NEWS ARCHIVE - 2007
2006 Archive
2005 Archive

San Antonio Sweep at the 2007 Carlton Woods Invitational

Round 3: A San Antonio Sweep

THE WOODLANDS, TX (May 18, 2007) – Early in the first day of the Carlton Woods Invitational, 70-year-old Bob Hullender jokingly asked if the tees could be moved up for him, due to his age.  By the end of the tournament, Mark Steinbauer, the Director of Golf, was jokingly referring to the tournament as the “Bob Hullender Invitational” and promising that the tournament committee would be “looking into things” to assure he wouldn’t break par next year.

The 72-hole tourney, held at The Club at Carlton Woods saw a pair of San Antonio residents, Hullender and Jonathan Mathias, pull out wire-to-wire victories by riding first-round 2-under-par 70’s to the finish line.

Hullender took the senior division with a 70-73-72—218, eight strokes better than his nearest competitor, while Mathias shot 70-72-78—220 to hold off a late challenge by Dan Crockett by two strokes.

It was Hullender who was the headline grabber, taking the title for the second consecutive year, and grabbing the honor of the first in tournament history to finish in the red.

While the first day of golf at the difficult Nicklaus Course saw several golfers walking off the course muttering: “I hit the ball pretty well, I don’t know how I ended up with 80,” Hullender and Mathias jumped out to commanding leads by firing a pair of 70’s.

Hullender built on his lead on Day 2, played at the Fazio Course, extending it to six strokes, while Mathias’ margin was cut to four when Reno’s David Nelson went 2-under.

Nelson faded with an 80 on the third day, again played at the Nicklaus Course, but Mathias briefly allowed the door to open when went bogey, quadruple bogey, on holes 3 and 4.

Looking to squeeze into the lead was Crockett, of Franklin, Tenn., who made his run by finishing the third day at 2-under-70 and tied the Mid-Am course record.

But Mathias was able to settle down and stop the bleeding by shooting 1-over on the back nine to seal the championship.  “You know that’s golf.   I’ve been playing a lot of competitive golf over the last couple of years and I’ve learned from that experience.   I knew I still had fifteen holes left and the tournament wasn’t over yet,” said Mathias.   “I knew that as hard as this course was playing and as comfortable as I am on this golf course that I could still post a good score and win this tournament.”

Hullender, on the other hand, never had to sweat, using his surprising length (possibly the biggest hitter in a division of men 10-15 years his junior) and steady putter to calmly tick off the holes until he reached the clubhouse.

“I guess you could say I played a little more defensive today,” said Hullender. “Starting off with a six-shot lead I didn’t feel like I had to get too aggressive, so there were several times where I played it safe.”

“I don’t know how you’ll be able to keep me away, if I’m alive, I’ll be here,” said Hullender. “It was nice to take both titles back to San Antonio.”

The Club at Carlton Woods hosted the 2nd Annual Carlton Invitational Tournament in the private, gated community of Carlton Woods in The Woodlands, Texas. 

Round 3 Final Results

Round 2: Mathias and Hullender Extend Leads

THE WOODLANDS, TX (May 17, 2007) – Mid-Am Jonathan Mathias of San Antonio, Texas shot an even par 72 for a two under par 36-hole total of 142 on the 7,224 yard Fazio Course to capture a 4 stroke lead over Robert Nelson of Reno, Nevada.   Jerry Ledzinski of Carmel, California and Larry Nunez of Odessa, Texas are tied for third with a 36-hole total of 148.  Defending Senior Champion Bob Hullender of San Antonio, Texas shot 73 for a one under par 36-hole total of 143.   Jerry Hudgins of Houston, Texas carded a 75 to bring his two day total to 149.  Denny Alexander of Fort Worth, Texas posted a 73 and sits at 150 for the two days.

Jonathan Mathias started the day giving one back with a bogey on the first hole.   He quickly settled down and posted 4 straight pars before back to back birdies on the 6th and 7th holes and a final birdie on the 9th to shoot 34 on the front side.   He got his round to three under for the day with a birdie on the 12th hole but quickly lost the extra margin he gained with a double bogey on the 13th when he hit his drive left into the woods.  “I just made a bad swing and lost it left and I had to punch and try and recover,” Mathias said.   He added, “I birdied 17 and missed a five-footer for par on 18.   I got a little sloppy coming down the stretch but ended up okay.”   

Last year’s Mid-Am 2nd place finisher, Jerry Ledzinski gained some ground on the field with a 1 over par 73 as did David Nelson who posted the low round of the day with a 71.   David too, had it going turning the front side at 1 under par for the day.   He played solid golf on the back nine making birdies on the 11th and 16th holes getting him to 3 under for the day.   His approach shot came up short on 18th green apparently clearing the hazard, but rolled back in.   With the water, mud and tall reeds he was concerned about getting it out so he blasted it long over the green.   He putted the ball up the hill and onto the green but was left with a difficult down-hill putt for bogey and missed it.   “These courses are so tough.  If you keep giving yourself opportunities and not scrambling the whole time, you can do well,” said Nelson.  “The greens are so fast too.   Luckily I was below the hole most of the day and putting uphill,” he added. 

