Ryan Terry and Matt Parziale were the other two players who started the day tied with Doyal in second place. Parziale couldn’t get anything going and made 12 straight pars to start his round as the other players made birdies. Terry shot 34 on the front nine to stay in touch with the lead. 

The biggest mover of the day was Ricky Stimets who fired a 31 on the front nine at Corales to jump into contention. Stimets was five shots behind leader Schonbaum to start the final round, but he made four birdies on the first four holes. However, after his six birdie front nine, Stimets cooled off. He made eight pars and one birdie on the back nine. He left a birdie putt agonizingly close on the 18th hole to fall one shot shy.

After an opening nine holes that saw plenty of movement and low scores, the back nine didn’t play as easy for the leaders; however, the top four players in the field didn’t record a single bogey between them on the home stretch. Doyal, Stimets, and Ryan each shot 35 (-1) and Schonbaum shot 36, including 11 straight pars to close his round. 

That’s some steady golf, and considering Stimets, Ryan, and Schonbaum all fell short by one shot, they each likely have one shot they’d like back from their back nine. 

Doyal, a newcomer to the Mid-Amateur scene, had a nice fall season. He reached the quarterfinals of the U.S. Mid-Amateur and also finished T7 in the Southeastern Amateur this summer.