Golf: Vermilion Links Club to celebrate UL golf

Dan McDonald, The Advertiser, July 12, 2017

The Vermilion Links Club, the primary support organization for UL’s Ragin’ Cajun golf team, will have a proud moment Thursday at the ribbon cutting for the Cajuns’ new team facility at Oakbourne Country Club.

They’ll also have a “fun” moment in August when the group stages its second annual Jimmy “Chicken” Thomas Classic, set for Aug. 28, also at Oakbourne.

The event has a two-fold purpose, helping raise funds for the UL program and providing a chance for Vermilion Links members and other participants to get to meet and interact with the players on the Cajun squad.

“Our players are hopefully going to be part of our community for many years, not just while they’re playing their collegiate seasons,” said Vermilion Links chairman David Church. “We think that giving our members and others the chance to meet the players and get to know them is really important in helping them know that we want them to be an integral part of our city and our area.”

Church said that 100 percent of the proceeds from the tournament will go to the golf team’s budget to support recruiting, travel, tournament and coaching costs. The group’s founding members contributed nearly $300,000 toward the construction of the new UL facility, which joined with a pair of $200,000 donations from Don Mosing and Brad Mosing that made the facility possible.

The two-day event will include a Sunday evening social and dinner at Oakbourne where the Cajun players will be introduced. Monday’s two-player scramble will begin at 1 p.m.

Entry fee for founding members of the Vermilion Links is complimentary, and spots in the rest of the field are $200 per player or $400 per two-player team. More information is available from Church at 280-2961 or dchurch@dartenergyservices.com, or from UL coach Theo Sliman at 962-3348 or tsliman@louisiana.edu.

Both will be on hand Thursday for the grand opening of the new facility that includes offices, locker room and technology-loaded hitting bays and practice areas. The official ribbon-cutting is set for 4 p.m., after it was postponed two weeks after weather delays.

Elston in Southern Am

Speaking of UL, junior-to-be Triston Elston will be headed for Pinehurst, N.C., next week to take part in the 111th Southern Amateur Championship at the Country Club of North Carolina.

Elston, a native of Baton Rouge, fired a four-under-par 68 last week at a sectional qualifier in New Orleans, claiming one of four available spots from the 23-player field. That 68, his low competitive round since joining the Cajun program, tied Elston for medalist honors against a talented field of amateurs from three states and one foreign country.

The Southern Amateur is among the nation’s most respected Amateur events, with a list of former winners including PGA Tour standouts Lanny Wadkins, Ben Crenshaw, Webb Simpson, Justin Leonard, Harris English, Kyle Stanley, Len Mattiace and Michael Bradley.

“Making the Turn” appears each Wednesday from February-November in the Daily Advertiser. Clubs, courses and individuals with information about local golf events may email Dan McDonald, editorial director at Golfballs.com, at danmcdonald@cox.net, FAX to (337) 857-8763 or call (337) 857-8754 and leave a message with phone number.