Wet weather hinders Cowgirls’ preparation

Published 6:00 pm Sunday, September 10, 2017

McNeese State women’s golf coach Mike Fluty will have his team out this week getting ready for its season opener. 

Prior to the last few days the Cowgirls have had to bide their time while local courses dried out.

They did get in a few rounds at Le Triomphe in Broussard last week where freshman Karlei Hemler shot an even-par 72.

“We’ve been set back seven or eight days due to rain and other things,” the coach said, adding that qualifying for that first event — Sept. 16-18 in the South Alabama Intercollegiate — will begin tomorrow.

“The potential is very good for us to have one of our better teams,” Fluty said, “and I think that a lot of it will center around our seniors.”

The team has four seniors — Kennedy Bodfield, Olilvia Hanssen, Ashlynn Novak and Hannah Valentine — while other returning letterwinners are junior Melvi Pan and sophomore Riley Isaac. Besides Hemler, other rookies on the team are Anika Hovda, Isabel Huntsman and Janie Morrison, who will be redshirted this year.

Last spring Isaac led the team in scoring with a 76.17 stroke average, Bodfield posted a 77.22 mark and Valentine a 77.73. Novak and Valentine were the pace setters in the Southland Conference championship, each tying for 17th place.

Fluty said that his team has been meshing well together.

“We have a strong schedule on some challenging golf courses. I’m looking forward to getting the season underway, getting leadership from our older players and seeing what the young players will bring,” he said.

In the season opener next week on The Crossings Course in Mobile (a PGA course), one of the teams McNeese will be going up against is Tulane.

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The season for state amateur tournaments is winding to a close with only a few events remaining. The men’s net amateur will wind up today at Koasati Pines in Kinder while the men’s U.S. Mid-Amateur qualifier will be played there tomorrow, the men’s senior four ball will be played Sept. 16-17 at Atchafalaya and the women’s net amateur is schedule for Oct. 20-22 at Le Triomphe.

Also, wrapping up junior play will be the annual River Cup at Squire Creek, Sept. 23-24.

Local players will be entered in all.

Playing in the men’s net event are Daniel Engel, Bryan McCullough, Ricky Norwood, Dwayne Hightower, Ronnie Gibbs, David Fruge, Julius Courville, Carl Lemaire and Rene Durflinger while Marcus Bougard, Kyle Collins and Nick Sonnier are in the U.S. mid-amateur qualifier and Ben Holcombe and Glenn Granger are teaming together for the senior four ball.

Two of the area’s top girl golfers — Brooke Tyree and Daphney Tilton — will play in the River Cup, a tournament in which the top junior players from Louisiana, Mississippi and Arkansas compete in Ryder Cup style play.

Tyree, ranked the No. 1 prep golfer in the state and No. 55 nationally, has had a hand in two state titles this year. She won the junior girls title for the second consecutive year and teamed with Carly Whittington to claim the women’s four ball event.

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Local golfers Pam Fossett and Chris Stoute along with Oakdale’s Paula Karam were members of the winning Louisiana team in the recent women’s senior tri-state championship. Play took place at the Black Bear Golf Club in Delhi.

The Louisiana team beat the Arkansas squad on the fifth hole of a playoff after the two had deadlocked for first place. Mississippi was the third team entered.

Twelve players made up each squad.

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Robert Cradeur knocked in an 8-iron on the 129-yard fourth hole at Mallard Cove the past week for a hole-in-one.

It was the second career ace for the 77-year-old golfer who also posted a 3-over-par 75 during the round, shooting nines of 34 and 41.

Upcoming

Saturday — Two-man four ball, Mallard Cove.

Sept. 29 — McNeese Cowboy Rally, Lake Charles Country Club.

Oct. 6 — Bishop’s Golf Classic, The National (Westlake).

Oct. 7-8 — Sulphur men’s city championship, Frasch Park (Sulphur).

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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