Rusty Strawn’s First Round 68 Leads the 2022 TMGA Senior & Mid-Master

DALLAS, Texas– The still Texas heat was no match for Rusty Strawn of McDonough, Georgia as he fired an opening 68 on a beautiful day at Trinity Forest Golf Club. He leads the Senior Division by 3 shots after round one of the Trans Mississippi Senior & Mid-Master Championship. Mike Masowich of Fort Worth, Texas and Jason Enloe of Dallas, Texas are tied for the lead in the Mid-Master Division at 1-under-par while Randy King of Horseshoe Bay, Texas, and Jeff Burda of La Quinta, California are tied at even par and sit atop the Super Senior division. Rounding out the tournament in the Legends division is Kurt Berhisel of Salt Lake City, Utah leads with even par after posting a very solid 72.
 
“I got to off to a good start I birdied 2 out of my first 3 holes, but the key to my momentum was when I eagled the 11th hole, I made a 30 footer for eagle at the time to get to 5 under and it gave me a lot of momentum.” Said Strawn, the Georgia native, who played his golf at Georgia Southern from 1982 to 1985 helping Georgia Southern win the Trans America Athletic Conference team title in 1983. In 2021 Strawn totaled 6 national tournament wins and got as high as 580th in the World Amateur Golf Rankings.
 
As for the Mid-Master co-leaders, Jason Enloe a former professional golfer on the Nationwide Tour fired a solid 71 at Trinity Forest this afternoon with 4 birdies and 3 bogies. The other co-leader Mike Masowich also played a solid round recording 3 birdies and 2 bogies enroute to his 1-under-par round. “I played really well, I made some key puts, especially my par saves on 9 and 14, those were huge”, Masowich said.
 
As for the others in the hunt, 8 players sit within four shots of the leaders including Jay Livsey of Lakewood, Colorado, and Michael Blackmon of Salt Lake City, Utah who are just one back at even par.
 
In the Super Senior division, both Randy King and Jeff Burda hold a 3 stroke lead on the rest of the field after both recording 4 birdies in their rounds. Randy King out of Escondido Country Club has played well as of late recording a T12 at Society of Seniors Senior Masters in Indian Wells, California and a solo 9^th place finish at the Golfweek Senior Amateur Championship in La Quinta, California this April. Still in the hunt, at 3 over and tied for second sit four players including local Doug Hopton-Jones of Mansfield, Texas.
 
In the Legends Division, Kurt Birhisel leads after carding an even-par round of 72 which included 5 birdies and 5 bogies. Denny Alexander of Fort Worth, Texas sits 2 back after a 74 followed by Lester Devitt and Craig Campbell at 3 over par.
 
The first Trans-Mississippi Senior Championship was held in 2000 at White Bear Yacht Club. In 2011, the TMGA expanded the Championship to include a Super Senior division (players aged 65 and older). As the association and event continued to grow, a Legends division (players aged 70 and older) was added in 2013. Five years later, the TMGA created a Mid-Master division (players aged 40 and older) and it has continued to attract some of the best amateurs from around the country.
 
Opening for play in October of 2016 Trinity Forest Golf Club quickly became recognized by Golf Digest as one of the best courses in the metroplex and is currently ranked sixth in the state of Texas overall. The Coore and Crenshaw-designed golf course was built on an old landfill and now displays an extremely firm 165-acre treeless links-style golf course in the heart of Dallas and the Great Trinity Forest. The golf course will offer the players a new test as they hope to navigate the firm L1F Zoysia fairways and undulating Bermuda greens.
 
Notably, Trinity Forest Golf Club has played host to the Byron Nelson Classic, Texas State Open, and Dallas Amateur Championship. In addition, it has become the home of the SMU Men’s and Women’s golf teams and hosted the Trinity Forest Invitational which fields some of the best college teams in the country every year. 

About the Trans-Mississippi Golf Association

The Trans-Mississippi Golf Association is one of the oldest and most prestigious golf organizations in the United States. Established in 1901, the Trans-Mississippi is composed of over 200 member clubs located throughout the country. The Association is governed by a board of independent directors and is headquartered in Dallas, TX.