, the Golden Triangle BJGT moves to Wildwood on June 22, Henry Homberg Golf Club on June 29, Gray Plantation in Lake Charles on July 11 and Idylwild Golf Club July 21. Again, members have the option of playing in any of the other 11 regions.
CHIP SHOTS

Port Neches-Groves ex Andrew Landry won’t have to wait long Thursday to start dealing with U.S. Open nerves at Oakmont Country Club.

Landry is in the second group off No. 10 tee at 6:56 a.m. Eastern time. His Friday tee time is 12:41
p.m. For those who have not read up on what a brutal test Oakmont is, it features greens that are expected to roll at 13 on the stimpmeter, nasty, gnarly rough, counts 210 bunkers and offers a par-3, eighth hole that will play from 261 to 300 yards.

Five-over par won the last time the U.S. Open was played at Oakmont. Landry, by the way, is coming off his best PGA Tour finish — a 41^st-place tie in Memphis that earned him a check for $20,556.44. He’s made the cut in five of his last six starts. …

Memphis was also good for Lamar ex Shawn Stefani. Stefani posted his first top-10 of the season with a T9 good for $167,400. The strong showing moved him up to 140 in Fed Ex points. …

Baylor freshman Braden Bailey picked up a significant honor last week when he was named to PING’s 2016 Division I All-Central Region Team. Oklahoma State with five players and Texas with four dominated the 20-player team.

Chandler Phillips of Huntsville, Bailey’s top high school rival when he played at PN-G, also made the team as a freshman. …

Playing a best two-ball format, the team of Craig Fontenot, Gene Jones, Roger Koch and Kris Koch won the front in the Super Saturday Game at The Babe. On the back, the foursome of Earl Richard,
Paul Flores, Gary Hanan and Wes McGuire won with minus-5. …

The Friday Game at Zaharias was also played in a two-ball format. On the front there was a three-way tie for first. Posting minus three was the team of Fontenot, Gerald Huebel, Larry Johnson and Billy Thillet, the foursome of Rick Pritchett, Tom LeTourneau, Lee Bertrand and Danny Harrington and the foursome of Steve Picou, Cap Hollier, Raymond Darbonne and Butch Landry. On the back, the Pritchett team and the Picou team tied at minus-4. …

The Thursday Senior Game at The Babe was played in a Select Drive All Points Count format. Placing first with 29 points was the foursome of Jim Huebel, Larry Stansbury, Mike Norris and Mark Petry. Closest to the pin winners were Joe Gongora (No. 2), Jobie Irvine (No. 7), Jim Jordan (No. 12) and Petry (No. 15). …

In the Wednesday DogFight at Zaharias, the team of LeTourneau, Darbonne, Jim Cooper and Ron
Overstreet won with 20 points. Second with 17 points was the team of Huebel, John House, Bob Moore and Jim Thompson. Closest to the pin winners were Ed Hetzel (No.2), Mike Hollier (No. 7), Adam Noel (No. 12) and Pritchett (No. 15). Pritchett followed up his closest to the pin by holing a pitching wedge from 108 yards on No. 16 for an eagle-2. …

The 49th Silsbee Men’s Golf Association Invitational tees off Friday and, as usual, its Pro/Championship Flights is loaded with the area’s top amateurs, as well as players from the
Adams Tour. The pros will be playing for a $3,000 first place prize out of a purse of $10,000. The event also offer a stroke play Presidential Flight, as well as 7 match play/stroke play flights. Those 16 player flights compete in match play Friday and Saturday, then go to medal play on Friday. As of this
writing, there were still a handful of openings in the match play flights — 12 handicap or higher. Entry fees are $350 for Pro/Championship and $140 for all other flights.

Included in the entry fee is a Thursday practice round, plus a Thursday shrimp boil a Friday fish fry and nightly entertainment. Call Mike Sanchez at 409-429-8348.

Golf news should be emailed to rdwest@usa.net.