Xavier Bighaus, Paris Fieldings Overcome Major Deficits to Win Southwest Airlines Showcase at Cedar Crest
2nd Round leaders falter in windy conditions
By: MARK KAZLOWSKI, Tournament Reporter, Wednesday, November 13, 2024
DALLAS. It was a wonderful day for comebacks at the Southwest Airlines Showcase at Cedar Crest.
Xavier Bighaus overcame a 5-shot deficit, and Paris Fieldings overcame an 8-shot deficit to win their respective divisions Wednesday in this amateur All-Star invitational event.
Winners Xavier Bighaus and Paris Fields with respective winner’s trophies
Bighaus, a McKinney native who played at Melissa High School, shot an 8-under 63 in the final round to finish two shots ahead of Kci Lindskog, a Texas Southern senior from Indonesia. Bighaus’ 54-hole total was 11-under 202.
The tournament featured golfers from diverse backgrounds. The format was separate but concurrent 54-hole stroke play competitions. The 42-player total player field included 21 men and 21 women across 32 different colleges and universities with three high school players.
Bighaus said his experience as a member of the Colorado Christian University Division II National Championship team last spring prepared him for Wednesday’s course record-tying round. He also won a tournament in the school’s fall season and is no stranger to rounds in the low 60s.
“Playing on a team that has had a lot of opportunities to win has prepared me just knowing what to expect in the moment, in big pressure moments,” Bighaus said.
Bighaus lines up birdie putt enroute to front-nine 29, a course record
He had six birdies on the front nine to shoot 29 and didn’t make his lone bogey until No. 15. Though he grew up in North Texas, the tournament was the first time he had played Cedar Crest.
“Me and my caddie talked all week about how the course was really getable,” Bighaus said, “and I just had to put myself in good positions like I thought I did all week. Today we just took advantage.”
Fieldings, a Howard sophomore from Chesapeake, VA, shot a 5-under 66 to finish two shots ahead of SMU’s Emily Odwin and Daniela Abonce, a junior at UT-San Antonio from Mexico.
Fieldings, who carded a 5-under 208, nearly withdrew on No. 14 after she hit concrete with her 7-iron on an approach shot and injured her right wrist.
“I just wanted to tap out,” Fieldings said of the injury that brought her to tears. It helped that a spectator provided a bag of ice to put on the wrist to get her through the last four holes with her mother was her caddie.
Fieldings seals victory with drive in fairway on hole #18 at Cedar Crest GC
“My mom said I had to push through, and that trials and tribulations come before greatness,” Fieldings said. “She said it was just the devil trying to hold me back and apparently that was the case, so here I have the win. I want to thank my mom because without her I probably wouldn’t be holding this trophy.”
Odwin, who began the day with a 3-shot lead, briefly fell into a tie with Fieldings after making a bogey from the trees on No. 12 while Fieldings made a birdie on No. 13. Odwin regained the lead after making a birdie on the downwind 349-yard 13th when her drive came up 3 yards short of the green.
Fieldings, playing one women’s group ahead of Odwin, kept the pressure on with a birdie on the par-5 16th. When Odwin stumbled on No. 15 with a double bogey and made a bogey on 16, Fieldings was able to cruise to victory.
Bighaus, meanwhile, played in the next to last men’s threesome. The tee times alternated between seven men’s threesomes and seven women’s threesomes.
Matthew Vital, a Temple sophomore, built a 4-shot lead Tuesday with a bogey-free round. On Wednesday, he struggled with seven bogies on his way to a 4-over 75 to tie for fourth.
Bighaus held off playing partner Lindskog who got to 10-under after a birdie on 15 and an eagle on 16. Bighaus responded to Lindskog’s eagle with a birdie to get to 11-under and parred the final two holes while Lindskog made a par and a bogey to finish with a 66.
Seven players in the men’s field finished under par in the windy conditions after two days of light breezes. Five women finished under par.
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