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Local Golf: Chip Shots – Including 6th Annual UL “Hot & Spicy” Golf ClassicApril 8, 2009 Dan McDonald • Advertiser Golf Writer • April 8, 2009 EASTER BREAK The city’s municipal courses and some of the local clubs will be closed on Sunday for Easter. Acadian Hills and Squirrel Run will be closed, and players should check with other courses about their plans. The area’s two private clubs, Oakbourne and Le Triomphe, will be open although Oakbourne will close at 3 p.m. HELP WANTED The first activities in the fourth annual Louisiana Pelican Classic are less than a week away, and tournament officials are looking for local golf fans to become involved in the event as volunteers, housing hosts, youth clinic participants, pro-am players … and spectators. The $90,000 event is the third Duramed Futures Tour tournament of the season, and a 144-player field will compete at The Wetlands for a record first prize in the state’s only women’s professional event. Actual competition is April 17-19, but pre-tournament activities begin next Tuesday, with pro practice rounds, a special "Skins Game" at 8 a.m. and the Knight Family Foundation Junior Golf Clinic at 4 p.m. The Lafayette General Medical Center Pro-Am is 1 p.m. Wednesday, April 15 followed by the Taste of Louisiana Party at The Wetlands. The AT&T Pro-Am is at 8 a.m. Thursday, April 16 before championship play begins at 8 a.m. the next morning. The tournament is seeking volunteers to help stage the tournament and families to provide housing for some players. Volunteers may register at www.la pelicanclassic.com or call 261-5811, and those interested in providing housing may contact Tracy Romero at 278-8481. Slots in the pro-ams are also available by contacting Mary DeRouen at 280-4400 or Kelly Courville at 852-9830. The junior clinic is free for youths age 5-14 but pre-registration is required and information is available from Dava Kimball at 261-5811. Tickets for the tournament are $10 daily or $20 for a three-day pass, and youths age 15 and under are admitted free with a paying adult. Ticket and other information is available online at www.lapelican classic.com. SKINS GAME One of the pre-tournament activities for the Pelican Classic will be brand-new, with Golfballs.com sponsoring a "Skins Game" at 8 a.m. next Tuesday at The Wetlands. The event will pair professionals with local amateur players in a "skins" competition on the practice-round day. Golfballs.com will pick eight local players at random to pair with the pros, and there is no charge to enter or for those who are selected. Players may enter either online at golfballs.com/ Lafayette or in person at the retail store on Arnould Blvd., and drawings for those eight positions will be held at noon on Friday. Information on the "Skins Game" and how to enter is available at the retail store, on line or by calling 210-4653. DEMO DAY If that week wasn’t already busy enough, Golfballs.com will be holding a demo day on April 17, from 1-6 p.m. at the Lafayette Golf Academy on Kaliste Saloom Road. Virtually every major golf manufacturer will have representatives on hand, including Ping, TaylorMade, Wilson/Staff, Cleveland, Titleist, Cobra, Bridgestone, Callaway, Adams Golf, Mizuno and Nike. Both the Ping club fitting van and the Bridgestone ball fitting van will also be on site. Local golfers can "test-drive" all of the newest equipment from each manufacturer as long as they like and at no charge, and players may also register for prizes to be given away by Golfballs.com. Sports Radio ESPN 1420 will air live from the site from 3-6 p.m. No preregistration is required to take part. ONE-MAN SCRAMBLE One of the most enjoyable events of the entire local golf year is closing in, with the annual Hope for Kids One-Man Scramble set for April 27 – moving to a spring date from its former fall scheduling. The one-man event is scheduled for noon that day at Oakbourne, and allows players to hit two balls for each shot – a mulligan on every swing, if you please. Players may also choose their own