AUSTIN, TX (Aug. 9, 2011) -- Kody King
held off an early charge from Michael Smith
and mounted his own charge to win the Austin
Mens City Championship with a 10 under par
total of 276 over four rounds. King birdied six
and seven to maintain a lead then birdied 9,
10, and 11 to gain control of the
tournament headed down the
stretch and captured
the title. 
Michael Smith, winner of the Texas Golf
Association Public Links tournament at
Brackenridge in
San Antonio, birdied five and six
then eagled #7 with a 70 foot putt to pull
within a few shots of leader. Smith then played
steady golf for the remainder of the round over
the finishing holes at Jimmy Clay. The
wind was a factor as it blew a steady 10-15
with occasional gusts of higher velocity,
making club selection difficult. The
course was in good shape overall given the
recent heat wave.
Alex Ellis, recent winner of the
Firecracker Open, shot 71 to finish in a
tie for second with Smith. Ellis plays for
the College of Charleston under coach Mark
McIntire and assistant coach
David Kite. The heat and
wind played a factor over four rounds
and coupled with the tournament pressure,
affected scoring as the tournament wore
on. Given that most amateur
tournaments are 36-54 holes long, the 72 hole
format added additional challenges
and concentration was difficult to
maintain over the entire 72 holes. Lots
of players commented that they had
brief concentration lapses and posted
higher scores as a result
Blake Stasiunas, senior at Vista Ridge
High School next year, finished in fourth with a
two under par total of 284. Stsiunas won the
Low Junior Category of the Mens City
Tournament.
Mike Allen won the low senior category
with a total of nine over par 295. Allen will
captain the Rudy's I-35 cup Austin Team in
late October.
The Austin Amateur Golf
point standings will determine the Austin
team in the Rudy's I-35 cup. All the
players are conscious of those standings and
are fighting hard to gain a spot on the
team. Several more events remain in
that race, including the Bluebonnet
Cup, the TerraVista tournament, and the
Harvey Penick Invitational.
Robert Evans finished 9th to gain valuable
points and Gene Black enhanced his standing in
the Rudy's Cup race with a 12th place finish.
Cole Shiflet and Chris Hartenstein gained
valuable points with their finishes. The point
system is maintained by Randy Reynolds,
Steve Paterson and Vince
Brunssen. Visit the Austin Amateur Golf
Website for the standings and lots of statistics
about the players current and past play.
Aaron Kaiser shot 69 in the final round
and along with Charlie Laudermilk tied
for 6th place and finished at even par 286 for
the four days. Fine playing over four
days and four different courses.