Top Golfers
It’s no secret that deals are closed on the golf course nearly as often as at a conference table. (Or at least what people who want to golf would have you believe.) Many of you just enjoy the break from the office, but some among you really know your way around a course. We rounded up a second installment of the best golfers in the commercial real estate community.
Bryant Lach
Before joining Studley, Bryant Lach golfed professionally for two years as a member of the NGA Tour. He likes to say that pro golf is organized gambling, and believing you’re one great week away from a major paycheck makes it hard to stop. He says that mindset is very similar to real estate, which is part of the reason he entered this industry. (The only difference is that sometimes the harder you work at golf, the worse you get.) Above, he shows off a hole in one he earned last year. It was the morning of his friend’s wedding in Colorado, so he got to celebrate it in style that night.
Weldon Martin
CBRE’s Weldon Martin tells us his biggest win is any time he beats Bryant. The two played together growing up, and the competition heated up when they played college golf against each other (Weldon at Baylor and Bryant at A&M). Weldon got into the game at eight years old when his granddad bought him a set of clubs, and by the time he was 13 he could hit the mid-70s. (His lowest competitive score is a 65.) His golf journey has had some ups and downs—in his sophomore year of high school, he got hit in the head with a golf ball. He spent nine days in the hospital, but went on to win his first two national events the next year.
Clint Duncan
CBRE VP Clint Duncan (you read that company right; he joined CB recently) started golfing when he was six, and earned a golf scholarship to Stephen F. Austin. Now that he has two kids, his game is a little rusty, but he still plays The Invitational golf tournament every year in Austin. It’s a fairly wild tourney where players dress up in costume and proceeds go to charity. Above, he’s Paul Stanley (third from the left).
And here he’s showcasing his Texan flair as Champ Kind from Anchorman. Clint’s best score is 66, and he’s had three holes in one.
Tim Delgado
Read King Medical prez Tim Delgado (third from the left with Ewing King, Jeff Read, and Cort King at a recent Baylor alum golf outing) started playing golf with friends in eighth grade. He made the high school golf team the following year and was hooked. Every year he plays in a couple of tournaments with friends, and last year he started a new tradition by playing in the Houston Cup with Alamo Title’s Mike Rozell (a former Bisnow Top Golfer). His lowest score on a PGA-caliber course was 69 at The Houstonian, and he’d like to compete for the Houston Amateur title someday.
Stephen O’Connor
Southwest Realty Advisors VP Stephen O’Connor is a member at Champions and tries to play every weekend, although time is limited now between closing deals and his two-month-old son. His love for the sport began when he was given a Ping 7 Iron when he was eight. Above is a picture from his annual Bandon Dunes trip last April—he and his buddies try to average 40 to 50 holes a day while they’re there, despite the fact that rain and 30-40 mph hours are not out of the ordinary.
