New Team Event Commences in 2025 Called The Bayou Cup!

January 13, 2025Peyton Snow

The Southern Texas PGA, Louisiana Junior Golf Tour, and Gulf States PGA expand

partnership with new Ryder Cup style event!

January 13, 2025 (Spring, TX) – The Southern Texas PGA is excited to announce a new team event against the state of Louisiana starting this year. Called “The Bayou Cup”, this team event will feature 12 junior golfers on both teams and will be played at Big Easy Ranch in Columbus, TX on December 5-7, 2025.

Each team will be comprised of 4 Girls ages 13-18, 4 Boys ages 13-14, and 4 Boys ages 15-18, at the time of qualifying. This will be the first team event specifically with a 13-14 age division administered by the Southern Texas PGA. The 12 qualifying spots will be awarded throughout the 2025 Srixon Prestige Tour with the first qualifying spots being awarded at the Lake Charles Spring Classic on March 22-23 for the Boys 15-18 and Girls 13-18 Champion.


The remaining exemption outline will be announced at a later date this spring.


The relationship between the STPGA, Gulf States PGA, and Louisiana Junior Golf Tour started in 2023 when the STPGA administered 2 Srixon Prestige Tour events in Lake Charles, LA. After two successful years of co-branding junior golf events, all three organizations felt like this was an awesome next step for players from both states. 


“This is a big announcement for junior golf and all of our members,” said Thomas Hutton, Executive Director for the Southern Texas PGA. “Team events allow us to celebrate not only great players, but great opportunities to build friendships and relationships that will last a lifetime.”


To make the inaugural event even more exciting, Big Easy Ranch will be an unbelievable host! Friday, December 5 will feature a practice round and opening ceremony. Saturday, December 6 will feature an 18-hole match in the morning on the Championship Course and then a 9-hole match on the Par-3 course in the afternoon, followed by an 18-hole singles match on Sunday, December 7 on the Championship Course. 


“We want to extend our gratitude to Billy Brown for hosting this event at Big Easy Ranch,” said Logan Ray, Executive Director for the Louisiana Golf Association. “The golf and hospitality there are unrivaled, and it will be a spectacular showcase for the best junior golfers in Louisiana and Texas. Mr. Brown has a connection to both states, making this even more special to host at his place."


In just a few short years, Big Easy Ranch has quickly become one of the top destinations for the finest sporting, hunting and golf amenities. The highly anticipated opening of The Covey, the 18-hole championship golf course, took place in March of 2023 and in its first year, it was ranked as #1 new and #10 top overall golf course by The Dallas Morning News in the state of Texas. 


In addition to this new event in 2025, the STPGA will continue to administer two Srixon Prestige Tour events in Lake Charles, LA, with one being March 22-23 at Contraband Bayou Golf Course and the other November 8-9 at Mallard Golf Club. To continue our growth, a new Louisiana Junior Golf Tour event will also be added the first weekend of the Summer at Koasati Pines Golf Club in Kinder, LA on May 31-June 1 where STPGA Junior Golfers can play in as well! This third event at Koasati Pines will still have an Insperity Invitational Tour Championship exemption and players will earn points on the Insperity Invitational Points List and Legends Junior Tour Points List. Full details on this May 31-June 1 event will be announced at a later date. 


The STPGA, LJGT, and Gulf States PGA look forward to hosting all 24 players in December of 2025 and starting a new rivalry in junior golf! Who will be the first to win The Bayou Cup


Click Here to learn more about Big Easy Ranch.

Click Here to learn more about the Southern Texas PGA Junior Golf Program. 

Click Here to learn more about the Louisiana Junior Golf Tour.

