Kody King held off an early charge from Michael Smith and mounted his own charge to win the Austin Mens City Championship with a 10 under par total of 276 over four rounds. King birdied six and seven to maintain a lead then birdied 9, 10, and 11 to gain control of the tournament headed down the stretch and captured the title.
Michael Smith, winner of the Texas Golf Association Public Links tournament at Brackenridge in San Antonio, birdied five and six then eagled #7 with a 70 foot putt to pull within a few shots of leader. Smith then played steady golf for the remainder of the round over the finishing holes at Jimmy Clay. The wind was a factor as it blew a steady 10-15 with occasional gusts of higher velocity, making club selection difficult. The course was in good shape overall given the recent heat wave.
Alex Ellis, recent winner of the Firecracker Open, shot 71 to finish in a tie for second with Smith. Ellis plays for the College of Charleston under coach Mark McIntire and assistant coach David Kite. The heat and wind played a factor over four rounds and coupled with the tournament pressure, affected scoring as the tournament wore on. Given that most amateur tournaments are 36-54 holes long, the 72 hole format added additional challenges and concentration was difficult to maintain over the entire 72 holes. Lots of players commented that they had brief concentration lapses and posted higher scores as a result
Blake Stasiunas, senior at Vista Ridge High School next year, finished in fourth with a two under par total of 284. Stsiunas won the Low Junior Category of the Mens City Tournament.
Mike Allen won the low senior category with a total of nine over par 295. Allen will captain the Rudy's I-35 cup Austin Team in late October.
The Austin Amateur Golf point standings will determine the Austin team in the Rudy's I-35 cup. All the players are conscious of those standings and are fighting hard to gain a spot on the team. Several more events remain in that race, including the Bluebonnet Cup, the TerraVista tournament, and the Harvey Penick Invitational.
Robert Evans finished 9th to gain valuable points and Gene Black enhanced his standing in the Rudy's Cup race with a 12th place finish. Cole Shiflet and Chris Hartenstein gained valuable points with their finishes. The point system is maintained by Randy Reynolds, Steve Paterson and Vince Brunssen. Visit the Austin Amateur Golf Website for the standings and lots of statistics about the players current and past play.
Aaron Kaiser shot 69 in the final round and along with Charlie Laudermilk tied for 6th place and finished at even par 286 for the four days. Fine playing over four days and four different courses.
See the full tournament information at the tournament website. Click here to browse the course stats, player stats and final leaderboard to see individual players scorecards and stats.