Fort Smith Classic report
Posted on Saturday, May 10, 2008
Beach puts knowledge to good use FORT SMITH — Fayetteville’s Nick Beach wore a well-deserved smile when he exited the 18 th green after his second round at the Fort Smith Classic on Friday.
“I’m excited,” Beach said. “Pending something crazy happening, this is my first time to make the cut in a Nationwide [Tour ] event.” Beach, who has played on various PGA satellite tours since turning pro in 2004, did make the cut, posting a 70-67—137 to stand at 3 under par entering today’s third round.
After Thursday’s even-par round of 70 that he believed could have been better, Beach twice went as low as 4 under Friday. He teed off at 4 under on No. 18, but his drive landed in a group of trees along the left edge of the fairway.
Beach nearly chipped in three shots later to save par, as the ball circled the cup before spinning just inches away from it. Beach didn’t need any help from his caddie to tap in the ensuing putt, but he had used his expertise numerous times over the previous 35 holes.
“These greens have got some good pace to them, and they have a lot of subtleties, so a little local knowledge is good to have, just to have some reassurance,” Beach said.
Beach was speaking of longtime friend Allen McFerran, a Fort Smith native who has been playing the Hardscrabble Country Club course since McFerran was 5. Beach and McFerran have been playing partners for years, and when Beach qualified for this event Monday, one of the first things he did was call McFerran to ask him to caddie.
“It’s fun,” said McFerran, who will be a senior on Arkansas’ golf team this fall. “It’s a good time. I enjoy seeing him play well, so anything I can do to help is good.” McFerran said he’s primarily offered knowledge of the greens, but Beach said having a buddy serve as his caddie has other benefits, too. “It makes things easier when you have a good friend on the bag,” Beach said. “In between shots you can relax and talk about whatever. He’s done a great job and helped me a lot so far.” One other thing: McFerran also is providing Beach free lodging — at his parents’ home.
Like Spike said... Nationwide Tour vet Spike McRoy is proving to be a prophet. McRoy praised Hardscrabble’s layout Wednesday for the demands it makes on players’ shot-making abilities. He said other players would agree with him after playing so many courses on which the ability to drive the ball a great distance is practically paramount to success. Hitting good drives is critical at Hardscrabble, too, but more in terms of placement than length. And as McRoy predicted, that seems to suit many of those playing this week. “It’s a good ball-striking golf course because you’ve got to be able to move the ball a little bit both ways,” said 2006 champion Darron Stiles. “I wish we played more courses like this,” said David Morland IV, currently in a tie for fourth place.
Birdies everywhere Birdies came in bunches for a bunch of players Friday. Twenty-five players birdied at least three holes in a row during secondround play. Two players, Jonathan Fricke and Esteban Toledo, birdied three consecutive holes twice. Two other players had even more impressive streaks. Cody Freeman birdied six holes in a row, and Chris Thompson had four consecutive birdies. Freeman also tied a back-nine tournament record by shooting 29, including his consecutive birdie streak that covered Nos. 11-16.
Bad read Little Rock’s Glen Day appeared to be shooting a nice round as he walked up to the final hole Friday — at least if one checked his group’s portable scoreboard. Day was listed at 3 under on that scoreboard. In reality, Day shot 5-overpar 75 Friday and missed the cut at 4 over. “That’s wrong. I’m headed home,” a frustrated Day said as he exited Hardscrabble. Day was even-par after nine holes Friday but made six bogeys on the final nine holes.
Don’t go changin ’ How frustrated was Tee McCabe after his opening-round 68 Thursday ? Enough to investigate the possibility of catching an earlier flight home. McCabe apparently spent at least part of Thursday night talking to a Delta airlines agent about changing his return date, convinced that his 2-under had put him in jeopardy of not making the cut. After a 6-under 64 Friday, McCabe made the cut — and saved himself the $ 100 change fee Delta would have charged him. Fort Smith Classic at a glance WHAT Nationwide Fort Smith Classic WHEN Third round begins at 7: 30 a.m. today WHERE Hardscrabble Country Club, Fort Smith TICKETS $ 10 and available at the gate LEADING 2006 champion Darron Stiles and former Arkansas Razorback Rich Morris are tied for the lead at 10-under-par 130. Nine other players are within three strokes of the lead. LOCALS Former Razorbacks Nick Beach and Craig Lile and Conway’s Bryce Molder made the cut. Today’s tee times Tee times for the third round of the Nationwide Tour Fort Smith Classic at Hardscrabble Country Club. All times are a. m.:
TEE NO. 1 7: 30 Tommy Tolles, Willie Wood, Scott Gardinier 7: 41 Ty Tryon, Joseph Lanza, Lee M. Williamson 7: 52 Bret Guetz, Dody Freeman, Josh McCumber 8: 03 Kris Blanks, Esteban Toledo, Skip Kendall 8: 14 Brian Stuard, Michael Boyd, Jimmy Walker 8: 25 Steve Schneiter, Craig Lile, Ricky Barnes 8: 36 Jonathan Fricke, Jason Schultz, Keith Nolan 8: 47 Chris Thompson, Tommy Gainey, David Lutterus 8: 58 Justin Hicks, Won Joon Lee, Clt Knost 9: 09 Kris Cox, Tee McCabe, David Morland IV 9: 20 Darron Stiles, Rich Morris, Matt Weibring TEE NO. 10 7: 30 Jon Turcott, Anders Hultman, Nick Beach 7: 41 Mark Brooks, Bryce Molder, Tom Carter 7: 52 Jay Delsing, Chris Smith, Tom Carter 8: 03 D. Summerhays, K. Grunewald, J. Rutledge 8: 14 Chris Parra, Patrick Damron, Cameron Percy 8: 25 Jason Dufner, Josh Broadaway, Randy Leen 8: 36 H. Bjornstad, G. Osborn, C. Wittenberg 8: 47 B. J. Staten, Bob Sowards, Tim O’Neal 8: 58 Chris Kamin, Nick Mallinowski 9: 09 Scott Piercy, Jake Roos Hole of the day No. 17 PAR 3 LENGTH 204 yards AVERAGE SCORE 2. 981 RANK 10 STORY OF THE HOLE The 17 th hole is one of the shortest on the course, but that doesn’t make it any less intriguing. Players tee off from an elevated tee box and must clear a sizable pond that features sand traps on each side. Friday’s pin placement was near the back of the lengthy green, and swirling winds also came into play. The field didn’t seem too fazed, as 113 players posted par and 24 others birdie. Only 18 players scored higher than par. By the numbers 9 Birdies made by Jonathan Fricke in Friday’s second round 5 Pars made by Fricke 3 Bogeys made by Fricke 1 Eagles made by Fricke -8 Fricke’s second-round score in relation to par Overheard “It’s no fun when you’re closing the trunk.” — First-round leader Kris Cox, who made the cut Friday after missing it in his eight previous tournaments this year
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