Golf: City Championship notebook

>> GOLFING BUDDIES: J.R. Cobos has been playing in the City Championship for as long as he can remember.

And there aren’t a whole lot of tournaments that develop the same kind of friendships.

“I enjoy the atmosphere, the camaraderie of all the fellow golfers,” Cobos said. “There are guys I only see once a year, at this tournament, and we’re buddies.”

Cobos has never missed a City Championship.

Finish any round at the City Championship, and it’s a good bet that a golfer doesn’t head home to rest.

Before that can happen, he has to sit down, have a few beers and talk about his round, the rest of his flight’s round and the rest of the entire scoreboard.

Turns out that most golfers have a lot in common.

“All these guys are golfers,” Cobos said. “Whether you play at Sunset, at Ratliff, at the country club, you can put four of us together, and we’ll have a good time. We’re golfers.”

Playing in the City Championship can be awfully addictive.

After all, it’s one heck of a way to stay in touch with old friends.

>> MIXING AND MATCHING: William Patterson knows Jerry Dugan, Jr. and Hayden Burnett well.

Patterson’s son Shane played with both golfers at Permian.

Today, though, Patterson gets his chance to play with Burnett and Dugan with the first flight title on the line after firing a 2-under 70, the best score of the day, to force his way into the final group.

Dugan Jr. leads the flight at 3-under, but Patterson is lurking two strokes back, and Burnett has a chance at 1-over.

The youngsters better hope Patterson can’t carry today’s magic over to the final round.

“It’s the first time I’ve ever been bogey-free,” Patterson said. “I hit a lot of greens, made no mistakes. They hit the ball way by me, but it’s going to be a lot of fun.”

>> FOR LOVE OF THE GAME: Right after Marshall Morgan turned in the score of the day to force his way into a two-way fight for the President’s flight title, the longtime Odessa golfer couldn’t be found.

Turns out that Morgan had to finish his round as quickly as possible.

Morgan, who fired a 1-under-par 71 during Saturday’s second round to move within one stroke of flight leader Kevin Williams, had to attend a wedding in Bandera.

By the time the championship flight finished playing, Morgan was most likely already boarding a plane, Ratliff Ranch Golf Links head professional Chris McQuatters said.

And he’ll be back in time to push Williams for the flight title this afternoon.