PGA Tour’s Palmer, Bohn headline McNeese fundraiser

Published 6:02 am Sunday, February 12, 2017

The upcoming appearance of PGA Tour professionals Ryan Palmer and Jason Bohn for an evening with McNeese State golf fans, along with the addition of local top amateur Billy Gabbert to the Cowboy coaching staff, highlights news this week.

Palmer and Bohn, who have five PGA Tour victories between them as well as more than $35 million in winnings, will be the headliners for a McNeese fundraising dinner scheduled March 26 at the Lake Charles Country Club.

Palmer is familiar to local golfers because he won a Tight Lies Tour event (now the Adams Tour) in 2002 at the Lake Charles Country Club. Ranked No. 86 in the world, his PGA championships came at the Sony Open (2010), the Ginn sur Classic (2008) and the Funai Classic at Disney World (2004). He also won a Web.com tournament in 2003. He was in last year’s FedExCup playoffs for the ninth time in the past 10 seasons.

Bohn’s two PGA titles came in the 2010 Zurich Classic and the 2005 B.C. Open. He also won a Web.com event and has two victories in Canada to his credit.

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Gabbert, a former Cowboys golfer who is a member of the university’s Hall of Fame, is a longtime local amateur standout. He joined the team as a volunteer assistant coach.

“As long as I have been here, Billy has taken an interest in the guys,” said Cowboys head coach Austin Burk. “Over lunch I asked him if he had the time could he help us out a little and he was just as excited about it as I was.

“He has a full-time job and family, and I know that it is asking a lot, but when he is not busy at work or at home he tries to be with the guys. He gives them a little bit of extra direction when it comes to course management or to a first-time shot that they may not know how to play.

“Certainly with his playing success they recognize that he knows what he’s talking about. The biggest thing is that he is genuine. He’s a McNeese guy who cares about the program and the kids.”

Gabbert is a seven-time Lake Charles city champion and a former McNeese MVP. He was runner-up in the 1988 Southland Conference tournament and earned all-conference and all-Louisiana honors as well as producing a league-best 72.6 scoring average.

He’s been a top-10 finisher in the state’s amateur tournament five times and has played in numerous U.S. Amateurs and U.S mid-ams.

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Holes-in-one were recently produced by Bobby Barnes at Frasch Park in Sulphur and by Nicholas Guillory at Gray Plantation, while Martin Miller posted a career round at The National in Westlake.

Barnes, who is a member of the McNeese Hall of Fame, aced the 120-yard ninth hole with a 9-iron.

Guillory, a member of Barbe High’s golf team, claimed his hole-in-one on the 181-yard 13th hole with a 6-iron.

The 65-year-old Miller shot a 3-under-par 69 at The National. His round had him hitting 13 greens in regulation and making five birdies, including the final hole.

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The National will host a Callaway demo day on Friday. It will run from 1-5 p.m. said head pro Dave Kaspar.

He said golfers will be able to test Callaway’s new epic driver and use a Track Man to compare drivers.

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McKenzie LeDuff and Carly Whittington were local winners in last week’s Texas-Louisiana junior golf tour Babe Zaharias Open in Beaumont, Texas. LeDuff won the girls 16- to 18-year-old division with an 83, while Whittington shot 81 to take the girls 14-15 crown.

Upcoming

Friday — Callaway demo day, The National (Westlake), 1-5 p.m.

Saturday — Two man Voo Doo scramble, The National.

March 7 — Southwest Louisiana Open pro-am, The National.

March 8-11 — Adams Tour Southwest Louisiana Open, The National.

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Louis Bonnette has written about local golf for the American Press since 1971. His column appears each Sunday. Contact him at 274-5689 or lbonnette@mcneese.edu