Labor Day tourney begins

Ryan Hatch
The Duncan Banner

DUNCAN August 31, 2008 11:49 am

— At one point in the afternoon on Saturday, the high temperature almost doubled some of the first-round scores posted on the board. The scores, of course, were those from the 80th Annual Elks Labor Day Duncan Golf and Country Club Tournament.
With temperatures inching toward 100 degrees, players were able to keep their cool and aimed for first place in the three-day tournament. Atop the leader board after round one was the duo of Dan Hammond and Micah Russell, firing a 13 under-par 58 to set themselves up for an exciting final two rounds. The pair will tee off tomorrow at 1:30 p.m., one stroke in the lead.
“The greens were playing slow,” Russell said. “But, the course was pretty receptive for the most part.”
Players from the first four ‘flights’ teed off this morning beginning at 7:30 a.m., and were proceeded by the second foursome set, teeing off at 1:30 p.m. The separate heats will switch times on Sunday.
J. J. Russell and Bryan Adams are one shot off the overall lead after finishing Saturday with a 59 in the A flight, with four other tandems shooting 60 to top the Labor Day Flight, good for a four-way tie in third place overall.
Many others, however, are within striking distance, as no other group in the first four flights finished with a score over 80.
The scramble format tournament concludes on Monday with first place receiving $750 in gift certificates or $600 in cash. Subsequently, second place is awarded $500 in gift certificates or $400 in cash, third place receives $375 in gift certificates or $200 in cash, and fourth place claims $125 in gift certificates or $140 in cash.
Part of the proceeds from the match go to the ladies’ association within the country club, as many of their players were helping out with the men’s tournament, keeping tabs on all of the scorecards. Marge Connor, a member of the ladies group at the country club, said she’s been helping the men’s league out for quite some time.
“We’ve been out here at least 20 years,” she said.
Connor said it is the biggest fundraiser of the year for the ladies. The ladies play their tournament on the third week of September.
The second set of flights came in later in the afternoon, with many of the scores rivaling the morning players. None, however, were able to best Hammond and Russell’s first-round 58.
Tied for second in the Labor Day flight are the teams of Donovan Graham/Mitch Boles, Tommy Bardsher/Jamie Gray, David Jennings/Tyler Yarbrough and Brad Golden/Bryan Bays. Hammond/Russell lead the A flight with Jimmy Smart/Todd Holland in second with a 61. Chris Dickerson and Stacy Lewis are in third after shooting a 62.
Josh Herndon and Steve Simmons lead B flight with a 62, one stroke ahead of Mike Latham/Derek Jones who shot a 64. The teams of Tony Howell/Randy Harper and Jonathan Rhodes/Sam Moore are in third with a 65.
Dale Whipple/Kevin Whipple are in first in C flight after shooting a 62 with Kyle McPherson/Jason McPherson coming in second with a 65. Ryan Hightower/Cory Grovenburg are in third with a 66.
Ron Crook and Wayne Bardsher hold a three stroke lead in D flight after a round of 61. Gary Wilson/Gene Rutherford, Jerry Emerson/Jerry Bailey, Barry Byrd/Jason Hunt and David Bedford/James Haney are all tied for second. The team of Tony Huff/Bill Huff lead E flight with a 68, one stroke ahead of six teams while in F flight, Gene Hendricks/Claud Morris and Brent Rushing/Jaron Sylvester are tied for the lead. Steve Paramore/Dustin Paramore lead G flight by five strokes after a round of 67.
In addition to the prize money awarded to the top teams on Monday, there are several individual prizes available to the players, such as hole-in-ones, closest to the pin, and long drive contests. A hole-in-one on No. 4 or 8 is worth $2,500.
Storm clouds accumulated towards the end of play Saturday evening and are expected in the area before play begins again on Sunday but, shouldn’t pose much of a threat. Temperatures are supposed to reach the mid-90s again, which should keep the greens playing similar for the rest of the weekend.

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