BOB WEST ON GOLF: Zaharias crew getting well-deserved salutes for rebound

Published 2:59 pm Tuesday, September 12, 2017

As promised, Babe Zaharias Golf Course re-opened last Saturday, and it did so to favorable reviews from regulars who were somewhere between shock and surprise at its condition in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey.

“Everyone has been really positive, thanking us for getting it open as fast as we did,” said Zaharias head pro Mitch Duncan. “We were shooting to get it ready in a week. Once we got all our heads together, got a game plan and got organized, thing came together.

“I couldn’t be more pleased with the way it happened. It was a terrific team effort and speaks well for our staff. One thing that sped up the process was being able to work on the course with no golfers on it. That helped us get things done faster than we normally could have.”

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Other than water still out of the banks along the hazard that comes into play on No. 3 and No. 8, there is little evidence Zaharias was underwater less than two weeks ago. The course has been completely mowed out and the fairways are hard and fast.

About the only negative is the greens being somewhat bumpy, but that was to be expected. Duncan says they should be back to where they were before Harvey in another week or so.

“The greens require the most babying,” he said. “We couldn’t do anything with them for 11 days. We put fertilizer on them Monday and did a small aerification and top dress on Tuesday. By next week they will be much better.”

Nobody was more pleased with the quick rebound than Aquila Golf president George Brown. Brown was in Colorado when the Harvey deluge hit, heard the horror stories of water being so deep boats were navigating the course and saw it for the first time on Labor Day.

“From where it was when I first saw it, to where it was on Saturday, was heart warming,” Brown said. “We have a great crew out here and they stepped up and proved it. I was really excited when I came out Saturday. It felt like a grand opening.”

CHIP SHOTS
Joe Benoit of Groves can lay claim to the first hole in one at Zaharias post Harvey. Benoit holed his 9-wood tee shot on the 125-yard, second hole Tuesday. The ace was witnessed by John Veillon . . .

Former PNG and Arkansas star Andrew Landry resumes his quest to lead the Web.com Tour in combined regular season and playoff earnings in the Albertson’s Boise Open on Thursday. Landry, after tying for third in the first of four tournaments in the Web.com finals, is No. 2 in combined winnings.

His total of $350,861 trails only Brice Garnett ($368,761). After the playoff stop in Boise, the Web.com playoffs move to Cleveland next week. The final event was scheduled to be played in Atlantic Beach, Fla., in two weeks,
but may have to be moved because of Hurricane Irma …

Chris Stroud’s 2016-17 PGA Tour season ended two weeks ago when he missed the cut in the second tournament of the Fed Ex Cup playoffs. Stroud, however, won’t be idle too long, as he plans to play the first event of the 2017-18 schedule Oct. 5-8 in Napa, Calif.

Stroud also plans to play the Oct 12-15 CIMB Championship in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and is hopeful of getting into the limited field for the inaugural CJ Cup at Nine Bridges in South Korea Oct. 19-22. Invitations for that lucrative event go to the top 60 in FedEx Cup points.

Several in the top 60, however, are expected to pass on the lengthy trip to one of the world’s military hot spots. Stroud, who finished 84 in FedEx points, probably has a 50-50 chance of getting into the field.

Before closing the book on Stroud’s 2016-17 season, here are some noteworthy figures to consider.

Thanks to his first-ever victory in the Barracuda Championship, and a strong showing at the PGA, Stroud’s official earnings were $1,308,445. That made it his third best season for official money, behind $1,826,399 in 2014 and $1,602,122 in 2013. His career PGA Tour earnings are now $10,925,987.

The former Lamar All-America has played in 294 PGA Tour tournaments and made the cut in 165 of them. He has 28 top 10s, including a first, a second and two thirds. His current Official World Golf Ranking is No. 164 …

Another PNG ex, Braden Bailey, got off to a solid start in his junior season for No. 4 ranked Baylor. Bailey shot rounds of 74-71-70 to finish with a 54-hole total of two-over-par 215 in the University of Minnesota’s Gopher Invitational at Windsong Farm Golf Club.

Bailey tied for 10th individually and helped Baylor to a second-place finish behind former Lamar golf coach Brad McMakin’s Arkansas Razorbacks. Arkansas and Baylor were tied after 36 holes but the Razorbacks won by 10 shots after posting a five-under-par team total on the final 18.

As was the case most of last year, Bailey played in the No. 1 spot for Baylor. He entered the season with a 72.16 stroke average, which is fifth on Baylor’s all-time list. He’s also 10th in school history for most top-five finishes (six) and moved up to 9th in top 10s (11) …

In the Senior 50 Plus two-ball game at Babe Zaharias on Monday, the team of Tom Letourneau, Bim Morrow, Larry Johnson, Larry Rogers and Paul Duplantis won the front with minus-7.

On the back, there was a tie at even par between the team of Bob Wactor, Bob Luttrull, Bill Jones and James Trahan and the foursome of Rick Pritchett, Tony Trevino, Harrel Guidry and Pete Reobroi.

The Super Saturday two-ball at Zaharias saw a tie on the front at minus-2 between the team of Craig Fontenot, John Williams, Mickey Hearn and Reobroi and the team of Adam Noel, James Shipley and Tony Trevino. The Noel team also won the back with minus-2.

In the final competition before Harvey turned Zaharias into a lake, the Thursday Senior 55 plus game was played in two-man scramble. First flight ended in a tie at 67 between Bob West-Morrow and Cap Hollier-Russ Gloede.

The duo of Larry Johnson-Rusty Hicks won Second Flight with a 70, edging Don MacNeil-Randy Harrison by one stroke. Harry Green-Ben Thornton won Third Flight with a 71, finishing a stroke clear of Charlie Leard-Paul Duplantis.

Closest to the pin winners were Leard (No. 2), Hollier (No. 7), Pritchett (No. 12) and E.T. Robicheaux (No. 15) …

The Zaharias DogFight was won with 12 points by the team of Pritchett, Morrow, Ed Holley and Mark Turnbull. Closest to the hole winners were Gloede (No.2) and Wactor (No. 7).

Bob West is the Port Arthur News golf writer.

About I.C. Murrell

I.C. Murrell was promoted to editor of The News, effective Oct. 14, 2019. He previously served as sports editor since August 2015 and has won or shared eight first-place awards from state newspaper associations and corporations. He was born in Memphis, Tennessee, grew up mostly in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, and graduated from the University of Arkansas at Monticello.

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