Army veteran, insurance executive Adam Renfroe cards 72 at Higginbotham Texas State Open

Published 6:30 pm Tuesday, July 26, 2022

As an amateur golfer who has a day job in insurance, Adam Renfroe knew the Higginbotham Texas State Open was going to be a challenge.

“It’s fun, but nerve-racking,” Renfroe said. “It’s a lot harder than playing on Saturday morning with your buddies. It’s fun to go up against — some of these guys are really good — to kind of see how you stack up. So it’s just a thrill. Every little shot is hard. But it’s a good challenge.”

This isn’t the first challenge Renfroe has had in his life.

Renfroe graduated from Grace Community School in 2004. He then went on to play golf at the United States Military Academy West Point for the Army.

“That’s really how I got in (playing on the golf team), so I took advantage of it,” Renfroe said.

After graduating from West Point in 2009, Renfroe said he did active duty for a little more than five years, including a tour in Iraq. Renfroe said he was mostly in the First Calvary Division in Fort Hood.

“I was a fire support officer and Ranger, so I did a lot of cool stuff,” he said. “I got a lot of stuff out of my system. I definitely would do it all over again. It was amazing.

“It was challenging and rewarding. The leadership was a challenge every day. I was young, in my mid-20s, and I was a platoon leader with soldiers that were kind of under my guidance, which was hard. You learned a combination of listening and figuring out when it’s time to have a backbone, which is a challenge. There was a lot of sacrifice being away from home, and there was a lot of uncertainty. I went to West Point in a time of war, graduated in a time of war and served in a time of war, which doesn’t happen a whole lot. To be with brothers and sisters that all kind of went there knowing we’re at war and we’re going to war, it kind of created a different sense of urgency than just going to school.”

He moved back to his hometown of Tyler in 2014. He said he briefly worked for Nestle Waters at the Ozarka factory in Hawkins. He then got into insurance. After working for another agency for a little bit, Renfroe has now been at Higginbotham since 2018 and is the vice president of business insurance for the company, which is sponsoring the Texas State Open for the second straight year.

Renfroe is also a member at The Cascades Golf & Country Club — the host site for the event.

In 2020, Renfroe qualified for the event and shot a 77 and 73, going 10-over par in two rounds to miss the cut. In 2021, Renfroe received the club exemption and shot a 78 and 75 for a two-round total of 13-over par.

Renfroe is back in the tournament this year, getting the exemption from the Northern Texas PGA.

“It’s kind of melding of two different passions,” Renfroe said. “We’re really proud of Higginbotham to call this the Higginbotham Texas State Open. It’s a huge honor to be a part of a marquee event like this, it’s really humbling. It’s really good to see our company’s name out there everywhere. And being able to be a member and kind of fly the flag for the membership too is kind of fun. Everybody is texting me to play good and all of that stuff. It’s a little added pressure, but that’s what makes it fun.”

After a par on his opening hole, Renfroe birdied the second hole. Following a par-bogey-par on the next three holes, Renfroe birdied two of the next three holes and was 2-under par through the front nine.

After the turn, Renfroe bogeyed two of the first three holes before going par-birdie-bar on holes No. 13, 14 and 15. He finished his round with three straight bogeys to finish at 2-over 72 on Tuesday.

“I played a lot better today (than last year),” Renfroe said. “I had a bad finish today, but still 72 is pretty good for me, somebody that has a job. I played better today, which is all that really matters.

“Watching these guys play last year, they score so well. They don’t have big numbers. That was my goal, if I had a bad hole, was to keep it at a bogey and then focus inside of five feet, and I did that pretty well. The last few holes, I just made some mistakes. I had a really bad three-putt on 18. And maybe lost focus a little bit trying to run at a birdie. Overall, I’m happy. Hopefully, I can go out there and throw something red tomorrow and hopefully make the cut.”

Renfroe will tee off at 2 p.m. Wednesday on hole No. 10.