By Southern Texas PGA December 15, 2025
Good Afternoon Players, Parents, & Family Friends, First and foremost, thank you to all the players and parents who made 2025 an unforgettable year! With 40 action-packed events, more than 1,200 competitors, an epic Tour Championship, and two thrilling Ryder Cup–style showdowns, this season truly made history. 2025 was one for the books! With 2026 on the horizon, we wanted to share with you all the changes that will be coming to the Srixon Prestige Tour. Registration Dates When registration opens it will work a little differently in 2026. All events for a given month will open two months prior, at 9am on the first Tuesday of the month. For example, all events for March will open on January 6th at 9am. Cancellation Policy Cancellations for events will work differently as well. Each event will now have two deadlines. The first will be 12 prior to the First Round of the event. Those who cancel on, or before the first deadline, will be charged a $15 cancellation. The second deadline will be 5 days prior to the First Round. Those who cancel between the first and second deadline will be charged a $50 cancellation. For players who register after the first deadline and cancel before the second deadline, they will only be charged a $15 cancellation fee. As a reminder, all refunds will be in the form of credit to that individual player's account. Division Changes We will have some changes to our Age Divisions in 2026. First, our divisions will be expanding from 13-18, to 11-18. The division split will now be 11-14, and 15-18. Secondly, the Boys 11-14 division will be playing from a new yardage. Starting with the Prestige Tour Premiere on January 17-18, Boys 11-14 will be playing from 6,200-6,500 yards. Boys 15-18 will remain at their current yardage of 6,660-6,900, and both Girls 11-14 and 15-18 will remain at 5,600-5,900. Should a Boy in the 11-14 division wish to compete in the 15-18 division and play from the respective yardage, click here to fill out the Division Advancement Request Form. The form must be filled out prior to the registration deadline of the first event the player wishes to play up. Once a player plays up into the older division three times, they must remain in that division for the remainder of the year. Entry Procedures & Field Sizes Along with the altered divisions, the entry procedures into a given tournament have changed. Entry will now be first come, first served based on division. Once a given division has reached capacity, remaining players will be placed on the waiting list. In the event that the event is not full, and the first cancellation has passed, the remaining spots will be filled by the waiting list, regardless of division, on a first come first served basis. These changes were made to maximize the chances for each division to meet the AJGA PBE minimum field requirements. Attached below is the field allocation by division chart based on total field size. 
By Jeff Giedd December 4, 2025
The STPGA is excited to introduce our new Junior Golf Coordinator, Claire Calabro. We are thrilled to have her on board the team and are eager to see her grow the game for our junior golfers! Here's a little more about her:
By Southern Texas PGA December 2, 2025
Good Afternoon, Players, Parents, & Family Friends, 11 incredible months have passed - it’s time to finish this year on a high note! Srixon Prestige Tour Champions - November November kicked off at Forest Creek Golf Club for The Round Rock Cup, where Cole Gailys of Austin, TX shined with back-to-back under-par rounds to capture his first Prestige Tour victory. In the Girls Division, Rachel Turk of Austin, TX delivered the weekend’s lone even-par round, sealing her first Srixon Prestige Tour title of 2025 in impressive fashion. From there, the Srixon Prestige Tour headed east just across state lines for the Visit Lake Charles Fall Classic at Mallard Golf Club in Lake Charles, LA. Joshua Szynski of New Braunfels, TX battled steady winds to notch his first career Srixon Prestige Tour win, finishing +1 after carding a birdie on the 36th hole of the tournament. Meanwhile, Caileigh Royer of Mont Belvieu, TX took her Round 1 lead into Round 2 where she would then claim her second Srixon Prestige Tour win of 2025. The month wrapped up with not one, not two, but THREE Championships taking place just before Thanksgiving! Beginning just north of Houston, Joanna Kim of Langley, British Columbia and Jackson Tennant of Austin, TX walked away as The Gobbler Cup Champions at Elkins Lake Country Club. Next, we look at the history made in San Antonio for the 2nd Abraham Ancer Classic at Oak Hills Country Club where Gavin Swearengin of San Antonio, TX takes home his first title and Aly Esparza of Laredo, TX claims her second Championship of 2025. Last but not least, Blane Arnim of Katy, TX & Sophia Liu of Sugar Land, TX found a way to enter the holiday season on a high note from their excellent play at Bay Oaks Country Club. New Cancellation Process for the Srixon Prestige Tour Beginning in 2026, a few changes will be implemented to the cancellation process for Srixon Prestige Tour Championships. These updates are designed to provide greater clarity and help players and families plan ahead with confidence. Below, you’ll find a breakdown of the upcoming changes — along with an example of what to expect — so you can be better prepared for the 2026 year. First cancellation wave deadline is 12 days prior to Round 1 Players are charged a $15 cancellation fee with the remaining credits being applied to the junior golfer’s account Ex: Round 1 is January 17, the first cancellation wave deadline is January 5th at 11:59 PM Second cancellation wave deadline is 5 days prior to Round 1 Players are charged a $50 cancellation fee with the remaining credits being applied to the junior golfer’s account Ex. Round 1 is January 17, second wave deadline is January 12th at 11:59 PM 2026 Registration Dates for the Srixon Prestige Tour & 2026 Important Dates Below is a list of dates we wanted to share with you to ensure a smooth transition into the new year. December 2nd - Srixon Prestige Tour (January - May) Schedule will be Viewable December 16th - January & February Prestige Tour tournaments Open for Registration January 6th - March Prestige Tour tournaments Open for Registration February 3rd - April Prestige Tour tournaments Open for Registration March 3rd - May Prestige Tour tournaments Open for Registration April 7th - June Prestige Tour tournaments Open for Registration May 5th - July Prestige Tour tournaments Open for Registration June 2nd - August Prestige Tour tournaments Open for Registration July 7th - September Prestige Tour tournaments Open for Registration August 4th - October Prestige Tour tournaments Open for Registration September 1st - November Prestige Tour tournaments Open for Registration October 6th - December Prestige Tour tournaments Open for Registration Click here to view our STPGA Junior Golf Important Dates webpage to see other program’s important dates. Thank You to our Sponsors! For the seventh consecutive year, Srixon is returning as the sole Prestige Tour Title Partner for the 2025 year. Keep in mind, if you are looking for golf balls to golf clubs, Srixon is one of the premiere brands in the industry and will always keep you at the top of your game. Another thank you to the Visit Lake Charles team for their continued support of STPGA Junior Golf and for welcoming many families to town for the Visit Lake Charles Fall Classic!
By Southern Texas PGA November 20, 2025
The STPGA is excited to introduce our new Digital Content Coordinator, Hannah D'Olimpio. We are thrilled to have her on board the team and are eager to see her grow the game for our junior golfers! Here's a little more about her:
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