Saturday, November 17, 2012 (Fort Smith, AR) Players from Arkansas, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Missouri, and Texas compete for the Fianna Hills Open title! Arkansas took two trophies, Oklahoma took one, Missouri took one, and Texas took one.
What started as a chilly morning culminated in perfect Arkansas River Valley weather. Overnight temperatures dipped low enough to make the already fast greens at the Fianna Hills Country Club even a little more firm! If that wasn't enough, the changing fall colors made golf balls difficult to find. Read on to see how the battles shaped up.
Championship Flight: One of the largest fields for the Championship Flight in Arkansas AM Tour history yielded some great matches. Matthew McKown of Van Buren, AR responded with heart to what could have been a devastating opening quad with six birdies! Of all the players in contention, Michael Dryer of Bella Vista, AR had the fewest birdies with only one. Dryer, however, had only 3 blemishes on his card - and they were only bogeys. McKown was leading with two holes left to play but stumbled. Steady play (14 pars) and ''a little luck'' (finding a tee shot after hitting two provisionals) are what Dryer credits to his victory. Even par on the back nine was crucial! One trophy for Arkansas.
Palmer Flight: Roland Lewis of Tulsa, OK played well enough on the front nine to survive a string of bogeys on the back nine which gave Chris Blankenship of Stigler OK a chance to get close! A three over par front nine gave Lewis the cushion he needed to hold off Blankenship's five over par back nine. Statistically, the two played a very close match - an equal amount of pars and near equal amount of bogeys. It was the 'others' that cost Blankenship a run to the title. It was an Oklahoma all the way kind of day in the Palmer flight - one trophy for Oklahoma.
Hogan Flight: Can you say ''déjà' vu all over again?'' When Bill Matthews of Houston, TX finished his round, he didn't think an 83 would hold up. Since there were 13 players in the field, he'd have to wait for awhile to learn that he was going to be in a playoff - again - with Pat Weaver of Germantown, TN. It was a replay of the finish of the Red River shootout at Winstar in June of 2012 when Matthews and Weaver tied after two days and Weaver won in a sudden death playoff. It tok “three career shots” in his round to get him there, and Matthews was not going to squander the opportunity. After two holes, Texas would walk away with a trophy and Matthews would have his revenge.
Sarazen Flight: With four holes left, it was anybody's tournament. Kirby Rogers of Muldrow, OK held a one stroke lead over Steve Rutherford of Bella Vista, AR. Matthew Howard of Bentonville was four strokes out, but finishing strong only one over par let him come back for his first win on the AM Tour. Sinking a couple of long par putts kept him in it and proved to be the difference. Two trophies for Arkansas.
Jones Flight: Most golfers have the 'if only for one hole' story, but for Craig Merrill of Roland, AR, it was that one hole that may have kept him from a chance for victory. Dean Alexander of Appleton City, MO did, however, earned his first victory on the AM Tour with a couple of birdies on the front nine. Alexander said he played conservatively by hitting lots of irons off the tee and not 'going for' par 5's when he could have. Since the greens were so fast, he felt that laying up would be a winning strategy. It proved to be a four point strategy and he brings a trophy home to Missouri.
For more information:
Paul C. GomezArkansas Director, Golf Channel AM Tour917-553-3814pgomez@GCAmTour.com
