Reynolds wins Arkansas Amateur after strong closing stretch

Tyler Reynolds made two birdies in his final six holes to lock up a two-shot victory at the Arkansas Amateur Championship on Sunday. Reynolds, of Rogers, Ark., was 2 under for the week at Paradise Valley Athletic Club in Fayetteville, Ark.

Reynolds battled some nerves in the closing stretch on Sunday as he tried to get a feel for what the field might be doing around him.

“I got to 2 under at the turn, had a bogey on 10 and 12 and I thought after that, ‘I probably had to get really hot and have three or four birdies coming in,’” he said after the round.

He found out he had the lead on 17, where he made his fifth and final birdie of the day for a 2-under 69. It was his lowest round of the week after opening 70-72.

“Today played a little bit easier than the first two days,” Reynolds said. “The greens were a little bit slower and softer. I thought the scoring conditions were a little bit better so I thought it would take 3, 4, 5 under to win. When I found out that 2 under was leading and everybody else was even at best, I was pretty surprised.”

Ryan Camras came in second at even-par after a closing 1-over 72. Luke Cornett and Wes McNulty were tied for third at 3 over behind that.

Gordy McKeown of Little Rock won the senior division with a 2-over total. McKeown put together rounds of 72-69-74 to clip Stan Lee by two shots.

Matthew Dura was the mid-senior champion at 10 over, Marshall Carter won the super-senior division with an even-par total and Charlie Angel topped the masters division a 26 over.