New greens, no problems.
Perennial Arkansas State Golf Association winners Beau Glover, Chris Jenkins and Wes McNulty, playing in the same threesome, had no trouble navigating the new greens or the rest of War Memorial Golf Course's par-64, 4,341-yard layout Saturday in the first round of the Fourth of July Classic.
The three combined to shoot 22 under, which included an eagle, 22 birdies and 2 bogeys, with Glover's 10-under 54 leading the way. Jenkins, who holds the record with seven tournament titles including the past two, was at 8 under, which included an eagle at the par-4 second hole.
"We played an easy golf course today," said Jenkins, who along with the rest of the field played "lift, clean and place" rules for the round because of excessive mud scattered throughout the course. "The tee boxes were up, and there were several easy hole locations. It may play different these next two days, but for today it played different than it has before.
"I do know this, it will be interesting to see what the future will hold out here in the next year or two, but in my opinion, it's playing three to four shots easier."
Jenkins, whose previous best round at War Memorial was a 56 in the final round of his first championship in 1995, was a stroke behind Glover at the turn after a 5-under 32. Glover, a former University of Arkansas standout, pushed his lead to two with a birdie at the par-4 10th, then extended it to three with another birdie at the par-3 17th. Jenkins trimmed the deficit to two shots with a birdie at the par-4 18th.
"I was pleased, obviously," Glover said of his course-best 54. "Yeah, 10 birdies, 8 pars is solid. I am just ready to see what I can do the next two days.
McNulty, a two-time champion of the tournament that was pushed back from its traditional date while the new greens were being installed, bogeyed the first two holes and finished both sides with matching 30s for his 4-under 60.
Sitting in a tie for fourth place after a 3-under 61 is 2000 champion Tracy Harris of Little Rock. Harris, who already has wrapped up the ASGA Mid-Senior Player of the Year title, is playing in the championship division this weekend. He said he could tell a big difference between the former War Memorial greens and the new ones.
"They're definitely a little different, a little softer and slower," said Harris, 53. "It's something you have to be aware of. Now, instead of fearing your pitch shot could roll off the green, you can go more at the hole, maybe run something by it and make your putt coming back without worrying about your ball rolling off."
Brett Lucas of Sherwood shot an even-par 64 and leads the Mid-Senior Division by three strokes over Bill Burkhalter of North Little Rock and Timo Anderson of Little Rock.
Hot Springs Village's Fred Stamey and Kirby Webb of Little Rock each shot a 2-under 62 to lead the Senior Division, while Hot Springs Village's Oscar Taylor (63) leads the Super-Senior Division by a stroke over Harold Banks Sr. of Little Rock.
A total of 62 players are in the field, which is smaller than previous years. Moving the tournament from the Fourth of July to the Labor Day weekend didn't affect some players' decision to play. Joe Bushee, the 1990 champion, said it turned out this weekend worked out better for him because he has been helping his wife with her health issues over the summer.
"Moving it to now definitely allowed me to play in it," said Bushee, 72, who has played in the Championship Division in recent years and is eligible to play in Super-Senior, although he is playing in this year's Senior Division. He currently sits two shots behind Stamey and Webb after an even-par 64. "I haven't been playing much because I have been playing nurse.
"The greens were a little slower than I am used to out here, but considering they haven't been played much with the reopening, they weren't too bad. I think they're definitely going to be better in the next year or so."
Sports on 09/04/2016