Net Amateur & Net Club Team Championships

Round 1 Recap

KENT WILLIS AND DARRELL GERALD SHARE FIRST ROUND LEAD AT 2007 LGA NET AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIP

May 19, 2007 -- Denham Springs' Kent Willis and Darrell Gerald of Baton Rouge shot 5-under par 67s to share the first round lead in the 2007 annual Louisiana Golf Association Net Amateur Championship at Beaver Creek Golf Course in Zachary.  Willis, who plays out of Beaver Creek, carries a USGA Handicap Index of 10.7 (Course Handicap of 11), while Gerald, a member of ExxonMobil Golf Association, has an Index of 18.5 (Course Handicap of 20).  Alone in third place after Saturday's place if Calhoun's Todd Perry of Calvert Crossing GC with at 68, with defending champion Randy Indovina of Baton Rouge and Brairwood CC in fourth at 69.

Rounding out the top-ten heading into Sunday's final round are: Phillip Mayo, Leesville (T-5, 70); Julius Courville, Lake Charles (T-5, 70); Resta Choate, Shreveport (T-5, 70); Kevin Reed, Baton Rouge (T-8, 71); Brad Burkett, Greenwell Springs (T-8, 71); Darryl Beasley, Calhoun (T-8, 71); and William Duncan, Baton Rouge (T-8, 71). 

Saturday's play was conducted under brilliant skies with just a hint of a breeze.  Final round play will start at 7:30 a.m. on Sunday with the leaders beginning their round on the first hole at 9:54 a.m.

This is the eighth annual Net Amateur Championship conducted by the Louisiana Golf Association.  The LGA is attempting to provide a true championship event for the higher handicap player, with procedures in place to assure that consistency and integrity are benchmarks for the event.

The Overall Net Amateur Champion will be the individual that returns the low net score for 36 holes.  The LGA is utilizing the USGA Tournament Score Probability Table to adjust any handicap index where a player’s score exceeds normal probability.   In addition to the Overall Net Championship, the field is divided into four flights with the top-three finishers in each flight receiving awards.

In the concurrent LGA Net Club Team Championship, the team from ExxonMobil Golf Association in Baton Rouge leads Calvert Crossing Golf Club from Calhoun by four strokes and Pine Shadows Golf Club of Lake Charles by five heading into Sunday’s final round of play.  This is the fifth year that the LGA has conducted the Net Club Team Championship in conjunction with the Net Amateur.  Four players represent a club and the best three of four net scores are totaled to create the Club Team score for the day.  The team with the low two-day total will take a beautiful crystal trophy back home to their club as the 2007 LGA Net Club Team Champion.

The year's championship is again being played at Beaver Creek Golf Course in Zachary, just north of Baton Rouge.  The golf course, which has drawn rave reviews from the field, is playing to a par of 72 and approximately 6,650 yards for the championship.

Flight leaders are as follows: