Louisiana Senior: Breaux, Benoit share lead
Monroe, LA — Page Breaux of St. Gabriel and Darell Benoit of Belle Chasse both shot a stellar two-under par 70 on Thursday and are tied for the lead after the first round of the 2013 Louisiana Golf Association Senior Amateur Championship at Bayou DeSiard Country Club in Monroe. Benoit won this Championship in 2005 at The Bluffs Golf Resort in St. Francisville. Breaux, who recently turned 50 and became eligible to compete in this event, is always a strong competitor at LGA Championships. Breaux and Benoit’s competitive experiences and shot-making abilities should serve them well for the next 36 holes, but they will have to stave off the rest of this talented field of the best Senior players in Louisiana.
Breaux began his round at 9:18 AM and wasted no time getting under par with a birdie at the par 4 1st hole. He bogied the next hole, the par 4 2nd but bounced back with consecutive birdies at the par 5 3rd hole and the par 3 4thhole. He made three straight pars then a bogey at the par 4 8th. He made par at the par 3 9th, making the turn at one-under par 35. Breaux began his back nine with a par at the par 4 10th hole then a birdie at the par 4 11th. Another par at the par 4 12th hole was followed by a bogey at the par 4 13th. Breaux made par, birdie, par, birdie on the next four holes, with the birdies coming at the par 3 #15 and #17. He finished his round with a bogey on the difficult par 4 18th which was playing 411 yards on Thursday.
Benoit’s two-under par round began at 10:21 AM. He had a rough start with a bogey, birdie, double bogey, bogey, bogey on his first five holes. He made his 2nd birdie of the day at the par 5 6th hole then another bogey at the par 4 7th hole. He then carded two consecutive pars and made the turn at three-over par 39. The back nine was where the magic happened for Benoit. He played steady golf and made four consecutive pars before an incredible stretch of five consecutive birdies to finish his round. When Benoit came to the 18th tee, he was one-under par for the Championship. He hit his approach shot short of the green, but chipped in for birdie from 35 yards to shoot a five-under par 31 on the back nine.
Tied for second and one shot back of Breaux and Benoit are Sandy Brasher of Covington and James Hamilton of Lafayette. Those four competitors were the only ones to card scores under par in Round 1.
As previously mentioned, this year’s Championship is being held at Bayou DeSiard Country Club in Monroe. The Bayou DeSiard golf course drew rave reviews from this field of the top Senior players in Louisiana. The Perry Maxwell designed course played to a par of 72 at approximately 6,799 yards on Thursday. Friday’s play will begin at7:30 AM off #1 tee.
The field will be cut to the low 60 and ties after second round play on Friday. The LGA is also conducting a Super Seniors Championship over 36 holes; the Super Seniors Championship will end on Friday with presentations to take place after play is completed.
View results for Louisiana Senior Amateur
ABOUT THE Louisiana Senior Amateur
Eligibility: Entries are open to any Louisiana resident
(as of at least 90 days prior to the Championship)
who is an amateur golfer (as defined by the USGA)
holding membership in a LGA member club in good
standing (2017 club and individual dues must be
paid). Entrants must be 50 years of age and possess
a certified USGA Handicap Index of 15.0 or less.
Format: Overall Championship will be conducted
over
54 holes. In addition to the Overall Championship,
there is a Super Senior division for those
participants
who are 65 years of age and older. Super Seniors
will
play from a forward set of tees and compete only in
the Super Senior division. Any Senior over 65 may
elect to play in the Overall competition but, in doing
so, is precluded from participation in the Super
Seniors division. For the Senior Amateur, the Super
Senior division is a 36 hole event with a discounted
entry fee.
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