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A highly competitive event unfolded between the Arkansas Golfweek Amateur Tour and the Kansas Golfweek Amateur Tour. The winner of the Cup remained uncertain until the completion of the D flight, after the C flight, David King, entered the final 9-hole stretch with a substantial 10-shot lead but let’em off the hook and Raymond Peevy (Arkansas) fires a 38 on the back 9 and eventually win on the second playoff hole.
In the Champ Flight, Ryan Cloutier (Arkansas) started strongly with a 1-under-par front 9. By the end of Day One, Aaron Mickelson of the Kansas Tour was tied with Colby Scroggins and Ryan Urbanski of the Arkansas Tour at +3, with Matthew Thorman in fourth place at +6. On Day Two, leaders Urbanski and Mickelson shot +1 on the front, with Urbanski taking a one-shot lead on hole 11. However, Mickelson regained the lead on hole 15, and Urbanski ultimately secured the win with a par on hole 18, emerging victorious by a single stroke.
The A Flight's first day featured a notable performance on the front 9, with Arkansas's Danny Robinson and Kansas Tour's Phillip Turner finishing at plus one. Seth Williams, Brandon Lynch (Arkansas), and Brian Barnes trailed by just one shot. After Day One, the leaderboard was tightly packed at the top, with Kansas Tour members Williams and Turner tied for the lead at +6. Lynch was at +7, followed by Sean McClain at +8, Barnes at +9, and Robinson at +10. On Day Two, Turner continued to play well with a 38 on the front and went on to win A Flight. Williams gained a two-stroke advantage over Barnes for 2nd place.
In B Flight, the score is currently tied at 1-1 in flight wins. Following Day One, Kansas Tour members Tyler Baird held the lead with a score of +6 over Troy Bailey +8 and LR Gardner and Ryan Melton, both Arkansas Tour, were positioned with scores of +9 and +11 respectively. Day Two - Baird encountered challenges on holes 12-14, where Bailey maintained consistency and secured the win with a solid +7 round and +15 for the tournament, giving Kansas a 2-1 lead for the Cup. Baird's +20 score kept him in second place, just one stroke ahead of Jon Nutt (Arkansas), who delivered an impressive Day Two round of +9.
Following Day One, the C Flight appeared to be a foregone conclusion, with Kansas Director David King delivering his strongest performance of the season, shooting a +9. Jesse Barton secured a $100 skin by sinking a birdie on hole 18, moving into second place solo, 10 strokes behind his friend of 52 years. A four-way tie for third place emerged at +20, comprising Raymond Peevy and Todd Carter from the Arkansas Tour, and Kathy Haeffner and Clint Carter from the Kansas Tour. On Day Two, after nine holes, King continued his strong play, posting a 42 and maintaining a comfortable 10-stroke lead over Peevy and Carter. King thinking to himself, up 2-1 for the Cup, this is a lock. Following three holes on the back nine, Peevy added two birdies, narrowing the gap to four shots. By hole 15, Peevy and King were tied. James Crow from the Arkansas Tour had quietly moved into third place, only four shots back, with Carter five strokes behind. King and Peevy concluded with two pars and a bogey sending the competition to a playoff, where Peevy emerged victorious on the second playoff hole.
Bringing the match tied KS 2 AR 2 and the last King recalled Arkansas held the top spots in D.
After the first day of competition in Arkansas, the D Flight leaderboard showed Wade Thomas at +19 and Doug Pogue at +21 (Arkansas Tour), with the Kansas Tour's Ray Krueger at +21 and John Seglie at +22. On Day Two, Cliff Austin Jr. had a strong front nine, with four pars, four bogies, and a birdie, to tie with Seglie at +29. Pogue stood at +30, Thomas at +31, and Krueger dropped to fifth place. The lead changed between Seglie and Austin, but after 15 holes, Pogue was one shot behind Austin, and after 17 holes, Pogue and Austin were tied, with Thomas two shots back. Austin ultimately won by one shot, bogeying the 18th hole to bring the cup back home to The Kansas Golfweek Amateur Tour!
That is as close as you can get! What a great battle and thank you for a fun day to the Arkansas players.
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