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Andrew Landry, after taking two weeks off following a tie for 26^th at Riviera in Los Angeles, returns to the PGA Tour this week to participate in a Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass that as always features the strongest field of the year.

The 2021 Players also comes with the dubious distinction of being the event where COVID-19 shut down professional golf after the first round had been completed in 2020. Landry had opened with a 71 after a double bogey on Sawgrass’ notorious 17 hole took the shine off a good round.

This year’s Players features 48 of the world’s top 50, with all but Brooks Koepka and Matthew Wolff participating. It offers pro golf’s largest purse of $15 million and the biggest winner’s share of $2.7 million.

For the avid golf fan, it also offers insight into what the game’s televised future will look like with a feature called “Every Shot Live.” In short, every shot of every player can be viewed by subscribers of PGATour.com/live.

It’s going to be free the first day, then will come with a fee.

What that means is you can watch every shot of your favorite player –Landry, Jordan Spieth, Dustin Johnson, whoever. The technology, which involves 120 cameras overall, with a minimum of four on each hole, was to have made its debut at last year’s Players. COVID, however, shut down the experiment after day one.

Landry, meanwhile, comes in having a moderately successful 2020-21 season. He’s won $502,458, has one top 10 and two other finishes in the top 30 and stands No. 96 in Fed Ex points. In two starts in the Players, he placed T67 in 2018 and T47 in 2019. He’s scored in the 60s – a 67 and 68 – in two of nine rounds and never gone higher than 75.

 

CHIP SHOTS: Port Neches-Groves authored a solid showing in last week’s 5A, Region 3 Preview played over The Golf Club at Texas A&M. The Indians, after a slow start, rallied to tie Lake Creek for fourth at 333, a total 15 of strokes off the winning pace of Montgomery.

Dalton Shields posted the low score for the Indians with an 81 that tied for 12^th. Braden Broussard and Jason Adams added 82s. Devin Galloway rounded out the top four with an 88. Montgomery’s Clark Pierce took medalist honors with an 83.

Little Cypress-Mauriceville placed first among 4A teams participating in the 36-hole regional preview played at Raven Nest in Huntsville with a total of 678. With 5A and 6A teams also participating, the Bears were fourth overall.

After a 147 on rounds of 76-71, LCM senior Jack Burke finished third overall and first among 4A players. Burke will be playing Friday and Saturday in the State Preview at Plum Creek Golf Club in Kyle.

In the Monday Senior 50 Plus 2 ball at Babe Zaharias, the team of John House, Bob Byerly, Bob Luttrull and James Trahan tied the front at minus with the foursome of Ted Freeman, Tony Trevino, Roger Baumer and Dan Flood.

Keith Mullins’ team that included Raymond Darbonne, Tommy Bellows and Keith Marshall won the back with minus 4. Byerly, who is 85, was the talk of the day after shooting 73. Vercher was medalist with a 72.

The Super Saturday 2 ball played at Babe Zaharias saw the team of Vercher, Thad Borne Jeff Rinehart and Larry Foster win the front in minus 1. On the back, there was a tie a plus 2 between the team of James Shipley, Gene Jones, Larry Stansbury and Ronnie Hicks and the foursome of Doug LeBlanc, Steve Wisenbaker, Scott Bryant and George Adams.

Shipley and Ed Holley tied for the low round of 75.

In the Friday Senior 2 ball at Zaharias, the team of Vercher, Trevino, Art Turner and Larry Lee scored a sweep. They were minus 4 on the front and minus 2 on the back. Vercher was medalist with a 67.

The Wednesday Zaharias DogFight was played in a 200-yard, par 4, all-points-count format and ended in a tie for first. Totaling 47 points was the team of Gerald Huebel, Larry Johnson, Luttrell and Stansbury and the foursome of Freeman, Bobby Wactor, Dillard Darbonne and James Trahan.

Third with 46 points was the team of Holley, Raymond Darbonne, Turner and Tommy Duhon.

Closest to the pin winners were Ron Mistrot (No. 2, 5 feet, 8 inches), Kenny Robbins (No. 7, 3-11), Everett Baker (No. 12, 15-1) and Vercher (No. 15, 1-10).

5 Under Golf Center in Beaumont is hosting a March 15-19 Spring Break Camp for kids ages 6-12. Each camper will receive two hours of instruction and TopGolf game play, followed by lunch. Cost is $150 per child.

Campers are to be dropped off between 8:30 and 9 each day and picked up from 12:30 p.m. to 12:45 p.m. Anyone with questions should email jordan@fiveundergolf.com or call (409) 988-5035.

Golf news should be e-mailed to rdwest@usa.net.