By Stan Caldwell
stanmansportsfan.com
For a brief moment – a very brief moment – Andy Lopez looked to be in trouble Saturday at the Magnolia Amateur golf tournament.
The first-round leader from Texas Tech blasted through the first eight holes in the second round at 3-under-par, with three straight birdies, to offset an earlier bogey.
But errant tee shots at No. 9 and No. 10 landed him in bunkers, and he took bogeys on both holes.
Problem? No sir.
Lopez righted his game, with four more birdies on the back nine, and he will take a commanding four-shot lead into Sunday’s final round after a 4-under par 67 in Saturday’s second round put him at 9-under 133 for the tournament.
“I just told myself that there were a lot of birdie opportunities out there,” said Lopez, a junior from Plano, Texas. “I just needed to stay patient and the birdies would come. I just needed to stay calm and know that I was playing well, so bogeys should affect me too much.”
Lopez was razor-sharp for most of the afternoon, and his best weapon was a steady putter. He started at No. 2, a 202-yard par-3, holing out a 25-footer for his first birdie of the day.
He took a bogey at No. 4, but made easy birdies on No. 6, No. 7 and No. 8, all three from inside six feet before pulling his tee shots into the right rough on 9 and 10.
He saved par at the par-3 11th hole, with a chip from the fringe to get a makeable par putt. He then rolled in a 10-footer for birdie at 12, an eight-foot putt at 14 for birdie and a five-foot putt for another birdie at 16.
He nearly got an eagle in on 17, when a 40-foot putt for his third shot came up two feet short of the hole, leaving him with a tap-in for his eighth birdie of the day. And a bogey on 18 did nothing to dampen his day.
“I left a couple of putts that nearly went in from the 20 to 30-foot range,” said Lopez. “I thought it was pretty good. I don’t think I three-putted all day.”
Lopez will play the final round in a threesome with Trey Tobias of North Carolina-Charlotte and Southern Miss men’s golf coach Eddie Brescher.
Tobias, from Franklin, Tennessee, snuck in late with a 2-under 69, putting him alone in second place, after he recorded four birdies on the back nine to offset a bogey at No. 11.
Brescher continued his momentum from Friday’s strong finish, when he went 4-under for the last five holes, firing a 3-under 68 on Saturday. He sits tied for third with fellow mid-amateur Jonathan Bales at 4-under 138 for the tournament.
“I’m very happy with it,” said Brescher, the one player among the leaders who knows the HCC layout best. “It’s not playing easy with the conditions the way they were. I think there is a small advantage with knowing the breaks of the greens and knowing the overall property.
“But at the end of the day, it doesn’t matter how much you know. You still have to perform.”
Bale, the Welshman who plays out of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, went even-par 35 on the front nine, then birdied three of the first six holes on the back side before running into trouble, with bogeys at 16 and 18.
Not coincidentally, that was when the fickle weather associated with Hurricane Barry was at its worst all day, with high breezes and light, but steady, rain. He finished the day with a 1-under 70, and under the circumstances, he was glad to have it.
“I’ll take it,” said Bale. “It was tricky out there today. The pins were a lot more difficult than they were (on Friday). They were tucked away, and combined with the wind and the rain… I’ll take that. I holed some good putts, so I’m happy with the day.”
Logan Young, from the University of Houston, sits alone in fifth at 3-under 139.
Three players are tied for sixth at 2-under 140, including Drew Mathers of Huntingdon College, who was 5-under for the day after 14 holes before getting nicked for back-to-back bogeys on 6 and 7. He still finished the day with a 3-under 68.
Among a group of six players at 1-under 141 is William Carey senior Colby Blake, who shot a steady 1-under 70.
“I got off to a good start, with birdies at 10 and 11,” said Blake. “I ran into a little wall with a couple of bogeys in the middle of the first nine. But I birdied the first hole on the front side, then just grinded it out the rest of the way.”
Tournament officials set up tee times for the remaining 60 players for starts on both No. 1 and No. 10, in hopes of speeding up the process in case the weather turns bad.
And that field will be chasing Lopez, who starts from the No. 1 tee box at 9:21 a.m.
“It’s going to take a low score to win on Sunday,” said Lopez. “I don’t think having a big lead will affect me. Hopefully, the rain will hold off and we can get the round in. It will be a challenge.”
For more information, including final-round tee times and complete results, log onto the tournament’s website at magnoliaamateur.com.
Magnolia Amateur
Friday at Hattiesburg Country Club
Par – 71; Yardage – 6,902
Second Round Leaders
Andy Lopez (Plano, TX/Texas Tech) 66-67 – 133 (-9)
Trey Tobias (Franklin, TN/UNC-Charlotte) 68-69 – 137 (-5)
Jonathan Bale (Mid-Glamorgan, Wales) 68-70 – 138 (-4)
Eddie Brescher (Hattiesburg) 70-68 – 138 (-4)
Logan Young (Houston, TX/Houston) 69-70 – 139 (-3)
Wil Gibson (Jonesboro, AR/Arkansas) 70-70 – 140 (-2)
Drew Mathers (Mobile, AL/Huntingdon) 72-68 – 140 (-2)
Cameron McRae (Hot Springs, AR/Henderson St.) 71-69 – 140 (-2)
