Clyde, of Tyler, began the morning with a birdie on the opening par four 1st hole to take a 1 Up lead. Cedar Park’s Smith was able to bring the match to All Square with a par on the par three 3rd hole. Smith was able to take a 1 Up lead on the par four 5th hole before seeing the match return to All Square after his bogey on the short par four 6th hole.

The see-saw battle continued with Smith taking the next two holes to go 2 Up heading into the par four 9th hole. Needing to take a hole heading into the back nine, Clyde did just that with a birdie on the 9th hole to bring narrow Smith’s lead the only 1 Up.

As the match continued to the back nine, Smith extended his lead to 2 Up once again with a par on the par five 10th hole. The pair halved the par four 11th and par three 12th holes before Smith was able to widen his lead to 3 Up with a birdie on the par five 13th hole.

As they walked to the par four 14th hole, Smith holding a commanding 3 Up lead with five holes to play, both players drives found the trees on the right side. Smith was able to hit his second shot left and hole high, whereas Clyde was forced to punch out, leaving him a dicey third shot over the creek that in front of the green. Clyde was unable to make his par putt, going 4 Down with four holes to go.

Standing on the par four 15th hole, the pair again watched their drives find the right rough. With a short right hole location, Smith put his second shot in the greenside bunker, while Clyde was unable to make the green. Still away, Clyde’s third shot flew past the hole, leaving him approximately 25 feet away for par. Calmly, Smith dug his feet in and played his third shot from the bunker to inside five feet. Clyde gave his par attempt a great roll, only to watch it not disappear into the cup. Clyde took his hat off and shook hands with Smith, congratulating him on a great Final Match. Smith was able to successfully defend his title with a 5 and 3 victory.

Smith and Clyde both received exemptions into this year’s Texas Amateur Championship, hosted by Lakewood Country Club in Dallas June 14-17. All eight Quarterfinalists in this year’s field have earned exemptions into the 2013 State Public Links Championship.