Little Rock’s Matt Mabrey wasn’t as sharp Sunday as he had been the previous two days at the Maumelle Classic.
He didn’t have to be.
Mabrey shot an even-par 72 at Maumelle Country Club, and despite former University of Tulsa teammate Chris Worrell shooting 2 under, he never was challenged during a relaxing final round. Mabrey’s three-round total of 9-under-par 207 was five shots better than Worrell, who finished at 4-under 212, as Mabrey, 20 native won the event for the second consecutive year.
Mabrey avoided a push from other challengers thanks to a first-round 69 and a second-round 66 that gave him a seven-shot lead over Worrell and Bryon Shumate when the three teed off in Sunday’s final group.
“It was nice to have a little cushion,” Mabrey said. “I could afford to make some of the mistakes I made today.”
Not that any of them were very big.
Mabrey birdied the first two holes Sunday to move to 11 under, then bogeyed Nos. 3 and 4. Over the next 14 holes, he made 10 pars, birdies on 6 and 10 and bogeys on 11 and 17.
The only thing that kept him from having a bigger lead and making a run at the tournament record of 11 under was his troubles on the greens.
He entered the back nine at 10 under but missed birdie putts on each hole from No. 12 through 16 and another on 18. He also missed putts for par on 11 and 14.
“I had a lot of left-to-right putts, and I have a tendency to push my putts sometimes,” he said. “So that’s what it was today. I just pushed a couple of putts to the right. It happens.”
But, if even Mabrey missed a few putts Sunday, his Friday and Saturday rounds made it so Worrell or anyone else ever got too close.
Worrell got within six strokes of Mabrey after four holes, but bogeyed 5, birdied 8 and bogeyed 9 before shooting 2-under on the back nine.
Shumate, of Fort Smith, entered Sunday in a tie for second place with Worrell but his 1-over final round dropped him into a tie for fifth with Landon Hearnes. Both players finished at 1-under 215.
Alex Hewitt entered Sunday in a tie for 12th, but finished in a tie for third after the day’s lowest round at 4-under 68 to finish at 2-under 214. Jens Talbert shot a 69 on Sunday to also finish at 214.
Worrell, who’s played in plenty of tournaments with Mabrey and practices with him daily, said any move on Mabrey had to come on the front nine.
“Our job, if we wanted to catch up to [Mabrey], was to do it early, to get him feeling like, ‘Oh, I don’t want to blow a 7-shot lead,’ ” Worrell said. “But he played well. He didn’t score as well today as he had the last couple of days, but there was no chance of himto ever blow up.”
Instead of making a run at the leader, Worrell enjoyed his final round playing against his former teammate.
The two shared a cart Sunday, as they relished playing in what could be their final tournament together. Worrell finished his career at Tulsa this spring, and will be soonturn pro, while Mabrey still has two years left at Tulsa.
“It was a great experience,” Mabrey said.
They spent the week staying at the Little Rock home of Mabrey’s mother, watching movies and eating dinner together. Today, Worrell will caddie for Mabrey as he plays in the U.S. Amateur qualifier which will also be held at Maumelle Country Club.
“We’ve got some camaraderie, we’re on the same team, we practice together every single day,” Worrell said. “I never felt like I needed to beat him. … I’m gladMatt won.”
He hopes he plays well enough today, when a toptwo finish over 36 holes will land him a spot in the U.S. Amateur championship next month in Brookline, Mass.
Considering how well he navigated Maumelle Country Club this weekend, Mabrey heads into that brimming with confidence.
“I feel really comfortable on this course. I’m glad the qualifier is here,” Mabrey said. “But, it’s 36 holes in one day, so anything can happen. I’ll just go out and try to play my game.”
Sports, Pages 13 on 07/29/2013