Two years ago Lee Knox emerged from the pack to win the Georgia Amateur. Now he'll see how it feels to play with the lead.
The Augusta resident, a rising senior on the Alabama golf team, took control of the 91st Georgia Amateur Championship on Saturday at Ansley Golf Club-Settindown Creek in Roswell. Sparked by an eagle that came from driving the ninth hole, Knox shot a 2-under 70 and is at 7-under 209, giving him a one-shot edge over veteran Matt Russell of Dunwoody going into the final round.
"It's my first time going into Sunday with the lead. I'm looking forward to the challenge," Knox said. "I'm going to keep doing what I've been trying to do all week, hit fairways and greens."
Second-round leader Michael Garretson of Acworth shot a 75 and is in third place at 3 under. Tied at 2 under are Scott Weeks of Savannah and defending champion David Noll Jr. of Dalton. Chris Waters of Athens and David Yowell of Marietta are tied for sixth at 1 under. The best round of the day came from Bill Hodges of Thomasville, who shot a 68 and climbed into a three-way tie for eighth.
Knox got hot with consecutive birdies at No. 7 and No. 8 and then took advantage of the risk/reward ninth hole, where the Georgia State Golf Association had pushed the tees up so the par-4 hole was only 296 yards long. Knox slammed his drive to within 20 feet of the hole and calmly rolled in the quick downhill putt for the eagle.
"I was feeling good about the way I'd been hitting my driver, so I decided to hit it," Knox said. "I saw it was going in the right direction and had a chance if the distance was right."
Knox, with younger brother Austin acting as caddie, was 10 under after making a birdie at No. 11, but had three bogeys on the way in. He three-putted 14 and 17 and couldn't get up-and-down from behind the tricky 16th green.
The biggest beneficiary was Russell, 39, whose 69 included a birdie on the daunting 18th hole. The former Berry College standout was second in the Georgia Public Links Championship last year and 16th at the Georgia Mid Amateur Championship last month. He played his way into the Georgia Am via a qualifier at Settindown.
"I've been hitting it pretty well," Russell said. "I've been hitting fairways and greens, which is so important out here. I may have missed four or five fairways in three rounds, so I've been pretty steady."
Garretson saw his round derailed at No. 11 when his tee shot went into a stand of trees on the left of the fairway. The ball was not found, and Garretson had to return to the tee. He wound up taking a triple bogey, but continued to battle and salvaged a 75.
