Texas Wins Record Fourth Men's State Team Title


Texas captured its record-setting fourth USGA Men's State Team Championship Thursday, posting a total score of 4-under-par 428 to edge Florida by three strokes at the par-72, 6,891-yard Pete Dye Course at French Lick Resort in Indiana.

The trio of Zach Atkinson, Colby Harwell and Aaron Hickman entered the final round with a three-stroke cushion. They saw their advantage grow to as many as seven strokes early in the round, but a late charge by Florida briefly knotted things at the top of the leaderboard before Texas pulled away at the end.

Texas posted a final-round score of 1-over 145, its highest of the championship, but a 1-under 71 from Atkinson provided enough cushion to claim the James R. Hand Trophy for the first time since 2007. Iowa, the runner-up in 2012, finished third with a score of 2-over 434.

The Men's State Team Championship consists of 54 holes of stroke play, with the two lowest of three individual scores counting as the team total for the round. The team with the lowest aggregate score following the final round is the champion. The event is conducted biennially by the USGA, with the men's and women's competitions held in alternating years. Each state is responsible for selecting its team and the players must reside in that state to be eligible. All 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico were represented in the 2014 field.

The win for Texas was a true team effort, as each player had two of his three scores count during the championship. Harwell's 75 was the non-counting score in the final round, but that didn't diminish the moment.

"That just tells you right there how strong Texas is. The three of us fought pretty hard for two years to get to this point. I'm really proud of all three of us for doing what we did and fighting it out all week," said Harwell, whose only experience competing in a USGA championship prior to the Men's State Team was in the 2013 U.S. Mid-Amateur. "To have my hands on a USGA trophy, I mean, this is just unbelievable. I can't believe that I've got my hands on one at all. I'm excited."

Atkinson made back-to-back birdies on the first two holes, contributing to Texas' big early lead, but soon faltered, playing Nos. 4 through 7 in 4 over par, a stretch that culminated with a double bogey on the par-5 seventh to all but negate his fast start. He didn't make another bogey the rest of the way, however, playing the last 10 holes in 3 under.

"I probably just beared down a little more. Last nine of a big tournament, USGA event, so, the stakes are high," said Atkinson. "I just tried to bear down and hit my targets and I did. I made a good 10 footer on 10, a little 10 footer that got me going. I didn't really miss a shot after that." Atkinson's fifth and final birdie of the round came on the 18th hole when he made a short putt to seal the victory.

"I thought that was to tie if Gene [Elliott] from Iowa didn't make birdie," Atkinson said. "So, I had no idea that it was for a couple-shot victory. I might have cozied it down just a touch more. I don't know."

Hickman added a 2-over 74, the second counting score for Texas. Hickman, playing in his third consecutive Men's State Team, could not have been more thrilled to help rekindle his team's traditionally strong play in the championship. Already the only state to have won more than twice, Texas had not finished higher than tied for 10th since its last victory in 2007, and Hickman was eager to change that.

"Every time you make it, it's special. It's hard to qualify for a team like this. In Texas, we have a ton of great players. To make the team and to be a part of a team that wins is amazing," Hickman said. "Being on the team three times, they start asking a lot of questions, when are you going to win one? When we get back, I can tell them I won one now. It's a pretty special day."

Florida, which entered the day in fifth place and six strokes back of Texas, made an early charge up the leader board, thanks in large part to Jon Veneziano. Playing in his fourth Men's State Team, Veneziano, 43, provided veteran leadership on a team that included 17-year-olds Sam Horsfield and Gabriel Lench. Veneziano provided clutch shots that kept Florida in the mix.

Veneziano, who defeated David Duval in the Round of 16 of the 1988 U.S. Junior Amateur, made an early double bogey before he righted the ship. He followed up a birdie on the par-4 sixth hole by holing out a 68-yard approach shot for eagle on the par-5 seventh and added another birdie on No. 9, giving him a 3-under 33 on the outward nine. He would go on to post a 2-under 70, combining with Lench's even-par 72 for a team score of 2-under 142, sealing Florida's third runner-up finish in the championship.

"We knew the wind was going to be an issue, so we just said let's go out there and do our best and try not to make big numbers, and hopefully one of us can play really well," Veneziano said. "We knew we had to get two scores under par if we were going to come and get the leaders, but this course is just so hard. It was fun, it was a great week."

Iowa was led by 2013 U.S. Mid-Amateur champion Mike McCoy, who bounced back from a second-round 77 with an even-par 72. The Hawkeye State has now finished in the top three in two consecutive Men's State Teams, while still searching for its first victory.

"Every shot is success or failure here. You just miss a shot and you're penalized significantly. It's really severe, you pay a price," said McCoy, who carded four birdies, but also had a double bogey on the par-4 fifth. "I knew we were close, we had to overcome some [bad] shots, we just didn't get it going. We were ready, we had our game faces on."

Louisiana and Puerto Rico tied for fifth with scores of 5-over 437. Louisiana was led by Brandon Aydlett, who earned the championship's individual medalist honors with a 54-hole total of 3-under 216.

Brad Valois, of Rhode Island, posted the low 18-hole score of the championship on Thursday. Valois made five consecutive birdies at one point during his round en route to a 5-under 67. The strong performance propelled his team to a tie for eighth.

The above report is courtesy of the USGA. For more information and full scoring details, visit www.usga.org.