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- Updated: May 16, 2021
LeCroy back in town after ‘solid’ college season, shoots 68 to share Silver Lakes lead
By Al Muskewitz
East Alabama Sports Today
SILVER LAKES – After completing a highly competitive Division I college golf season Jacob LeCroy came back home this weekend to play a little local golf with his friends.
But old habits die hard. His pre-tournament routine was just as intense as it was when he played at South Alabama and he parlayed it into a 4-under-par 68 Saturday that gave him a share of the lead after the first round of the RTJ Silver Lakes Championship.
LeCroy is tied with Dalton Chandler and Brennan Clay, two shots clear of Scott Martin and Ty Cole. Harrison Hughston and Timmy Woodard are another shot back and the only other players to shoot under par in the round. Tee Brown shot an even-par 72 to round out Sunday’s final two foursomes.
LeCroy was playing his first competitive round at Silver Lakes since he and partner Jacob Harper embarked on their record-smashing run in the 2019 Sunny King Classic in the scramble round here. During his practice round Friday he took copious notes just as he would preparing for his college tournaments and he went to them often, especially on the front side.
Leaning on his research he was 4-under through six holes and again through 10, 16 and 18. He birdied all four par-5s.
“I know how all these boys can play,” said LeCroy, who had two T-11 finishes in five events for the Jags this spring. “I missed playing in this. It’s my favorite thing. The County Tour, not that it’s crazy big or anything, but I know there’s some really good competition and I just wanted to come out here and do what I could do.
“I was treating like one of our tournaments. I wasn’t coming out here to just play. I wanted to come out here and win. Right now, (swing teacher) Wayne Flint has me hitting it the best I’ve ever hit it.”
Chandler almost missed his tee time after working all night at the bar he recently opened in Lenlock and the early portion of his round reflected his discomfort. Had his father Ott not called him about 30 minutes before their start he might have slept through it.
As it was, he went from the parking lot to the first tee without a warmup and as a result he played the Mindbreaker front in even-par with two “absolutely awful” three-putt bogeys. But he regained his bearings at the turn and shot 4-under on the Backbreaker back. He birdied three of the four par-5s.
Clay was the first player to post 68 Saturday. He had seven birdies in his round. He was 2-under at the turn and birdied the first three holes on the Backbreaker nine to go 5-under. Then he started hitting it “kind of squirrelly” for reasons he still doesn’t completely understand, had back-to-back bogeys on 5 and 6, but recovered with a birdie on 7 for his 4-under.
“I putted really good, really didn’t miss anything inside eight feet,” he said. “I had a couple stupid bogeys, but overall hit it pretty good.”
Winning the Match Play Championship at the end of last season to finally break into the winner’s circle on the County Tour has ramped up his confidence this year. He already has two top 10s, with a T-3 in the season-opening event at Twin Bridges, and is currently fifth in player points. He’s shot 70 and 67 in his two Sunday rounds.
“This year I want to win two; I want to double it,” he said. “I knew I could do it, it was just a matter of getting it done. So, when I finally got it done, it was OK I can do this, I need to it again. I need to replicate it. It definitely helps mentally with me.”
Martin certainly has a good feeling when he steps on the property. He won this event nine years ago and plays here as his home course.
“There obviously was some comfort, but (if) the advantage is you play here all the time, the disadvantage sometimes is you play here all the time,” he said. “The flags, the speed (of the greens), the tees weren’t where we normally play.
“I hit putts on a bunch of holes that broke different than what I’m used to because they were in places I don’t ever putt. It’s one thing if they were putting them where they are every day, I’d know how they break. Not today.”
Still, he gave himself chances for a good round by hitting 16 greens.
NOTES: Cole had two eagles in the round (Mindbreaker 7, Backbreaker 7). He’s the second player this year to score two eagles in one round Counting the conceded eagle in his playoff win over Gary Wigington two weeks ago at Cider Ridge he’s made three eagles in his last 19 holes on Tour. The other eagles Saturday were scored by Wigington, Chase Hollingsworth (both Backbreaker 9) and Jody Wooten (Mindbreaker 5) … Matt Greer of Douglas had the best run in the round. He birdied his last four holes on Backbreaker to get his round back to 80 and a share of the second flight lead. The longest of any of the putts was 15 feet.
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