WEST POINT — Now that Nicholas Brown has the lead all to himself, his goal today in the final round of the Mississippi State Amateur Championship is to keep it.
If Brown repeats his performance Saturday, which saw him finish with a 4-under par 68 — the best round of the day at Old Waverly Golf Club — he could earn his first championship at the annual event in four tries.
Brown started the day in a four-way tie with first-round leader Billy Brozovich and the Mississippi State coach-player duo of Clay Homan and Alex Rowland before distinguishing himself with exceptional play on the front nine. After the turn, he kept mistakes to a minimum, making up for bogeys on Nos. 10 and 13 by two-putting for birdies on Nos. 14 and 15.
“I played well, but yeah, I definitely left some shots out there,” said Brown, a rising senior at the University of Southern Mississippi. “It could have been a little lower, no doubt.”
Rowland and Homan shot 1-under-par 71s, while Brozovich struggled, finishing with his worst round of the tournament, a 5-over-par 77. He is fifth behind Ryan Ratcliff, whose 2-under-par 70 kept him four shots back.
A couple of mistakes today, especially on Nos. 13 and 18 — both have caused problems for golfers — and the final round leaderboard could endure a few more changes. So far, though, Brown has steered clear of any major setbacks.
“It really wasn”t just his birdie puts he made,” Rowland said of Brown, who played in his group. “A few times, when it looked like he was going to bogey, he got a par out of it. If I could have avoided some of my bogeys, we”d probably be tied.”
Homan, a two-time Amateur winner, said he believes the winner the 96th tournament likely will finish the final round with a score in the mid 60s.
“You can”t depend on shooting even par tomorrow and winning,” Homan said. “They”re probably going to keep the greens rolling like they are now.
“There”s some birdies out here. I made five birdies and didn”t really feel like I shot that well, so we”ll see.”
Even with soft greens, which allowed for more aggressive play, the
scores haven”t turned. Only three players finished under par Friday. The number grew to seven Saturday.
If anyone catches Brown, they likely will have to wait until the back nine because Brown has made 13 birdies and just one double bogey on the front nine in the first three days
“There”s something about the front side that really suits my eye,” he said.
Problem is, the back nine is where his competition has struggled.
Brozovich”s collected five bogeys there Saturday, including the final three holes. Two days earlier, he had five birdies on the back nine.
Rowland bogeyed No. 18 for the second time in as many days, and for the third time this week, Homan bogeyed No. 13.
“Still haven”t figured out how to keep that ball on the green,” Homan said. “When I get on the ground, I can”t figure out how to two-put it, so I hope to.”
Brown plans to play smart today and not to put himself in positions where par is a really good score. He also hopes to keep his puts steady.
In other scores, defending champion Fletcher Johnson is out of contention at 9-over. He shot a 1-over-par 73 Saturday, matching his first-round score. He also shot a 7-over-par 79 Friday.
Blake Hatfield, who in 2010 won the Mississippi Association of Community and Junior Colleges individual state championship, struggled for the second consecutive days. He followed an opening-round 3-under-par 69 with rounds of 81 and 80.
David Bartimus, who is coming off a win in the 2011 Atwell Atkins Memorial tournament, failed to qualify for Saturday”s round.
Chase Taylor, an All-State golfer at New Hope High School, also is out of contention. His second-round score of 10-over-par 82 ruined any chances of joining the leaders.
The Dispatch Editorial Board is made up of publisher Peter Imes, columnist Slim Smith, managing editor Zack Plair and senior newsroom staff.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 41 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.