Ambrose Kinnare rallies from double bogey for two-shot lead in JAGA Amateur

Golf demands a lot of high-level players.

>A short memory is near the top of the list.

>Ambrose Kinnare said he's learned that at an early age and it's served the rising Tocoi Creek High School junior well through 36 holes of the Jacksonville Area Golf Association Amateur Championship.

>Jacksonville Amateur third-round groups, starting times

>Kinnare lost a two-shot lead with a double bogey at the par-4 ninth hole of the Sawgrass Country Club on July 20 but rebounded with three back-nine birdies and with 70, leads Will Braude of Jacksonville (72), Henry Robards (70) and Landon Durham (66, matching the day's low round) of Ponte Vedra Beach by the two shots he lost and regained at 7-under-par 137.

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>Kinnare, Durham and Robards will be in the final group in the final round on July 21 in the 65th edition of the First Coast's most prestigious amateur stroke-play event.

>But they can't rest easy. Given the quirks and tricks of Sawgrass, especially under windy, hot conditions, no lead is safe and a number of accomplished players are there to pounce given the opportunity: Cameron Reed of Ponte Vedra (71) is fifth at 4-under, Maxwell Morgan of Ponte Vedra (69) is next at 2-under and Luke Balaskiewicz (75) and Zach Lee of Jacksonville Beach (69) are tied at 1-under.

Kinnare birdied all four par-5 holes at SawgrassKinnare was coming off back-to-back birdies at Nos. 7 and 8 before he dunked his second shot in the water at No. 9, leading to his first double-bogey of the week. But he continued to attack the par-5 holes (he birdied all four) and two-putted from 15 feet at No. 11 and dropped a 15-footer at No. 18 for birdie, wrapped around a short birdie putt at the par-3 12th.

>"I knew I was playing well so the double didn't really affect me," Kinnare said. "The more tournaments I play, the more experience I have, and I've learned to put bad shots and bad holes behind me."

>Braude also had displayed that trait. He put a double at No. 9 behind him in the first round and went to tie Kinnare for the lead at 5-under, then weathered two three-putts on the front nine to post a good enough score to stay within striking distance of the lead.

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>"I hung in there," he said. "The greens were a little slower and it took me six or seven holes to get used to them. As the old guy, I was happy to hang with [Kinnare] most of the day. Take away those three-putts and I'm right there."

>Robards, like Kinnare, made his hay on the par-5 holes, making birdie on three of the four. He said switching to a L.A.B. DF3i putter has rejuvenated his stroke.

>"I changed in May and I've been putting pretty well with it," he said. "I struggled with putting last year and it's been working well. I found a good routine and I'm sticking with it."

Cream has risen to the top for final roundThe talent in the final groups is impressive:

Kinnare has won the Junior Azalea, an FJT event at the Country Club of Ocala and the Dr. Gordon Ira last week at Deerwood. • >Durham is a rising senior at Elon College, where he set the school's 54- and 36-hole scoring records. • >Robards, an Episcopal graduate, was an All-SoCon selection at Mercer and is transferring to Georgia Tech. • >Braude, who turns 38 next month, also played at Episcopal, then at Jacksonville University. • >Reed, now at Furman, was a member of two state championship teams at Ponte Vedra High. Morgan, 16, is now at Ponte Vedra. • >Balaskiewicz, the runner-up in the JAGA Amateur last year, was a Bolles standout and is a rising sophomore at the University of North Florida. • >Lee, another Episcopal graduate who played with Braude, went on to the University of Florida.Former UNF player Joe Stepnes has impressive comebackPerhaps the best round of the day, under the circumstances, came from Joe Stepnes, who played at the University of North Florida. He shot 82 in the first round but, starting the day with a birdie at No. 10 and an eagle at No. 11, went on to knock 15 shots off and posted a 67 to finish at 5-over 149 and make the cut with three shots to spare.

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>Another strong rally came from former JU player Matt Kleinrock, who posted a 76 in the first round. He birdied four of his first eight holes in the second round to a 69 to finish 1-over 145.

Jacksonville Area Golf Association Amateur ChampionshipSecond round, at Sawgrass Country Club

>Ambrose Kinnare 67-70―137

>Landon Durham 73-66―139

>Henry Robards 69-70―139

>Will Braude 67-72―139

>Cameron Reed 69-71―140

>Maxwell Morgan 72-69―142

>Zach Lee 74-69―143

>Luke Balaskiewicz 68-75―143

>Cooper Franklin 72-72―144

>Colton Swartz 71-73―144

>Matt Kleinrock 76-69―145

>Evan Raynor 72-73―145

>Ian Lentz 72-73―145

>Danny Erickson 71-74―145

>Styles Smith 70-75―145

>Sam Geise 73-73―146

>Elliott Mehler 74-73―147

>Tyler Brown 73-75―148

>Tanner Millar 72-76―148

>Turner Hersey 72-76―148

>Joe Stepnes 82-67―149

>Ryan Nicholson 74-75―149

>Lexus Keoninh 72-77―149

>Jeff Golden 75-75―150

>Kaden James 76-74―150

>Noa Bridges 75-75―150

>Dylan Frein 75-75―150

>Andrew Morgan 74-76―150

>Matt Glass 76-74―150

>Noah Ochab 73-78―151

>Ryan Houck 72-79―151

>Chuck Kirk 73-78―151

>Lance LaCombe 74-77―151

>Adam Waller 75-76―151

>Luis Rivera 76-75―151

>Nate Mosby 74-77―151

>Ethan Grossman 79-72―151

>Toby Ragland 77-74―151

>Barton Abstein 77-74―151

>D.J. Waller 75-77―152

>Matthew French 75-77―152

>Michael Smith 77-75―152

>Missed the cut

>Jack Nelson 71-82―153

>Connor Hess 75-78―153

>Kip Webber 76-77―153

>Alex Dienes 81-72―153

>Brady Holmes 74-80―154

>Jaylen Abbas 82-73―155

>Grant Fisher 81-74―155

>Nickolas Sarianides 80-75―155

>Jameson Adams 81-74―155

>Masen McKain 81-75―156

>Sam Davis 78-78―156

>David Locht 76-81―157

>Jack Randolph 86-72―158

>Jim Loftin 80-78―158

>Adam Krestalude 78-80―158

>Nicklaus Meyer 82-77―159

>Andrew Rottschalk 78-81―159

>Lawson Garner 79-80―159

>Keaton Fannin 81-78―159

>Scott Dalton 79-81―160

>David Phillips 82-78―160

>Brady Steffen 85-75―160

>Dan Huffingham 82-79―161

>Ryder Averdick 79-82―161

>Aubrey Fellows 77-84--161

>Jason Ondriezek 84-78--162

>David Thore 75-87―162

>Mark Young 83-80―163

>Jamie Seim 78-85―163

>Matthew Webb 78-85―163

>Len Schonfeld III 81-84―165

>Colson Hale 84-84―168

>Chase McBride 85-83―168

>Joseph DeRosa 90-79―169

>Zachary Rogers 87-84―171

>Reese Tyrrell 86-85―171

>Eddie Erickson 87-84―173

>Garrett Ho-Shing 91-83―174

>Lucas Freund 95-87―182

>Brandon Berry 96-86―182

>This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Ambrose Kinnare rallies from double bogey for two-shot lead in JAGA Amateur