Big Bend-area Lajitas tops the list of Texas' best golf courses for 2022 — again

Word is leaking out, slowly, about Black Jack’s Crossing at Lajitas Golf Resort, a pristine layout that easily could be mistaken for a rocky lunar landscape, requiring as much skill with a camera as a golf club.

Once a secret, the course situated between Big Bend National Park and Big Bend Ranch State Park has again topped Golfweek’s Best Courses You Can Play in Texas list in 2022, and where this was once a bucket-list buddy trip destination, it’s becoming more of a corporate retreat with high-end lodging and incredible views.

“It’s been something of a quiet revolution,” said Terry Olson, the director of sales and marketing. “We’re starting to see more and more corporations use this as a getaway or retreat. If they want to come out here, it’s because they want to golf on this course, but there are plenty of other things to keep people busy and entertained.”

More: Sergio Garcia's Central Texas charity golf events nets $2 million

Designed by PGA Tour legend Lanny Wadkins and opened in 2012, the mountainous layout sits near the Texas border with Mexico along the Rio Grande. The course was named for U.S. Army General “Black Jack” Pershing, who chased Pancho Villa across the river more than a century ago.

Golfweek ranks courses by compiling the average ratings — on a points basis of 1 to 10 — of its more than 850 raters to create several industry-leading lists of courses. That includes the popular Best Courses You Can Play list for courses that allow nonmember tee times. These generally are defined as layouts accessible to resort guests or regular daily-fee players.

Black Jack’s Crossing is No. 1 on the list in Texas, as well as being No. 38 on Golfweek’s Best 2022 rankings of all resort courses in the country.

And while corporate types are often spotted, it’s also a perfect venue for a major golf event. For example, the North Texas PGA held its season-ending Duel in the Desert at Lajitas this week and former PGA Tour player J.J. Killeen took the lead into the final 18 holes before falling to former Baylor star and longtime Waco resident Jon Antunes, 3 and 1.

Ailing Zalatoris back to work

Dallas-area resident Will Zalatoris has been nursing a bad back since the FedEx Cup playoffs, but he found an important way to fill his schedule between starts — by tying the knot.

The former Wake Forest star and 2014 U.S. Junior Amateur champion announced his engagement to girlfriend Caitlin Sellers, also a Demon Deacon, with a series of pictures on Instagram back in April 2021. The post included the caption, “Best day of my life. I love you.”

On Tuesday, also via Instagram, Zalatoris posted a photo of the happy couple with the caption, “Can’t wait to spend the rest of my life with my best friend. I love you.”

Zalatoris entered August’s BMW Championship in the advantageous No. 1 spot in the FedEx Cup standings after capturing his first PGA Tour win at the FedEx St. Jude Championship in Memphis. But during the third round at Wilmington Country Club in Wilmington, Del., he suffered a back injury on the third hole.

Zalatoris and his playing partner, Emiliano Grillo, let the group of Sam Burns and Adam Hadwin through as they waited for the PGA Tour physio. After a short visit and numerous stretches, Zalatoris decided to withdraw from the event.

However, the Sentry Tournament of Champions recently announced that Zalatoris is expected in the field for the event in early January, which will mark his first start in nearly five months.

Two Aggies earn LPGA status

After plenty of pressure-packed golf, 46 players representing 21 different countries earned LPGA status for 2023 through the tour's Qualifying Series. A total of 23 of the 46 players will be LPGA rookies.

Among them was Maddie Szeryk, who played at Texas A&M where she set an SEC record with 32 career top-10 tournament finishes. She earned LPGA status for 2022 after a top-35 finish at the 2021 LPGA Q-Series. She finished 144th on the CME points list this season with 14 starts.

Also included in the list is Sofia Garcia, a two-time South American Amateur champion who turned professional in 2021 after playing at Texas Tech. Garcia’s career-best finish on the Epson Tour is in a tie for second at the 2022 Carlisle Arizona Women’s Golf Classic; she has five additional career top-10 finishes. She finished 30th on the Epson Tour money list this season.

Short putts

∙ Consider this week a good one for those interested in saving Lions Municipal Golf Course in Austin, at least where politics are concerned. It's common knowledge that Kirk Watson, who won the mayoral runoff, is open to keeping the golf course. Watson beat Celia Israel on Tuesday.

∙ Former TCU star Tom Hoge teamed with Sahith Theegala to win the QBE Shootout at Tiburon Golf Club in Naples, Fla., last weekend, coming from two down entering the final round to win. Theegala, who hit his best drive of the day down the 18th fairway, drilled a birdie putt to give he and Hoge a one-shot lead. Ryan Palmer and Charley Hoffman, who led after the first and second rounds, each had shorter looks at birdie but were unable to convert. “It was an interesting day because I don’t think either one of us played our best for 18 holes, but we kind of timed it right,” Hoge said. “I got off to some good starts to both nines and then Sahith kind of brought me home. You know, kind of the ham and egg worked really well for us and holed the timely putts when we needed to, for sure.”

Tim Schmitt is the managing editor for Golfweek, golf coordinator for the USA Today Network and lives in Round Rock. Golfweek's Adam Schupak and Beth Ann Nichols also contributed to this report.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: The best golf course in Texas? It's Lajitas near Big Bend — again