Consistency has Tyler Reynolds poised to win his third major amateur golf tournament this year.
On a sticky Saturday afternoon at Maumelle Country Club, Reynolds carded a 4-under 68 to stretch his lead to three strokes after two rounds of the annual Maumelle Classic.
Reynolds, a former University of Arkansas at Little Rock golfer who now lives in Rogers, is at 8-under 136 overall after shooting 68 in Friday's opening round. Reynolds has shot 2-under 34 on each nine during the first two rounds.
"Today was different than yesterday," Reynolds said. "Shoot, I don't know. Just made a few more bogeys and six birdies, and today was pretty much bogey-free through 16 holes. My goal was to not make a bogey."
The only blemish on Reynolds' card was a bogey on Maumelle Country Club's signature hole, a downhill 178-yard par 3 that is protected by water and a large trap (the picturesque hole is normally No. 8, but the nines have flipped for tournament play). Reynolds' tee shot drifted left into the bunker. After nearly holing his short bunker shot, Reynolds missed a 3½-foot par putt.
"The wind kind of took it a little bit," Reynolds said of his tee shot. "The putt looked like it was going to go both ways. Just a 50-50 putt, I guess."
The bogey was offset by two birdies on the opening nine, and three more on the back nine.
Luke Cornett of Drasco and Spencer Labarbera of Mesquite, Texas, are tied for second at 5-under 139. Beau Glover of North Little Rock and Miles Smith of Little Rock are tied for fourth at 4-under 140. Two-time defending champion Stafford Gray of Lonoke is sixth at 3-under 141.
Reynolds, who leads the Arkansas State Golf Association Player of the Year race, won the Hot Springs Village Men's Stroke Play in April and the Arkansas Amateur Championship in June.
As for the Maumelle Classic, Reynolds said he's been in this position before.
"I've had the lead in this tournament several times and never won," said Reynolds, 25, a 2012 Little Rock Christian graduate. "I played in this tournament, probably, four or five times when I was in college. I've been close a bunch of times. I was exempt for the Southern Amateur this week, but I chose to play in this instead. This means a lot to me."
The 54-hole tournament concludes today, with Reynolds, Cornett and Labarbera teeing off at 12:39 p.m.
Sports on 07/21/2019