Grayson Jones ignited a firestorm Friday at Texarkana Country Club with back-to-back birdies in the annual Four States Invitational 4-Ball.
Jones' teammate, Baylor University's Garrett May, followed those birdies at the fifth and sixth holes with nine of his own over the final 12 holes to give their team an 11-under-par 61, and a five-shot lead over defending champions Zack Looney and Tyler Dunlap.
May went to the final hole needing a birdie to tie the course record of 62. It didn't materialize, he finished with a 63, while former Texas High teammate and current Oral Roberts University golfer Jones shot 69 with a bogey.
"We started kind of slow with four straight pars, and I was admittedly a little disappointed we didn't birdie the easy second hole," May said. "Still, there was a lot of golf to be played. I felt no pressure at any time because I wasn't worried about my own score. I was thinking every birdie is a birdie for the team."
Jones told his teammate at the fifth tee that one birdie would likely lead to several more. He was right!
May two-putted for birdie at the par-5 seventh hole. After both players made par at the eighth hole, May converted an eight-footer for birdie and a 4-under 32 on the front side.
"After my birdie at six, the rest was history; Garrett carried me on in from there," Jones said. "We're best friends and it was great to enjoy this together."
May birdied 10, 11, 12 and 13 for five consecutive birdies before settling for par at the difficult 14th. He shifted back into gear with birdies at 15, 16 and 17. Jones also had birdies at 16 and 17.
Having just finished their respective seasons in college was an advantage over the rest of the field. At least that was how they felt.
"You've got a lot of good players in high school, but college is the best of the best that there is in high school," Jones said. "You're seeing great players day-in and day-out, and you're playing great courses every week. The course management skills we have learned helped today, and the fact we were playing on our home course."
May echoed those sentiments.
"College has taught me that there are so many golfers out there better than me, and better than Grayson," he said. "The college experience teaches you to go low and be comfortable going low.
"I'm not worried about the lead that we have. If we had a twelve-shot lead, or a two-shot lead, our mindset is going to be the same. Our mindset won't change a bit Saturday. We'll do the same thing with a warmup and trying to make as many birdies as we can."
Looney and Dunlap were pleased with their 66, and somewhat surprised to find themselves trailing by five shots.
"We played well; we knew Garrett and Grayson were going low, but we weren't expecting to see a 61 up there," Dunlap said. "Zack got our round going today with birdies at six, seven and eight. I helped out a little on the back nine."
There's a three-way deadlock for third place in the championship flight at 69. That group includes Chuck Gardner and Greg Gresham, Matt Goggans and Brent Wolfe, and Bruce Hornbuckle and Adam Manual.
The other flights are competing in a match play format. See today's tee times inside this section.
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FSI tee times
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Today
at Texarkana Country Club
No. 1
8:00Ben Branson and Brennan Watkins; Trevor Arts and Chris Beheny.
8:10Matt Goggans and Brent Wolfe; Adam Ward and Doug Rutland.
8:20Chuck Gardner and Greg Gresham; Bruce Hornbuckle and Adam Manual.
8:30Garrett May and Grayson Jones; Tyler Dunlap and Zack Looney.
8:40Jeff DeWeese and Larry Wooldridge; Magee Burns and Mike Zacharias.
8:50Lance Rust and Eric Cunningham; David Riley and Harry Blake.
9:00Phillip Hardin and Tom Rickard; Jeremy O'Quinn and Steven Buchanan.
9:10Lance Tjaden and Matt Brown; Richard Anderson and Curt Roberts.
9:20Matt Wright and David Monty; Doug Reese and Wayne Rollins.
9:30Robert Pike and Mark Boone; Rick Silva and Scott Yarbrough.
9:40Byron Phillips and Roy Burklow; Kevin Phillips and Sam Phillips.
9:50Ben Legrand and Ben Floyd; Bunn Fawcett and Larry Davis.
12:40Jim Murray and Sonny Brainerd; Russell Johns and Josh Gleaton.
12:50Jake Hambleton and Chris Baker; Wilbur Giles and Greg Giles.
1:00Paul Ravaris and Brad Yake; Cody Deal and Brock McCorkle.
1:10Robin Beck and Wayne Hawkins; Jim Watson and Gene Keefer.
1:20Matt Zuege and Mike Zuege; Kyle Robertson and Craig Robertson.
1:30Stephen Robinson and Casey Robertson; Carey Sanchez and Justin Dowd.
No. 10
8:00Dale White and Tom Melcher; Jeff Fountaine and Andy Ecton.
8:10Jeff Maneth and Ben Davis; Tim Mauser and Brett Walters.
8:20Corey Wells and Clayton Jeffirs; David Madden and Zayne Madden.
8:40Lowry Cohen and Mike Rumfelt; Steve Hague and Greg Gabbert.
8:50Wes Shahan and Kevin McKinney; Matt Ducote and Chance Ducote.
9:00Kirk Hale and David Gray; Doyle Barksdale and Jay Louy.
9:10Mike Ledsome and Ron Canion; Steven Anderson and Greg Chandler.
9:20Elroy Doggett and Greg Bartz; Colin Ward and Jay Ward.
9:30Jim White and Danny Grady; Mike Minter and Richard Turner.
9:40JL Cilchrist and Greg Germany; Mark Sims and Russell Hamilton.
9:50Steve Hagan and Larry Evans; Jim Isakson and Kyle Draper.
12:40Troy Gor and James Shambarger; Roger Joyner and Mickey Robertson.
12:50Ray Jarrell and David Carroll; Craig Kimray and Bobby Stewart.
1:00Ron Dicken and Garry Monk; Loy Dean Clark and Randy Sikes.
1:10Robee Carter and Tony Porter; Matt Sokol and Adrian Mata.
1:20Scott Dubois and Russell Mayo; Paul Harris and David Barnett.
1:30Jim Sloan and Jim Staple; Cole Cunningham and Dave Hauser.