Trey Schaap didn't need to change his swing to win the 43rd annual Maumelle Classic amateur golf tournament.
He just needed to change his shirt.
Schaap, a Little Rock radio sports talk-show host, parlayed seven birdies into a final-round 5-under-par 67 en route to a three-shot comeback victory on a sweltering Sunday afternoon at Maumelle Country Club.
Schaap finished the three-day, 54-hole tournament at 8-under 208 to win his first Maumelle Classic title and biggest event since he began playing the ASGA circuit almost a decade ago.
Ryan Spurlock of Maumelle, Grayson Jones of Texarkana and Austin Eoff of Benton finished in a three-way tie for second at 5-under 211. Tyler Reynolds of Little Rock finished fifth at 4-under 212.
Spurlock, playing on his home course, began the final round with a one-stroke lead over Jones.
Schaap, the first-round co-leader along with Carson Roberts of Conway, was two shots behind and not exactly feeling it before teeing off in the penultimate group Sunday.
"When I warmed up on the range, I wasn't hitting it good and had a shirt that was a little bit tight," said Schaap, 40, a 1994 Little Rock Parkview graduate. "So I went into the pro shop and bought a new shirt -- one that let you swing a little better."
Schaap promptly knocked his approach shot on the opening hole to a foot for a tap-in birdie and followed with birdies on Nos. 3, 6, 8, 10, 12 and 13 to shoot Sunday's low round and equal the tournament's low round.
"Right off the bat, I was hitting it well today," Schaap said.
A birdie at No. 10 -- a 360-yard downhill par-4 -- moved Schaap to 7-under overall, and in front for good.
But Schaap said he didn't know where he stood on the leaderboard until he was preparing for a short par putt on No. 18.
"I asked Carson what the guys behind us were doing," said Schaap, referring to the threesome of Spurlock, Jones and Eoff. "He said, 'You've got it by like three strokes.' I was like, 'Really?' This is the high point of my career."
After a stumbling start, Spurlock, 18, shot even-par 72 in the final round. The reigning ASGA Junior Player of the Year missed a short par putt on No. 1, then hit his tee shot in the water on No. 2, a 537-yard par 5.
Spurlock, in his first Maumelle Classic, settled down to finish his opening nine 1-over before birding No. 10 and No. 12 to move to 6-under overall.
"It was nerves," Spurlock said of his start. "I was really nervous getting to play against some of the best amateurs in the state. Then when I finally calmed down, I started playing a lot better."
Jones made the turn at 6 under, but his championship hopes were derailed by a double bogey on No. 10 and a bogey on No. 11.
The only blemishes on Schaap's scorecard Sunday were bogeys at Nos. 7 and 17, when he missed a 3 1/2-foot par putt after his tee shot on the 180-yard par-3 finished just off the green.
Schaap was poised for the 36-hole lead before playing his final three holes Saturday -- following a second weather delay because of lightning -- in 4-over. He double-bogeyed No. 17 after his tee shot found the water and finished with a 74 (2-over).
"I never got in trouble," Schaap said of Sunday's round. "No big mistake today, like yesterday."
Tracy Harris of Little Rock (1 under) won the Mid-Senior Division. Frank Ramey of Little Rock (4 under) won the Senior championship, while Bill Wrentz of Cabot (1 under) was the winner of the the Super-Senior Division.
Sports on 07/25/2016