Three weeks shy of defending his first ever PGA Tour Championship in the Valero Texas Open, Andrew Landry has jumped headlong into the controversy over USGA and R&A rules changes implemented in January.

After a week that saw Justin Thomas openly feuding with the USGA over rules, Rickie Fowler mocking the new rule about taking a drop from knee high and Patton Kizzire ripping the ruling body over a penalty on caddies being involved in player alignment, Landry weighed in with an eye-opening statement on Twitter.

“The PGA Tour is a players tour,” the Port Neches-Groves ex began. “We should fight to have our own rules and only follow the USGA and R&A rules once a year at our U.S. Open and the Open.”

Landry is not the first player to hint that the PGA Tour have its own set of rules, but he may have been the first to do so in a public forum. Player response to his tweet has been somewhat muted, but the issue should get a thorough airing at this week’s Arnold Palmer Invitational.

With Landry in the 120-player field, it seems probable that either the Golf Channel or NBC will give him a chance to air out his views.

CHIP SHOTS

Port Neches-Groves ex Braden Bailey finished 21st in a field of 74 players to help Baylor place third behind Oklahoma State and Arizona State in the Querencia Cabo Collegiate in Las Cabos.

Defending NCAA champ OSU shot a eye-popping 32-under team total of 820. ASU totaled 828 and Baylor was at 843.

Bailey shot rounds of 71-68-75 to finish one-over-par. He’d been challenging for the lead during the second round after ripping off seven birdies in a nine-hole stretch. But he made seven bogeys and a double over the final 26 holes and faded back into the pack …

With its No. 1 player Timothy Feemster unavailable, the PNG boys played fifth in last weekend’s Regional Preview hosted by Magnolia High School at La Torretta Golf Resort. The Indians rebounded from a 352 on Friday to shoot Saturday’s second-low round of 329 and finish at 681.

Nederland was seventh at 697. Scores of other area schools included a 703 by Barbers Hill and a 767 by Vidor. Montgomery Purple won the 16-team even with a 613 followed by Montgomery White at 659 and Santa Fe at 672.

Bryce Parsley paced PNG with a 156 on rounds of 79-77. Victor Aponte improved by 17 strokes from day one to day two with a 93-76 for 169. Other scores that counted for PN-G were a 179 by Paul Muse (92-87) and a 182 by Jason Adams (88-94).

Brendan Marley led the way for Nederland with a 156 (74-82). Other scores for the Bulldogs were a 174 (87-87) by Daniel Cormier, a 178 (76-102) by Tyler Wallie and a 189 by Jadon Bell (85-104) …

With Babe Zaharias head pro Mitch Duncan recently installed as the new area director for the Southern Texas PGA, Zaharias for the first time hosted one of the STPGA’s Junior Tournaments on Sunday. The STPGA covers an area from the Golden Triangle to Austin to Corpus Christi and in between.

The tourney, played in winds gusting up to 25 mph, saw Reece Frank of Austin win Boys 15-18 with an 81. Montana DiLeo of Orange took Girls 15-18 with a 98. Carmen Pate of League City claimed first in Girls 13-14 with an 87 and Julius Arenkiel of Pearland won Boys 11-12 with a 103.

Winners in the Little Linkster portion included Tyler Chi of The Woodlands (41 in Boys 11-12, 9 hole, red), Tangia Gan of The Woodlands (45 in Girls 11-12, 9 hole, red), Austin Le of Houston (37 in Boys 9-10, 9 hole modified), Katelyn Davis of Kingwood (42 in Girls 9-10, 9 hole modified) and Chlo Gutierrez of Baytown (60 in Co-Ed 6-8, 8 hole modified).

In other flights, Reece Williams of Beaumont won Boys 9-10, 5-hole modified with a 24, Kora Wells of Mont Belvieu took Girls 9-10, 5-hole modified with a 36 an Savanah Murdock of Orange placed first in Co-ed 6-8, 5-hole modified …

The Wednesday Senior 2 ball at Babe Zaharias saw the team of Russ Gloede, Rick Pritchett, Jeff Rinehart and Roy Martinez win the front in minus 3. On the back, the team of Kenny Robbins, Cap Hollier, Keith Marshall and Don MacNeal prevailed with minus-1.

Closest to the pin winners were Adam Noel (No. 7) and Ed Holley (No. 15) …

In the Super Saturday 2 ball at Zaharias, the team of Ron LaSalle, Doug LeBlanc, Steve Wisenbaker and Craig Castille claimed the front with minus 3.

Minus-1 was good enough to win the back for Holley, Gene Jones, Lee Bertrand and Marshall …

Entries are still being taken for Saturday’s Nederland Heritage Festival tournament at Babe Zaharias. The event is a two-person scramble with an entry fee of $50 per player. All proceeds benefit the Nederland Heritage Festival.

Call 722-8286 for more information …

The eighth annual PNG boys golf team fundraiser has been set for Saturday, March 23 at 9 a.m. at Zaharias. Format is a three-person scramble with an entry fee of $75 per player.

All proceeds from the tourney will be used to help pay travel, equipment and uniform expense for the PNG golf team. Call Indians coach Jerry Honza at 719-3949 or the Zaharias golf shop at 722-8286 for more details …

Spots are still available in Mitch Duncan’s Spring Break Junior Golf Camp next Tuesday through Friday at Zaharias. Fee for 8 hours of instruction, with a 6 to 1 student-teacher ratio is $125. The camp is open to juniors ages 7-13.

Instruction will cover a different phase of the game each day, with full swing fundamentals taught in each session. There will also be on-course play.
Interested parents should contact Duncan at 344-0205 or 722-8286.

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