The Gulf Coast Series is under way as we wrapped up the Gulf Coast Series Kickoff on Tuesday at Houston National. Playing at just over 7,300 yards the course showed it's teeth on both days. Day 1 got started a little cool with a frost delay and found 6 players within 3 shots of the lead.
Gulf Coast Series members James Larkin, Scott McVarish and Michael Borrett posted solid 75's on a day that saw a low score of 72. New member Steven Parker and Cajun Series player Brett Kaufman were able to post opening round 74's. The first round lead went to Houston's Mike Kullberg, who practices and lives at Houston National. Mike posted a working man's 72 for the 1st round lead. Round 1 was not without it's share of drama.
Sammy Hanson would have been right around the lead if it weren't for 10 penalty strokes on holes 1 thru 5 for a an extra club in the bag. Sammy will get his shot at Ridgeview Ranch this week though.
Day 2 started off absolutely perfect. Craig Nightingale who posted a 1st round 78, moved up the leader board on the front nine by posting a very solid 1 under 35. McVarish, Larkin and Borrett began the day 3 shots off the lead, and Michael Borrett came out firing. Michael birdied 3 of the first 4 holes to briefly grab a share of the lead at 1 under with Mike Kullberg. A couple of hiccups on the front put Michael back at even for the day. James Larkin made the turn at 1 over and Scott McVarish turned at 3 over both keeping themselves close to the money. In the lead group, Brett Kaufman made the turn at even, not letting Mr. Kullberg get to far away. Kullberg made the turn at 2-under. Steven Parker had a few bogeys on the front, but he wasn't quite done yet. The wind stiffened on the back 9. Craig Nightingale was able to post a 74 for a 6th place finish. Scott McVarish turned things around and moved up the board finishing with a 76 and a t-3rd finish along with Michael Borrett and Brett Kaufman. Steven Parker reeled it in the best as he was able to recover on the back, his birdie on the par 2 12th proved to be the stroke that moved him into 2nd all alone. Our 1st round leader Mike Kullberg held on for the victory though. Mike posted a 2 day total of 145 good for a 5 shot victory at the inaugural Gulf Coast Series Event. We would like to thank all the players that came out and congratulations goes out to Mike Kullberg of Houston, Texas for the victory.
