Benton golfer comes to HSV for title defense
The Purdue golf program’s career leader in events played and stroke average, Austin Eoff played his last round as a Boilermaker in May’s NCAA Championship in Sugar Grove, Ill.
A Benton native, Eoff is getting his game in shape for a try at a third straight Arkansas State Golf Association amateur championship.
With two rounds of 70 last weekend, Eoff won the Pine Bluff Country Club title by one stroke. DeSoto Country Club in Hot Springs Village is host to the 54-hole state amateur, beginning today.
Eoff won the 2016 state amateur by one stroke over Dardanelle’s Kerry Lott and fellow collegian Garrett May, of Hope, at Hot Springs Country Club. Eoff had a tap-in birdie at the
520-yard 18th after his pitch landed a foot from the hole. He finished at 12 under after shooting
4-under 68 in the final round.
A year earlier, Eoff won the state amateur in a playoff over Seth Garner, of Hot Springs, and Bryon Shumate at the Country Club of Little Rock.
“I didn’t really want to go in a playoff. I had enough of that last year,” said Eoff, receiving the E.B. Gee Trophy as the state amateur champion for the second year in a row.
ASGA Hall of Famer Wes McNulty, of White Hall, is tied with North Little Rock’s Nick Zimmerman for the lead in the ASGA men’s player-of-the-year standings with 270 points. The ASGA’s two major tournaments, Stroke and Match Play, each is worth 300 points to the winner with 175 to the Stroke runner-up, 150 for third place, 125 for fourth and 100 for fifth. The Match Play is Aug. 10-13 at Lost Springs Golf and Athletic Club in Rogers.
McNulty earned 90 points for winning the Eagle Hill Stroke Championship last month in Little Rock and has finished sixth or better in each of the five ASGA designated tournaments he has played. Zimmerman won early-season tournaments at Mystic Creek in El Dorado and Harbor Oaks in Pine Bluff.
Little Rock’s Chris Jenkins honed his game over the Fourth of July with a one-stroke victory in the annual holiday tournament at War Memorial Park in his hometown. Second was Arkansas Tech golfer Ryan Spurlock, of Maumelle.
Also defending state-amateur titles this week are Little Rock’s Tracy Harris (mid-amateur), Van Buren’s Ronny Ocker (senior) and Hot Springs Village veteran Oscar Taylor (super senior).
According to a notice on the organization’s website, the ASGA moved the tournament to the DeSoto course because of expected slow Stimpmeter readings at HSV’s Granada Golf Club. After recent renovation, two sets of tees will be used at DeSoto: 6,700 yards for the amateur division and 6,250 yards for all other classes. Eighteen-hole rounds are scheduled today and Friday after which the field is cut approximately in half for the final round Saturday in all four divisions.