Oliver Betschart secures maiden win on Southern Texas PGA Junior Tour
Oliver Betschart underlined his burgeoning potential after securing a maiden victory on the Southern Texas PGA Junior Tour in Austin, Texas, at the weekend.
The 13-year-old Bermudian shot an impressive even-par 71 at the Landa Park Golf Course on Sunday to win the 18-hole event by two shots in only his second appearance on the tour this year.
Shiv Parmar, of the United States, finished second while compatriots Aadi Parmar, the Tour leader, and Patrick Bassana finished tied for third a farther shot back at three-over 74.
Competing among the boys 13 to 14 age group, Betschart put himself in early contention after carding three birdies on the front nine to make the turn at one under.
He was back at even par after making bogey at the par-three 12th but regained his composure to bounce back brilliantly at the earliest opportunity with an eagle on the very next hole to dip to two under.
The Junior Golfer High School graduate student faltered coming in with back-to-back bogeys at the par-four 16th and 17th moving him back to even par, which was still good enough to top the 68-strong field.
The win catapulted Betschart 17 places in the Spring Series points standings to nineteenth.
He is a product of the Port Royal Golf Course junior programme, where he began his career at age 5 under the guidance of former European Tour player and multiple Bermuda Open champion Kim Swan.
“On behalf of Port Royal Golf Course and management, we would like to congratulate Oliver Betschart on his latest victory over there in Texas,” Stephen Lambert Jr, the Port Royal head professional,” told The Royal Gazette.
“He is a true testament of hard work and we are proud of him.”
Betschart has been taking advantage in recent years of an opportunity to continue his development in the United States working with PGA Tour winner David Ogrin at his academy in Texas.
“He has won a few monthly medals at Port Royal as a Port Royal member and has a bright future ahead of him,” Lambert added.
“We are proud of him and wish him the best of luck for the rest of his trip over there in Texas.”
Need to
Know
2. Please respect the use of this community forum and its users.
3. Any poster that insults, threatens or verbally abuses another member, uses defamatory language, or deliberately disrupts discussions will be banned.
4. Users who violate the Terms of Service or any commenting rules will be banned.
5. Please stay on topic. "Trolling" to incite emotional responses and disrupt conversations will be deleted.
6. To understand further what is and isn't allowed and the actions we may take, please read our Terms of Service
