Arkansas Business

This story is from the archives of ArkansasSports360.com.

Four golfers landed spots in the Southern Amateur Championship following a Monday qualifier at Chenal Country Club's Bear Den course. The tournament run Wednesday through Saturday.

Zach Coats of Springdale was the lone Arkansas qualifier of the four. He beat out 18 other players for the final spots that round the Southern Am field to 168 players. Coates shot a 71, tying Brandon Wilhide of Richmond, Texas.

Coats was the Class 7A's top golfer at Springdale Har-Ber High last fall and will play at the University of Arkansas beginning this fall.

Kevin Gillick of Lincoln, Neb., and Michael McGee of Kansas City, Mo., each shot 73 for a share of third place in the qualifier, advancing in a playoff that eliminated Sam Love and Marshall Talkington.

The 106th Southern Amateur will be contested over 72 holes with a 36-hole cut after Thursday's round. The event has attracted many of the top amateurs in the world, including No. 1-ranked amateur Bobby Wyatt from the University of Alabama. Last year's champion, Harris English, is now on the PGA Tour. The 2010 winner at Shoal Creek near Birmingham, Ala., was Little Rock's Alex Carpenter.

This week marks the first time for the Southern Amateur to be played in Arkansas. It typically rotates among six major courses in the South, such as East Lake in Atlanta, with the occasionally foray to another southern course.

Admission and parking for the tournament is free.