Bob Hullender followed up yesterday’s low round of the tournament with a 73.   Hullender played a steady front nine with some breezy conditions.   He had a single birdie at the 6th and a single bogey at the 9th to turn at even par.   His back-nine round was similar with 8 pars and a single bogey.   “I hit the ball good but just could not make any putts,” said Hullender.   He had plenty of birdie opportunities but failed to convert.  Jerry Hudgins, who played with Hullender, kept it interesting with a bogey on the 2nd, followed with a double on the 3rd, and a bogey on the 4th.   From there, he settled down and played a great round playing the last 14 holes at 1 under par to shoot 75.

The Mid-Am cut was 158 and the Senior Division cut was 157.   Tomorrow’s round will start at 8:00 am with a shot-gun start.  The top six Mid Am contestants and the top 3 Seniors will tee off the number 1 tee starting tomorrow at 8:10 am.

The Club at Carlton Woods is hosting the 2nd Annual Carlton Invitational Tournament in the private, gated community of Carlton Woods in The Woodlands, Texas.  Round 3 of this 54-hole stroke play event will be held tomorrow on the Club’s Nicklaus course with awards presentation immediately following completion of play.

Round 2 Final Results

Round 1: Jonathan Mathias and Bob Hullender Take Early Lead

THE WOODLANDS, TX (May 16, 2007) – Mid-Am Jonathan Mathias of San Antonio, Texas shot a 2 under par 70 on the 7154 yard Nicklaus course to capture a 3 shot lead over David Bartman of Los Angeles, California.   Dean Hall of Montgomery, Texas and Jay Pumphrey of Georgetown, Texas are tied for third place at 74.    Defending Senior Champion Bob Hullender of San Antonio, Texas posted a 2 under par 70 to capture 4 stroke lead in the Senior Division over Jerry Hudgins of Houston, Texas.   Two others are tied for third 1 srtoke back.

Jonathan Mathias’ 2 under par 70 set a new 18-hole Mid-Am tournament record on the Nicklaus Course.   He got on the board early with back-to-back birdies on the 3rd and 4th holes.   He extended his lead on the 6th hole with another birdie before giving one back with a bogey 4 on the 7th hole.  His lone bogey on the backside came on the 11th hole when he failed to get up and down.   From there, Jonathan made 6 straight pars before reaching the 18th hole where he was faced with a decision on whether or not to go for the par 5 in 2.  “I played 18 as smart as I could.   I hit driver and layed up with a five iron and had a lob wedge into the green.  I made birdie the conventional way,” said Mathias.  He added, “I’ve heard so many great things about this tournament from the guys I play with in other events.  The course really lived up to its reputation.  This golf course is perfect, there’s nothing out of place and the greens are quick.”  

David Bartman, who won the 2005 Trans Miss Mid-Am Championship, matched Mathias front nine score of 34 by making two birdies and an eagle to go with a single bogey.  He stumbled a bit on the way in with a bogey 4 on the 17th.   When he reached the 18th, he was faced with a similar go / no-go decision as Mathias.   His drive ended up leaving him 208 to the pin.   He decided to go for the green in 2.  “For me this was perfect hard 6 iron.   I got stuck a little bit coming back and didn’t stop.  I caught it a little thin and ended up in the water and took a double 7,” Bartman said.   “It was a hard day but I played well and I can’t be unhappy with the round.  The tournament and golf courses are great and we’re treated phenomenally.”  

Few people shoot their age.   Bob Hullender, who shot his age of 69 in last year’s final round, repeated the feat again in this year’s opening round thanks to a hot putter.  After a 2 over par 38 on the front nine, he got hot with birdies at 11, 12, 13, and 15 before reaching the pesky 17th hole where he made a bogey 4.   On the 530 yard 18th hole, he was left with 204 to the pin on his 2nd shot.   Faced with the same decision as the Mid-Am leaders, he never hesitated and safely landed his hybrid on the green in two and two putted for his 5th birdie and a tournament record back nine 32.     “You know in 3 or 4 more years shooting my age is not going to be very good.  I’m going to have to get better than that,” Hullender said.

The Club at Carlton Woods is hosting the 2nd Annual Carlton Invitational Tournament in the private, gated community of Carlton Woods in The Woodlands, Texas.  Round 2 of this 54-hole stroke play event will be held tomorrow on the Club’s Fazio course. 

Round 1 Final Results

The official tournament dinner will feature keynote speaker Edward Ibarguen, the General Manager and Director of Golf at Duke University Golf Club in Durham, NC, considered by many to be the #1 campus golf facility in the country. Ibarguen is a Master Profesional in the PGA of America and is widely recognized as one of the top instructors in golf, garnering a variety of awards from the Carolinas PGA Section and the PGA of America. His students include touring professionals, competitive amateurs, recreational golfers, and his most famous student, Michael Jordan. CLICK HERE to read full release.