BOB WEST ON GOLF — Rogers, Geoffroy defy albatross odds at Zaharias

Published 12:01 am Wednesday, July 22, 2020

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Something weird is going on at Babe Zaharias.

According to established odds, it’s roughly 6 million to one against a golfer authoring the game’s rarest shot — an albatross. For those not familiar with the term, an albatross is a score of three-under par on a given hole — a 2 on a par-5 or a 1 on a par-4.

Four months ago, Kane Segura of Groves defied those odds with an albatross on the par-5 ninth at Zaharias. By all rights, that should have been Zaharias’ albatross quota for 2020 and probably even 2021.

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Nobody bothered to tell Aaron Rogers or Craig Geoffroy, both of whom live in Port Neches. Within a 72-hour time frame they each bagged an albatross — Rogers with a 5-iron from 212 yards on the par-5 third and Geoffroy from 180-yards with a 6-iron on No. 9.

Rogers, 26, sank his deuce Thursday on No. 3 with Haden Hoffpauir as a witness. It led to a round of four-under-par 68. Geoffroy, 62, scored his albatross on Sunday with Craig Fontenot, Bubba Brevell and John Dunn looking on. It helped him shoot a 67.

CHIP SHOTS

Little Cypress-Mauriceville senior-to-be Jack Burke had the best week of any golfer with Southeast Texas ties. Burke fired rounds of 66-72-75 (213) over at the Golf Club at Texas A&M to win the Srixon/Prestige Tour Aggieland Classic by two shots.

Among other things, the victory earned the two-time winner of the Babe Zaharias Award as the area’s outstanding schoolboy golfer an invitation to the prestigious George Hannon Invitational at the University of Texas Golf Club in August. Burke is playing in the Elite Cup Invitational at TPC Las Colinas this week. …

Andrew Landry is taking some time off from the PGA Tour after missing the cut for the second consecutive week on Jack Nicklaus’ Muirfield Village layout in Dublin, Ohio. Landry shot 79-75 last week in the Memorial, after signing for 75-74 the previous week in the Workday Classic over the same layout. …

Chris Stroud, who was not eligible for the Memorial, returns for this week’s 3M Classic in Blaine, Minnesota. Stroud has made three of four cuts since the tour’s restart, with finishes of T28, T30 and T47. Those showings have earned him $107,984 but he’s still well on the outside looking in as far as the upcoming Fed Ex Cup playoffs. …

Braden Bailey continued to struggle with consistency in a T45 finish in last week’s APT Texarkana Children’s Open. Bailey, after a first-day 75 rallied to make the cut with a six-under 65. He then finished 70-72 for 282. The next APT event is Aug. 5-8 in Fort Smith, Arkansas. …

PNG ex Karlei Hemler, who last year transferred from McNeese State to Northeastern (Oklahoma) State, is getting her first taste of higher-level competition after receiving an exemption into the Women’s APT Conway (Arkansas) Open. Hemler shot an 82 Tuesday in the first round of the 54-hole event and is tied for 36th in a field of 39 players. …

In the Monday Senior 50 Plus 2 ball at Zaharias, the team of Mike Brown, Ron LaSalle, Don MacNeil and Jeff Rinehart won the front with minus 5. On the back, minus 3 won for the team of Keith Mullins, Calvin Landry, Rufus Reyes and Larry Lee. …

The Super Saturday 2 ball at Zaharias saw the team of Mullins, Thad Borne, Jason Ferguson and Randy Trahan win the front with even par. One under won the back for the foursome of Randy Monk, Brian Mirabella, Harry Green and Everette Baker. …

All points count was the format for the Wednesday Babe Zaharias DogFight. Placing first with 34 points was the team of Gary Fontenot, Reyes, Robert Stansbury and Tommy Duhon. There was a tie for second at 33 points between teams captained by Adam Noel and James Vercher.

Closest to the pin winners were Landry (No. 2, 3 feet, 4 inches), Rick Pritchett (No. 7, 5-10), Jim Cady (No. 12, 3-8 and No. 15, 7-5). …

In the Tuesday, July 14 two ball at Zaharias, Kenny Robbins’ career best round of six-under-par 66 sparked a team that included Vercher, Rusty Hicks and a ghost player to a winning 6 under on the front. That team tied the back at minus 4 with the foursome of Bob West, MacNeil, Pritchett and Dillard Darbonne. …

Entries are still being taken for the Port Neches-Groves Boys Golf Fundraising Scramble Saturday at Zaharias. Cost for a team in the four-person scramble is $300. Call PNG boys coach Jerry Honza at 719-3949 or email him at jhonz@pngisd.org to enter. …

Honza and Zaharias pro Mitch Duncan are hosting a PNG Indian Golf Camp July 27-30 for youngsters in grades 4 through 9.

Hours of instruction for those in grades 4-5-6 are Monday through Thursday from 8 to 9:30 a.m. Sessions for golfers in grades 7-8-9 run from 10 to 11:30 a.m. Cost is $125. To sign up contact Honza at the phone number or e-mail listed above.

Golf news should be e-mailed to rdwest@usa.net. Bob West’s column is sponsored by 5 Under Golf Center.