Familiar face in position to capture ASGA championship

He’s still nifty at 50. Wes McNulty moved closer to authoring another chapter in his legendary amateur career after two victories in the 53rd annual Arkansas State Golf Association Men’s Match Play on Saturday at Rebsamen Park Golf Course in Little Rock.

McNulty, 50, beat Chris Jenkins of Little Rock (2 up) in the quarterfinals and Mitchell Ford of Little Rock (1 up) in the semifinals to reach the championship round. McNulty will face Ben Davis of Texarkana in today’s scheduled 18-hole final at 9 a.m.

A farmer from White Hall, McNulty is bidding for his record sixth match play title. Illustrating the breadth of his career, McNulty won his first match play in 1993, roughly four years before Ford was born.

“Most of these people were born after the first one that I won,” McNulty said with a laugh.

McNulty added titles in 2005, 2006, 2008 and 2015. Heber Springs native Stan Lee is also a five-time winner (1970, 1971, 1972, 1974 and 2013). A former PGA Tour member, Lee won the United States Golf Association Senior Amateur in 2007.

“It’s not that it would be on my bucket list,” said McNulty, a six-time ASGA stroke-play champion. “I want to win every time, playing in the thing.

“The stuff that Stan Lee has done in this state, and across the country, won’t be equaled, I don’t think. He’s a super friend of mine. I think he’s probably the best golfer that’s ever come out of this state. The respect I have for him is immense.”

McNulty had to beat his best friend — Jenkins, the 1999 match play winner — in the morning round. In the afternoon match against Ford, a Henderson State University golfer, McNulty was two down after seven holes before a birdie on No. 8 jump-started his round. McNulty went 1 up after Ford bogeyed No. 10, and 2 up after holing a 50-foot birdie putt on No. 11.

“When I hit it, I said, ‘That’s pretty good,’ ” McNulty said. “It started breaking and I said, ‘That’s going in.’ So, I started walking and right before the ball got to the hole, it almost took a little turn to the left, then tried to get out of the hole. I thought I hit a really good putt there.”

McNulty went 3 up with a birdie on No. 13 before Ford won No. 14 with a par and No. 16 with a birdie. After No. 17 was halved, McNulty advanced after hitting his third shot — an uphill chip from just off the green — to within about 11/2 feet on the par-4 18th.

“Mitchell played well at the beginning,” said McNulty, whose son, Josh, will be a teammate of Ford’s this fall at Henderson State. “I hit some good shots through the middle part of the round, and he didn’t. But he hung in there the whole way. He made some good putts coming down toward the end.”

In other finals today, Trey Schaap of Maumelle will face Trey McIntosh of Little Rock in the Mid-Senior Division; Lee, of Tumbling Shoals, will face Gordy McKeown of Little Rock in the Senior Division; Glen Talbert of Sheridan will face Dill Gunn of Greenbrier in the Super-Senior Division; and Sam McAllister of Bryant will meet Douglas Schumacher of Siloam Springs in the Masters Division.