Jay Reynolds – 2015 TGA South Region Mid Am Champ
Jay Reynolds shot 33-27=60 to set a new course record at Lions Municipal Golf Course and grab a seven shot lead after the first round of the 2015 Men’s City Championship.
The previous record of 61, originally set by Randy Petri and later tied by Ben Crenshaw, has stood for about 40 years. At an average of 50,000 rounds a year, which is on the low side for Muny, that record stood for about 2,000,000 rounds of golf. There are a lot of good players that have played the course over those 40 years so it is safe to say Reynolds had a special round today.
It’s the kind of thing that when you see a 60 on the leaderboard, you blink to make sure you are reading it correctly, pause for a moment and then say something like “wow” , or “are you kidding me” or “holy smoke”, followed by a feeling of disbelief, happiness for the player and a hint of jealousy from fellow competitors.
Jay commented that when he was growing up and playing at Muny there was a list of players posted in the clubhouse who had shot 29 on the back nine and they were called “The 29 Club”. He said he always wanted to be part of that group. I guess he can’t be a member of that group because he shot 27 on the back nine. My guess is that club has fewer members.
After a solid 33 on the front nine. Reynolds missed short birdie putts on 10 and 11 from about four feet. He hit number 12 in two and two putted for birdie then rolled in a fifteen footer on 13 for birdie. After a driver and five iron to 14 green, he rolled in a mid range putt for eagle. Then he missed a short birdie on 15, made a mid range putt for birdie on 16, almost aced 17 for a tap in birdie.
He was nine under on 18 tee. He thought about hitting a four iron and making sure he could shoot 61 or 62. After deliberating and watching the players in front of him, he chose the driver and pounded his tee shot to within eight feet of the cup. He said he was aware that the course record was 60 and felt the importance of making the putt. After telling himself to make sure he got this putt to the hole, me rolled it in for 60. Holy smoke….
When asked what turned his game around from the 84-74 performance two weeks ago at the Central Texas Amateur he said he had a lesson from Bryan Minnick at Commanche Trace in Kerrville that helped. The real turnaround came when he was looking at video with his dad Peach and they noticed the club was open at the top of the swing. He adjusted his left wrist position so it was square and started hitting the driver long and straight.
Unfortunately, Peach is not here to congratulate Jay because he is across the pond playing in the British Senior Amateur. The Reynolds family is golfing their ball right now. They recently finished second in the Texas Golf Association Father and Son Tournament.
If golfers are to be believed, Reynolds said he really did not make anything on the front nine to speak of and his three under could have been a lot better.
Steve Paterson, who shot 67 at Muny with four bogeys, said he felt like he let a good round escape him. However, he did make eagle on 12 with a mid range putt and made a 70 footer on 14 for eagle so it was not all bad. Paterson has been playing well all year and will be a factor in the final results.
Nick Maynard matched Paterson’s 67 at Muny and Jake Ezell had 67 at Roy Kizer. Tye Grissom shot 68 at Muny and is in 5th place. Matt Werneke recorded 69 at Roy Kizer with a double bogey on 17 and bogey on 18. Twelve players are at one under par. Click on this link to access the full leaderboard and tournament information.
Tomorrow the field will reverse courses, those that played Muny will be at Roy Kizer and vice versa. After a 36 hole cut, the remaining 72 players will play Grey Rock and finish at Morris Williams.
There is a lot of golf to play and we will see what happens next. Golf is a strange and interesting game.
Congrats again Jay on shooting 60 and breaking a long standing course record. Wow, you’re kidding me, 60… damn I’m jealous.