playing partners for a one-of-a-kind round. Three flights will be conducted for players of all levels, and entry fee is $175 – most of which goes to Reciprocal Ministries and its Hope for Kids program that helps provide schools and essential items for children in Haiti, Guatemala and Jamaica. Entry information is available from Larry Smith at 962-2252 or from Lydia at 268-3595, or by e-mail at lsmithridge@cox.net. REMEMBERING RONNIE A limited number of team spots are still available for the inaugural Ronnie Gaspard Memorial Tournament, scheduled May 4 at Le Triomphe. The tournament honors one of the local golf scene’s most revered players and promoters, and will benefit the UL petroleum engineering department and its drive to upgrade its facilities. The four-person scramble has 8 a.m. and 1 p.m. tee times available, and three meals and a post-tournament reception and silent auction are included in the $250 individual or $1,000 team entry fee. Sponsors include Nabors Offshore, Timco, HB Rentals, Gulf Fleet Marine, Greg Mosing and Quality Rentals. Entry and other tournament information is available from Jimmy McCartney at Coastal Chemical at 330-2914 or 298-7070. U.S. OPEN TRIP One week remains for golf enthusiasts to bid on a trip for two to this year’s U.S. Open at the legendary Bethpage Black Course. The UL Alumni Association, as part of its Spring Gala, is auctioning the trip including airfare and a five-night stay in New York City, as well as two full-week passes to the Open June 15-21. Auction bids may be placed on the UL Alumni Association’s web site at www.LOUISIANAalumni.org/ auction. Current bid is $2,700, and the auction closes at noon next Wednesday. All proceeds benefit the landmark Alumni Center, and more information is available at 482-0900. ACES Lee Davidson of Lafayette used a 9-iron and a Maxfli Noodle ball to ace the 127-yard second hole at Cajun Pine on Sunday. His third hole-in-one (the previous two at Cajun Oaks, the last one in 2000) was witnessed by Patrick Smith. No April Fool’s joke … Lee Nunley used a pitching wedge and a Srixon ball to ace the 120-yard 10th hole at Hebert Park on April 1. Ernest Brew and A. J. Janzen were witnesses for Nunley’s fifth-ever hole-in-one. EVEN RARER It wasn’t a hole-in-one, but it happens even less frequently. Ronny Richardson of Lafayette holed out with a 4-iron on his second shot on the par-five 11th hole at Farm d’Allie on Saturday. His double-eagle, a career first, was witnessed by Tommy Talbot and Coty Dupre. Richardson has an ace at Farm d’Allie in his career at the 13th hole. ARROWHEAD TOUR Arnaudville’s Kelsey Angelle tied for fourth with a 74-79-153 score in the boys division and Crowley’s Ali Lucas and Lafayette’s Anna Heim were both top-four finishers in the girls event at last weekend’s Arrowhead Junior Masters Championship at Santa Maria in Baton Rouge. A total of 95 players from four states took part in the tournament. Lafayette’s Austin Richard (78-78-156) finished eighth and Greg Maher of Carencro (80-77-157) Tied for ninth in the boys field, while Lafayette’s Christian Hurst (85-82-167) tied for 29th and Dillon Robin of Lafayette (84-85-169) was 31st. Sky Mejia of Lafayette finished 16th in the boys 12-14 division. In the girls tournament, Lucas (83-78-161) and Heim (79-84-163) finished third and fourth respectively, while Broussard’s Hannah Schorr (92-80-172) finished tied for 10th. The Arrowhead Tour hosts the AJGT Links on the Bayou Junior Classic in Alexandria April 18-19 in its next event. Information on the tour is available at 850-650-6331 or 850-830-0261. UPCOMING EVENTS The sixth annual UL "Hot & Spicy" Golf Classic sponsored by Tabasco is set for Monday, May 4, at Squirrel Run. The four-person scramble, which has raised over $190,000 for the UL athletic program, has two shotgun starts at 8 a.m. and 1 p.m. and will have a new handicap format for this year. Entry fee is $150 per player or $600 per team, and information is available from Gerald Hebert at 962-0296 or at sports@louisiana.edu.
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