It all came down to the wire at the 54th M&P Group Texas State Open with Paris native, Tanner Napier sinking a short birdie putt on the first playoff hole to capture the title.
“It’s great. It’s awesome. Like I said earlier, I had great expectations about the way I was playing but obviously I didn’t have great expectations about this tournament when I got here this week. I just haven’t had much success here. But, obviously, I’ll take that now. I’ll take those past three not so great weeks, I’ll trade for this one. It’s great.”
Napier, who graduated from Paris High School in 2014, went head-to-head against 2019 champion Kyle Pritchard of Castroville in the playoff.
On the first playoff hole, Napier reached No. 18 in two, while Pritchard was left off the tee and then right near the bunker. When Pritchard’s long putt for birdie ran past the hole, Napier, who missed a similar three-footer on the 72nd hole, drained the putt for birdie and the victory.
“I had the thought of how many of these have I hit in my life. Thousands. So, that’s how I treated it,” said Napier after the playoff putt. “I was lucky enough to get it done.”
Taking home the first-place prize of $40,000, Napier plans to take a few weeks off before competing in the final Men’s All Pro Tour event this season which is the Oklahoma Championship from Aug. 27-30.
He also plans on going through PGA Tour Qualifying School, also known as “Q-School,” this fall in hopes of qualifying to play on the Korn Ferry Tour.
