July 16, 2022 New Orleans, Louisiana
Jonathan Jeter and Todd McPherson lead the 39th Louisiana Four-Ball Championship at Bayou Oaks at City Park after firing a 10-under par 62 on Saturday. They played the best ball format masterfully and fed off each other’s energy extremely well. As a team they carded nine birdies, one eagle, and one bogey. Jeter, a Louisiana Golf Association Board member, is fresh off his New Orleans Metro Amateur Championship (“The Mackel”) victory which was also hosted by Bayou Oaks. McPherson shot 64 on his own ball and Jeter shot a 68 respectively. They started on the 10th hole at 8:30 AM and both players made a birdie on the opening hole, showing promise for the excellent round ahead.
At the par 5 11th hole (553 yards), McPherson holed out for eagle from 80 yards with a lob wedge. He followed that up with a birdie at the par 4 12th hole, and the team was 4-under par through their first three holes. They made back-to-back pars on holes 13 and 14, and both players made back-to-back birdies on holes 15 and 16. After making par on #17, McPherson made a birdie at the par 5 18th hole, and the team turned at 7-under par 29.
The Big Easy duo’s lone scorecard blemish came at the par 4 1st hole where they made a bogey. McPherson quickly bounced back with a birdie at the par 4 2nd hole, and Jeter added another birdie at the par 5 3rd hole. Following three consecutive pars, McPherson made a birdie at the par 3 7th hole. Both players had a par-birdie finish to get to 10-under par for the day. Jeter and McPherson will tee off in the final group of Championship Flight at 9:20 AM on Sunday.
Five teams are tied for 2nd place at 8-under par 64:
Patrick Christovich / Andrew Noto, Josh Fullilove / Jack Lee, 2011 and 2020 Louisiana Four-Ball Champions Greg Berthelot / Kyle Williams, Mikey Landry / Kaile Levatino, and Brady and Kyle Bennett.
There are 19 teams within 5 shots of the leaders. It should be an exciting finish on the South Course at Bayou Oaks at City Park on Sunday.
It was mostly a picture-perfect summer day in New Orleans, with clear skies and temperatures reaching the upper 80s. Play was suspended at 4:14 PM due to a dangerous situation (lightning), and play resumed at 5:41 PM. The first tee shot was struck at 7:30 AM and due to the suspension of play, the final putt dropped at 7:50 PM, making for a 12 hour and 20 minute first round of play, but we are pleased that we were able to complete 18 holes for 196 players and look forward to Sunday’s final round. The Reese Jones designed Bayou Oaks at City Park (South Course) drew rave reviews from competitors. The course played to a par of 72 at approximately 6,900 yards on Saturday. Golf Course Superintendent Ryan McCavitt and his crew have the course in championship condition.
Click here to view results.
The Championship Committee revised the format this year. Following play on Saturday, the field was divided into two flights of 48 teams, determined by 18-hole score, with a scorecard playoff breaking any ties at 48th place.
·Championship Flight will tee off Sunday morning from 7:30 – 9:20 AM, with the leaders going off #1 tee last.
·First Flight will start from 12:00 PM – 1:50 PM, with the leaders going off #1 tee last.
The top 5 finishers in Championship Flight will receive prizes, and the top 3 teams in First Flight will win prizes.
Click here to view final round pairings and starting times.