Reno-Tahoe Open: Fallon's Scott Smith misses cut

RENO - Except for one hole, Fallon's Scott Smith had a round more to his liking on the second day of the 13th annual Reno-Tahoe Open at Montreux Golf & Country Club.

The 2006 Fallon grad and University of Nevada graduate shot a two-over-par 74 on Friday to finish at 11-over-par 155. Smith, an amateur, was playing on a sponsor exemption.

Smith carded three birdies (Nos. 7, 12 and 13), three bogeys (Nos. 3, 14 and 17) and one double bogey (No. 6), which cost him a chance to shoot par.

"Today was much better," Smith said. "I had a lot of fun out there. Once I made the turn, I kind of realized I wasn't going to make the cut, but I wanted to try and make everybody happy. I made a couple birdies on the back side."

Smith had a large group of fans following him both days that he played in the RTO. When asked about the hoards of followers and support, Smith hesitated, choked up and wiped away tears for about a minute.

Through a coarse, appreciated voice, Smith described what it meant for those individuals to come out and watch him fulfill a life-long dream.

"It was incredible," he said. "As much support as I had, it made it a lot of fun and something I'll never forget. Every kid dreams of making a putt to win the Masters, I always dreamt to win the Reno-Tahoe Open."

Smith said he was much more relaxed on Friday than he was during the first round when he shot a 9-over-par 81. Smith said he spent extra time on the range working on his iron play and short game after his first round on Thursday.

The Fallon grad said too many loose shots on Thursday left him par putts from 10 to 15 feet, which helped contribute to an uncharacteristic round.

Friday's round, though, saw stronger iron play and better putting.

On the par 3, 192-yard seventh hole, Smith drilled his tee shot to 9 feet from the pin and drained his birdie putt - the first for Smith at the RTO.

He followed with birdies on No. 12 and 13 to reach even par for the round. Smith saved himself on the par 5 13th after an errant second shot. His approach to the green found the front right bunker, but he chipped to within 11 feet of the pin and drained the ensuing birdie putt.

"It was a big learning experience," he added. "You have to be great in every aspect of the game and that was one of the main things I learned this week."