Club Life Firecracker 7.2.26 (1)

Firecrackergoesinto‘extratime’ intwoflightstodecidewinners

Shortly after 6:30 p.m. Sunday, Aiden Dortch’s birdie on the par-5 second hole gave him – and partner Carson Harris – victory in the Championship Flight of the 2026 Firecracker, which went to a sudden-death playoff. The two teams and another team were tied at 4-under beginning the second and final round. Harris-Dortch and Brian Smith and his partner Danny Davis finished Sunday’s 18 holes in 2-under for a total of 6-under – setting up the playoff.

Even though Smith was the only club member in the playoff, Harris is the grandson of longtime member Emmett Harris, who finished ninth in the Fourth Flight with partner Hank Hall.

Carson Harris and Dortch are both college students. They played high school golf together at Trinity Christian Academy in Addison, just north of Dallas.

Aiden Dortch strikes his eagle attempt on the second playoff hole. He missed, but made birdie.

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Dortch plays for West Virginia University after starting his college golf career at TCU. He made it very clear when he first sat down to discuss the final round that he was not taking any money from the Firecracker. Both Aiden and Carson did not take any winnings.

On what became the final hole, Dortch was in the right rough, 215 yards out on #2.

“It’s been jumping all week out of the rough. I had 215 straight into – I guess – like a 20-25 mile-an-hour wind. I just ripped a 4-iron and just hoped it got there,” said Dortch.

The ball finished left of the flag. His eagle try didn’t fall, but his birdie putt did.

Davis also had a birdie attempt to keep the playoff going but couldn’t convert.

Both teams stayed within a shot or two of each other all day, but were tied over the last few holes, both missing birdie chances to break the tie.

Brian Smith and Danny Davis, left, waiting for 15 green to clear, while Carson Harris and Aidan Dortch wait further down on the right. th

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Smith said, “It was kind of a wild day. We had a one-shot swing on a few holes. We had, I think, two two-shot swings. We hurt ourselves with a double bogey on six and they hurt themselves with a six on number 11.

“Nothing’s easy when it’s blowing that hard,” he said about putts. “It doesn’t matter if it’s three feet or 30 feet. His partner Davis grew up in nearby Portland and now lives in Austin. “We’ve known each other for a long time, he’s a good player. I wanted him to come down,” said Smith.

Davis knows the club’s course.

“He qualified for the state amateur here back in the spring. So he likes the place. He’s a good, good player. We just put a lot of pressure on each other today, which is not ideal,” Smith said.

Despite that the college-age players were longer off the tee – Smith and Davis kept it close over the two days.

“A good putt here and there can make up for some distance. But they hit it a long way,” Smith said.

Harris will be entering his sophomore year at Arkansas, although he’s not playing golf in Fayetteville.

GOLF

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He played in the Burke Cup a few months ago with his grandfather and wanted to come back for the Firecracker.

“It was super fun,” he said. His grandfather was super happy.

“It’s fantastic – to see him win in sudden death. He played with me in the Burke Cup and wanted to come back to this thing. He was just chomping at it for several weeks. He practices a lot,” said Emmett Harris.

FirstFlight

Jeffrey Scoggins and Henry Cabrera won a one-hole playoff over Bryan Kennedy and Steven Bazan. Scoggins and Cabrera had a three-shot lead going into the final day, but shot a 75 while Kennedy and Bazan’s even-par 72 got them into the playoff. Domingo Zamarripa and Dan Dibble finished a shot short of the playoff, Jay Murphy and Dean Sartoris were two shots behind the leaders. Douglas Peterson and Mark LaRue, along with Richard Wilson and Chris Wicker finished three off the leaders.

SecondFlight

Robert Epps and Danny Brooks edged Trevor Beck and Kyle Mircovich by a shot – shooting 141 and 142.

FourthFlight

Pat O’Boyle and Albert Lichtenberger’s 153 won the Gross Flight, while Rey Borrego and Johnathan Barrera’s 137 won the Net Flight.