Golf

RICHMOND -- Houston's Kevin VandenHeuvel had six birdies on the front nine to shoot a 7-under 65 on Tuesday and capture The Houstonian Invitational by one stroke at The Houstonian Golf & Country Club.

VandenHeuvel had a 6-under 138 in the 36-hole tournament. First-round leader Brax McCarthy of Fort Worth was second at 139 (69-70). John Duke Hudson of Sonora was third at 1-under 143.

Diboll's Wesley McClain tied for 13th with a 151 (77-74), while Longview's Jason Fiscus tied for 16th with a 153 (81-72). Connor Ribble of Texarkana, Ark., shot a 154 (78-76) to tie for 18th.

Other East Texans in the field included: T27, Nathan Weant, Hallsville (79-77 -- 156); T34, Cal Clyde, Tyler (81-78 -- 159); T36, Steven Woodard, Palestine (85-75 -- 160); T48, Teejay Shanks, Texarkana (81-85 -- 166); and 66, Sam Sadler, Henderson (93-90 -- 183).

In the girls division, Hannah Arnold of Lufkin tied with Tezira Abe of Angleton for ninth. Arnold had a 165 (83-82).

Lakareber Abe of Angleton (81-74 -- 155) won the tournament in a playoff over Christina Cantu of Houston (80-75 -- 155).

EULESS -- Tyler's Spenser Ellis tied for 28th after the first round of the Collegiate Players Tour National Championship Tuesday at Texas Star Golf Club.

Ellis carded a 5-over 75.

Ross Beal of Uniontown, Ohio, leads with a 4-under 67. JR Hurley of Norman, Okla., is second with a 68.

Tyrette Metzendorf of Winter Haven, Fla., leads the women's division with a 69. Nicole Crochet is second at 71.

The second round is today.

Texas Rangers first baseman Chris Davis, a Longview graduate, was named Gillette's Rookie of the Month for July in the American League.

Davis hit eight home runs and drove in 16 for the Rangers to earn the honor. For the season, he is hitting .279 with 11 homers and 28 RBIs.