Ryan Spurlock of Maumelle birdied his final three holes to take a one-shot lead after the second round of the 43rd annual Maumelle Classic amateur golf tournament Saturday afternoon at Maumelle Country Club.
Spurlock, 18, overcame two weather delays totaling nearly two hours to shoot a 2-under 70 and is at 5-under 139 overall. Grayson Jones of Texarkana is at 4-under 140 following a second-round 69.
First-round co-leader Trey Schaap of Little Rock and Austin Eoff of Benton are tied for third at 3-under 141. Carson Roberts of Conway, who shared the first-round lead, is among three players at 2-under 142.
Although Spurlock is playing the Maumelle Classic for the first time, his performance isn't a surprise. It's all about local knowledge.
Spurlock, the reigning ASGA Junior Player of the Year, lives only two or three minutes from Maumelle Country Club, works in the pro shop and said he plays his "home course" pretty much "every day."
"It's in my back yard," Spurlock said. "It's my stomping ground. I feel like I have an advantage."
Spurlock was preparing to hit his tee shot on No. 17, an intimidating 210-yard par-3 guarded by water, when the horn sounded because of a second weather delay.
Following a one-hour, three-minute break, Spurlock hit a 5-iron to 20 feet, then holed a 30-footer for birdie on No. 18.
The frantic finish means the 2016 Maumelle High School graduate and incoming freshman at Arkansas Tech University had to sleep on the overnight lead.
"There will be nerves there," Spurlock said. "But I'll have a lot of my friends and family supporting me."
Schaap was poised to take the 36-hole lead before stumbling late en route to a 2-over 74.
Schaap was 2 under Saturday when he lined up a tricky 20-foot right to left birdie putt on No. 16.
But instead of a fourth birdie in five holes, Schaap three-putted after the second weather delay, double-bogeyed No. 17 after his tee shot found water and bogeyed No. 18.
"That's golf," Schaap said. "I had momentum. I birdied 12, and I thought I made the putt for birdie on 13. It comes up three or four revolutions short. It was dead in the heart. But then I birdie 14, birdie 15 and thought, 'OK.' ... It was a long day. Probably one of the longest days I've had in a long time."
Schaap was in the final group with Roberts and Michael Wharton-Palmer of Texarkana, who shot 69 in the first round.
Roberts' 3-over 75 on Saturday was highlighted by a near ace on the No. 5, a 192-yard downhill par 3. Roberts had a kick-in birdie after a 6-iron stopped less than a foot from the hole.
Wharton-Palmer withdrew after nine holes Saturday because of heat-related problems.
Temperatures reached 100 degrees before a thunderstorm prompted the first weather delay (48 minutes) as Schaap, Roberts and Whorton-Palmer were preparing to tee off on No. 8.
Maumelle head professional Cary Maddox said removing players from the course because of severe weather is "totally a judgment call."
"Obviously when we see lightning, we sound the horn," Maddox said.
The 54-hole tournament is scheduled to conclude today.
Sports on 07/24/2016