2027 ARK – Mid-South Cup

The Arkansas Amateur Players Tour opened its 2027 season on Saturday, October 24th at Country Club of Arkansas in Maumelle, Arkansas for a premier amateur golf tournament. A field of 26 players contested the Mid-South Cup across four divisions, with Mid-Am Net and Senior Net run alongside, as the chapter’s schedule of Arkansas amateur golf tournaments got underway for the new season.

The par-72 layout at Country Club of Arkansas did most of its defending in the middle of the front nine. The par-4 7th played 1.81 strokes over par and did not give up a single birdie all day, with only four players in the field walking off with a par. The par-5 9th was where the scoring was, surrendering six birdies — more than any hole on the property.

In Division 2, Aaron Beck of Jonesboro, Arkansas made it two wins in two weeks, backing up his victory at last week’s Memphis event with a 9-over 81, the second-lowest round posted by anyone in the field. Beck led from the front, going out in 4-over 40 and coming home in 5-over 41, and he saved his only birdie of the round for the par-5 18th. Michael Nevens of Prattsville, Arkansas kept it to two strokes through six holes and was still within two with three to play before finishing in second at 12-over 84, three back.

Division 3 belonged to Brad Bettis of Royal, Arkansas, whose 7-over 79 was the low round of the day across the entire field. Bettis got his round moving early with an eagle 3 at the par-5 4th, added birdies at the 9th and the 17th, and turned in 3-over 39 before coming home in 4-over 40. Ron Carlin of Jonesboro, Arkansas was within a shot after six holes and Dana Moore of Owasso, Oklahoma within two, but Bettis had stretched the margin to five by the turn of the twelfth and never gave any of it back. Carlin and Moore, both playing out of the Memphis chapter, shared runner-up honors, seven adrift.

Division 4 produced the most movement on the leaderboard of any contest on the day, and Keith Greenfield of Hot Springs, Arkansas answered where it mattered most. Greenfield was three behind Nate Guyton and two behind Douglas Fleming after six holes, then played the middle of the round hard enough to turn that around, birdieing the par-5 9th and closing in 8-over 44 after an outward 10-over 46 for an 18-over 90 and a two-shot win. Guyton, of Memphis, Tennessee, took second at 20-over 92. Fleming, of Lake Village, Arkansas, hung on to a share of third at 21-over 93 alongside Mark Dail of Conway, Arkansas and Steven Walkley of Cordova, Tennessee. Six of the seven players in the division finished within five shots of the lead.

In Division 5, Tyler Roberts of Greenbrier, Arkansas broke through for his first career victory, having finished second three times in 2026. Roberts trailed Arthur Miller Jr. by three with three holes to play, then played the 16th, 17th and 18th in 2-over to win by two with a 21-over 93, built on six pars and a 9-over 45 on the front. Miller Jr., of Lakeland, Tennessee, who birdied the par-5 9th, finished in a three-way share of second at 23-over 95 with Michael Kelly of Nesbit, Mississippi and Tony Ethridge of Maumelle, Arkansas. Ethridge had led Roberts by a stroke through six and was one back with three to play. Four players finished within two shots of the division lead.

Mid-Am Net went to Arthur Miller Jr., who completed the double-dip on the back of his Division 5 finish with a net 2-over 74 and a three-stroke win. Tyler Roberts was second at net 5-over 77 after holding a two-shot edge at the halfway point of the round, and Steven Walkley took third at net 7-over 79. Roberts and Walkley both traded positions with the winner over the first twelve holes before Miller Jr. settled the issue late.

Senior Net was decided by a single stroke. Nate Guyton posted a net 1-over 73 to add the title to his second-place finish in Division 4, holding off Michael Kelly and Richard McClendon of Hot Springs Village, Arkansas, who tied for second at net 2-over 74 and split the points and the purse. McClendon was level with Guyton after six holes and six clear at the twelve-hole mark; Kelly, who also shared second in Division 5, drew level through twelve before Guyton edged in front over the closing stretch. Five players finished within two shots of the lead in the chapter’s deepest contest of the day.

Visitors made their presence felt as well, with five players in from the Memphis chapter — Dana Moore, Ron Carlin, Nate Guyton, Steven Walkley and Michael Kelly — each finishing inside the top three of a contest.

Next up in the Arkansas chapter — The Sherwood Fall Classic on Saturday, November 7th. Space is limited and registration closes November 2nd.