Chase Colston

When our mothers caught us in a lie, we begged her to tell us how she knew.

"Because moms know everything," she would say.

The same goes for Christie Flores and her pride and joy, Martin.

"If he stands there a little longer (after his shot), it's not good," Christie explained to me on the sixth fairway during the second round of the Texas State Open. "If he picks up his tee immediately, the ball is usually right down the middle.

"I look at his body language because I usually lose sight of the ball."

Martin Flores quickly picked up his tee plenty on Friday. His 6-under 64 tied for the third lowest round of the day and bested his first-round score of 71, which he had to work harder than an ant colony to get.

And mom could definitely tell a difference.

She told me, "He's playing much, much better today," as we walked to the sixth green.

She clapped after her 25-year-old son sank a birdie, his first of three on the final four holes.

Christie noticed her son's focus was better, his ball-striking was better and most importantly, his putting was better.

Martin, of course, agreed.

"I just need to keep my focus at a high level," he said. "Today I was able to do that."

Flores is five shots behind leaders Mike Loving and Adam Crawford with two rounds left. He hovered at the projected cut line on Thursday, but now the Open's defending runner-up has himself in a spot to win it.

"Today put me in a good position for the weekend," Flores said. "The quality of my shots was good, but they can always be better. If I hit the ball a little better than I did today, I can look for some good scores.

"I'm really looking forward to the weekend."

As well he should.

Never showing any emotion and with mom watching, Flores solidified his stature in this tournament on the front nine, which is like a whole other golf course compared to the back.

After a birdie on No. 6, Flores parred No. 7, a brutal 500-yard par 4 and the hardest hole on the course. He sank a nifty 15-footer on the par 5 eighth (that mom was definitely excited about) to reach 5 under for the day.

"I was actually kind of surprised it went in," said Flores, who later birdied No. 9 and had three birdie putts lip out on the day. "I thought it would do what the other ones had done. I just took that as a fortunate break and walked to the next tee."

And it let the players above him know he's coming for them.

"I don't know if I can be labeled as a comeback player," Flores said, even though Christie disagreed. "I just try as hard as I can and do the best I can."

Right above Flores on the leaderboard is J.J. Killeen at 6 under, and the two have quite a history.

Killeen beat Flores in a playoff for the Class 5A state golf title in 2000 when Flores was a senior at Mansfield High. Flores won state as a sophomore at San Antonio Clark.

Back in "those days," Christie got to watch her son quite often. Not so much anymore. Flores plays in tour qualifiers almost every Monday and will continue playing on the NGA Hooters Tour in August.

"She doesn't get to see me play as often as she used to," said Flores, whose father will caddy for him in rounds three and four. "This is pretty much the closest thing to Dallas. It's always good to have family support at a tournament."

And mom will be watching, paying close attention to those small details mothers pick up on to let her know how her son is doing.

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Phone: 903-596-6325

E-mail: ccolston@tylerpaper.com

Chase Colston
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