Peach Reynolds Leads Men’s City Championship By One Over Daniel Northington

Peach Reynolds and Daniel Northington have played three rounds together thus far in the 2013 Men's City Championship.  One shot separates the two players after 54 holes over three different golf courses.  Their play thus far has been stellar.  Reynolds has the lead by one at eleven under par after recording three consecutive sub par rounds.  Northington who had the lead by one going into the third round shot one under par but fell behind Reynolds three under par 68 at Roy Kizer.  Reynolds remarked after the round that he is playing the best golf of his career and having a blast beating all the youngsters.  One must tip their hat to anyone that is playing at an eleven under par clip.  After all, every player strives to play at his best and when it happens, it has to be appreciated and celebrated regardless of the players age. 

Reynolds shot one over on the front nine in windy conditions and rallied to shoot four under par on the closing nine, including a chip in on the 18th hole from a difficult position.  Reynolds 68 was the low round of the day.  If their form holds true, which is always a challenge on the final day of the championship, it could be a two man race as Drew Bell, in third place, is four shots behind Northington and five behind Reynolds.

Northington, who played at Westlake High School is currently attending Texas State University and concentrating on his degree.  He is not playing for the golf team and says his priority is pursuit of a degree, not playing college golf.  Shown here with his dad, he is having an excellent time and enjoying the championship.

The win would mark the first major amateur championship in the Austin area for either Reynolds, Northington or Bell.  Although Bell has captured the Central Texas Amateur, none of the three has won the Men's City, The Firecracker Open, the Harvey Penick or The Bluebonnet Cup, currently considered the be the four majors in the Austin Area.  Some would argue that the Bluebonnet Cup should be moved out of the rotation but be that as it may, the is the current status.

Reynolds, is currently the leader in the overall category as well as the leading senior and is almost certain to capture the low senior award as Jerry Thorn and Chris Chive are in second in that category at minus two for the tournament.

In the Junior Category, Tevor Brown is leading by several shots over his nearest rival.  Brown will be a sophomore at Westlake High School next year.

In the Mid-Amateur Category, Drew Bell, who is at six under par has a two shot lead over last year's defending overall champion Brian Noonan.  Noonan, a three time winner of the tournament, shot 69 to move up the leaderboard and is currently tied for 4th place overall.

There were only three scores in the 60's and six sub par rounds on the day. Players found the wind to be challenging in terms of club selection. That coupled with a few quirky holes, like number 16, took their toll on the field.  Several players fell from grace with scores in the mid-70's including Jonathan Alden, Matt Fisher, Mike Allen and Trevor Brown.

As always, the players shared their stories about the round in the shade and cool breeze by the scoreboard.  The city staff and the volunteers have done an excellent job of running the tournament including having spotters where they are needed and rules officials available.  Eddie Nunez, shown here helped players on the par four dogleg left as they hit shots over a water hazard.

The final round will be played at Morris Williams Golf Course and promises to be a challenging venue as the word is the course will be set up in a manner that will make it difficult to shoot low scores.

Tee times and a leaderboard are available at GolfAusin.Org.