Golf: Making the turn – Louisiana Open’s long and lustrous history – Dan McDonald & Herb Schilling

Dan McDonald, Daily Advertiser, April 2, 2014

The Chitimacha Louisiana Open wrapped up its 23rd edition Sunday, with PGA and Web.com Tour veteran Kris Blanks’ stellar final-round 62 ending the $550,000 event on a high note.

That 23rd renewal, though, is only an anniversary, since the Louisiana Open has a long and lustrous history in a couple of different incarnations.

Since 1992, the Open has been a part of the PGA Tour family under several different Tour sponsor umbrellas beginning with the Ben Hogan Tour and progressing to its current status as part of the world’s second-best golf tour behind only its parent PGA Tour.

But the Louisiana Open was around for a long time before that … and it was a Lafayette golf fixture for a decade before ever becoming affiliated with the PGA Tour.

“I know that the Open was held as far back as the 1920’s,” said Herb Schilling II, whose family-owned Schilling Distributing was and remains one of the tournament’s biggest benefactors. “It rotated from town to town, and it wasn’t really an ‘open.’ It was for the PGA professionals that resided in the state.”

Cities across the state hosted it annually, similar to the Louisiana Golf Association’s State Amateur which began in 1920 – and which returns to Le Triomphe later this summer.

Schilling said that the rotation became an issue due to lack of a consistent organization to stage the event.

“There was no continuity of leadership,” he said. “Some places you’d have an aggressive PGA leadership and they’d do well, some places you wouldn’t have that leadership. It just became dormant for years.”

In 1980, a group of local professionals spearheaded by Charles Dugas, Al Marchbanks and Luca Barbato teamed up with then-retired Tour pros Jay and Lionel Hebert – Lafayette’s claim to national golf fame after both won the PGA Championship.

Schilling was on board as a sponsor, and the following year organized the event as the Michelob Louisiana Open at Les Vieux Chenes. A few years later, it became a truly “open” event.

“We realized that we had to get more sponsors and more prize money, and we had to open the tournament to pros outside the state,” Schilling said. “Some in the state weren’t receptive to that, but if we were going to get people to come out and watch, we had to do that.”

The Chitimacha Louisiana Open wrapped up its 23rd edition Sunday, with PGA and Web.com Tour veteran Kris Blanks’ stellar final-round 62 ending the $550,000 event on a high note.

That 23rd renewal, though, is only an anniversary, since the Louisiana Open has a long and lustrous history in a couple of different incarnations.

Since 1992, the Open has been a part of the PGA Tour family under several different Tour sponsor umbrellas beginning with the Ben Hogan Tour and progressing to its current status as part of the world’s second-best golf tour behind only its parent PGA Tour.

But the Louisiana Open was around for a long time before that … and it was a Lafayette golf fixture for a decade before ever becoming affiliated with the PGA Tour.

“I know that the Open was held as far back as the 1920’s,” said Herb Schilling II, whose family-owned Schilling Distributing was and remains one of the tournament’s biggest benefactors. “It rotated from town to town, and it wasn’t really an ‘open.’ It was for the PGA professionals that resided in the state.”

Cities across the state hosted it annually, similar to the Louisiana Golf Association’s State Amateur which began in 1920 – and which returns to Le Triomphe later this summer.

Schilling said that the rotation became an issue due to lack of a consistent organization to stage the event.

“There was no continuity of leadership,” he said. “Some places you’d have an aggressive PGA leadership and they’d do well, some places you wouldn’t have that leadership. It just became dormant for years.”

In 1980, a group of local professionals spearheaded by Charles Dugas, Al Marchbanks and Luca Barbato teamed up with then-retired Tour pros Jay and Lionel Hebert – Lafayette’s claim to national golf fame after both won the PGA Championship.

Schilling was on board as a sponsor, and the following year organized the event as the Michelob Louisiana Open at Les Vieux Chenes. A few years later, it became a truly “open” event.

“We realized that we had to get more sponsors and more prize money, and we had to open the tournament to pros outside the state,” Schilling said. “Some in the state weren’t receptive to that, but if we were going to get people to come out and watch, we had to do that.”