Texas Pub-Links: Smith faces Clyde in final
02 Jun 2012
by Texas Golf Association
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MONTGOMERY, Texas (June 2, 2012) -- Sunny skies and the occasional cloud overlooked another impressive day of matches during the 2012 Public Links Championship hosted by Montgomery’s Woodforest Golf Club. Defending champion Michael Smith will look to repeat in the Final Match against Tyler’s Calvin Clyde V. Clyde, who played his first two years of college golf at Dallas Baptist University, began the Quarterfinals against #1 seed Stanton Tondre, of Castroville.
Tondre, who never seemed to find the groove that guided him through the earlier portion of the championship, was not able to overcome the steady play of Clyde, losing 2 and 1. Spring’s Cash Wilkerson was able to advance to the Semifinals with a 3 and 1 victory over Fort Worth’s Robert Perry. Wilkerson relied on his hot putter during the morning match. The afternoon’s first Semifinals saw Clyde take a commanding 3 Up lead against Wilkerson through nine holes.
The hot putter that carried Wilkerson was nowhere to be found in the afternoon. Clyde was able to advance to the Final Match with a 4 and 3 victory. The third Quarterfinals Match pitted Smith against Tyler Gann, which happened to be a rematch of last year’s Semifinals. Gann, who won his rounds of 32 and 16 with convincing 7 and 6 margins, matched Smith shot for shot as they battled their way through 17 holes All Square. Smith was able to make a 13 foot putt to put the pressure on Gann, who was unable to match his putt.
Smith advanced to the afternoon with a 1 Up win. The final match of the Quarterfinals saw Mansfield’s Mitchell McLeroy defeat Christopher Wheeler, of Carrollton. McLeroy advanced with a 2 and 1 win to face Smith. The second match of the Semifinals was one that went beyond the championship – Smith and McLeroy are not only teammates at Stephen F. Austin University, but they also happen to be roommates and best friends.
McLeroy was able to make the turn with a 2 Up lead, only to see the match come back to All Square through 14 holes. Smith, who was 1 Up heading into the 18th hole, was not able to match McLeroy’s par, leading to extra holes. McLeroy conceded the match when his par putt missed the hole, allowing Smith to advance to Sunday’s Final Match with a win on the 19th hole. The 18 hole Final Match will begin at 7:30am Sunday morning.