It’s not unusual to find friendly side bets and wagers on the golf course when a group heads out for a round of 18 holes. Barry Givens, Kinney Carlton and Phil Lindley had a different type of friendly game going before the first round of the Bill McKenney City Championship Golf Tournament Saturday at Duncan Park. &uot;They were drawing straws to see who had to ride with me,&uot; said Kent Blanton.

Last Monday, Blanton was standing by a tree on hole No. 3 at Duncan Park when the tree was hit by lightning, sending bark and splinters everywhere, including cutting the right side of Blanton’s face and causing lacerations on two of his fingers on his right hand.

Small pieces of bark were still evident on the adjacent fairway (No. 5).

Blanton, who shows very little evidence of the incident besides Band-Aids on two fingers, was sitting in a golf cart five feet from the tree when it &uot;exploded.&uot;

Blanton and Justin Manley were treated at Natchez Community Hospital Tuesday for minor abrasions and released after further observation.

Two other golfers, Nick&160;Blanton (Kent’s son), and Benji Credle were standing farther away from the tree.

Kent Blanton said he returned to play golf at Duncan Park Thursday.

&uot;I’m feeling fine and there are no problems,&uot;&160;Blanton said. &uot;I also took pictures of the tree. I really don’t remember a lot about it because it happened so fast.&uot;

Blanton said a thunderstorm was just beginning at about 5:30 p.m.&160;Monday. &uot;I see a lot of lightning in my business as a helicopter pilot in the Gulf of Mexico,&uot; he said. &uot;I thought it was going to pass over us, and it looked like it was moving around us. Then all of a sudden it was on top of us. There was nothing we could do. After it hit, I didn’t know my face was bleeding because my fingers hurt so bad. I thought they were broke. But they had a laceration inside of them.&uot;

The ironic part of the accident is that a barbed wire that was buried in the tree may have kept the incident from being a tragic one.

&uot;The lightning hit the top of the tree, went down and hit a barbed wire that was embedded in the tree which grounded the lightning,&uot; said Duncan Park Golf Pro Marvin Gray. &uot;It then went into the ground and came up and hit a nearby tree.&uot;

The burned barbed wire sticks out of the partially shaved trunk about a foot above the ground and goes into the ground. &uot;That’s probably what saved us,&uot; Blanton said.

Another tree on hole No. 11 was hit and all that remained was part of the trunk. While all of the golfers were certainly happy no one was hurt, many still couldn’t resist a little ribbing about the incident.

After finishing his 18 holes, Blanton was talking on his cell phone when Eddie Thompson walked by and remarked, &uot;Ya know, those things attract lightning.&uot;

Givens did not know he was playing in the foursome with Blanton until Saturday morning.

&uot;I asked him, ‘Are you the fella who got hit by lightning? I don’t have to ride with you, do I?’ Of course I was confident lightning wouldn’t strike twice in the same place. He pointed out the tree that was hit and even hit a ball right at that spot. It didn’t bother him. But I was surprised he was playing.&uot;

Carlton was riding with Blanton Saturday. &uot;I didn’t know Kent before today, but I know him a lot better now,&uot; Carlton said.

Blanton, whose team had an 8 a.m. tee time Saturday and was through long before dark clouds moved in late Saturday afternoon, said whenever he sees lightning now, he will make a hasty retreat. And he knows he will be taking a lot of good-natured ribbing on and off the course.

&uot;They’ll be calling me ‘Sparky’ for quite a while,&uot; he said.

Joey Martin is sports editor of The Democrat. He can be reached at 446-3532 or by e-mail at joey.martin@natchezdemocrat.com.