Baton Rouge, Louisiana – July 18, 2019
It was a picture-perfect day at Baton Rouge Country Club where Louisiana’s premier amateur golfers competed in the first round of the 100th Louisiana Amateur Championship. Reigning LGA Junior Amateur Champion Nicholas Arcement of Thibodaux and Carter Toms of Shreveport are tied for the lead at five-under par after carding rounds of 67. Arcement, a rising high school senior, has committed to play college golf at LSU where Toms is a rising senior. This year’s victor will have to stave off an extremely talented field in order claim the most prestigious amateur championship in Louisiana. Arcement and Toms hold a two-shot lead over 2003 LGA Amateur Champion John Humphries of Woodworth. Only six competitors finished under par on Thursday. Rounding out the top 5 are: 4.) Gage Primeaux of Lake Charles (70), T5.) Dante Caldera of Greenwell Springs (71), and T5.) Ryan Alford of Shreveport (71). With 14 players currently at even par or better through 18 holes, it is anyone’s Championship to win.
Arcement and Toms took advantage of ideal scoring conditions in Thursday’s morning wave of tee times. Arcement started his round at 8:06 AM on hole #10 and made four birdies on his first seven holes. His lone bogey came at the par 5 18th (526 yards), and he made the turn at three-under par 33. Arcement’s composure served him well, and he played his last nine holes without a blemish on his scorecard. Arcement birdied both of the par 5s on the front nine (hole #5 / 583 yards and hole #9 / 534 yards).
Toms began his round at 8:15 AM on the first tee. He stumbled out of the gate with a par-bogey start, but he quickly bounced back with birdies on holes #4, #5, #7, and #8. After a par at the par 5 9th hole, Toms made the turn at three-under par 33. After making a par at the par 4 10th hole, Toms made three consecutive birdies to get to six-under par for the day. Toms made a double-bogey at the difficult par 3 14th hole, but responded nicely with a birdie at the par 5 15th hole (545 yards), and he finished his round with three consecutive pars. Toms showcased his incredible ball striking and putting ability on Thursday, and his eight total birdies in the first round were impressive.
The Baton Rouge Country Club course played to a par 72 at approximately 6,958 yards on Thursday. The challenging layout and course set-up provided a stern but fair test. Baton Rouge Country Club is a tree lined shot makers course, and it is in immaculate condition for this championship. The greens rolled at a smooth 13 on the stimpmeter on Thursday. Superintendent Cory Kitchen and his crew worked tirelessly all week to get the course ready and in championship condition following the effects of Hurricane Barry, and it drew rave reviews from this field of the top amateur golfers in the state. Baton Rouge Country Club is hosting the LGA Amateur Championship for the sixth time in its history (also in 1923, 1942, 1949, 1953, 1968).
Starting Times will begin again at 7:30 a.m., off both #1 and #10 tees on Friday. The field will be cut to the low 60 scorers and ties following 36 holes.
Click here for complete First Round Results.
Click here to view Second Round Pairings.