Team’s 15-under-par wins Beau Pré scramble

Published 12:00 am Thursday, July 17, 2003

NATCHEZ &045; After parring their first two holes, Tom Matthews, Jordan Farmer, Cole Bradford and Craig Bradford went on a birdie binge en route to a 15-under-par 57 to win the Independence Day Breakfast Scramble Friday at Beau Pr.

Matthews &045; who replaced Henry Farmer &045; Jordan Farmer and the father-and-son Bradford duo parred Nos. 1 and 2, then birdied their next 14 holes before getting another par on No. 17. They finished their round with a birdie on No. 18, a par-5.

This was one of the few times a winning team at a four-man scramble at Beau Pr won without getting an eagle.

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&uot;We got every putt thinking we would make it,&uot; Jordan Farmer said. &uot;Tom putted real well today. Once we got on No. 3 we kinda got it going and got on a roll. This boy (Cole Bradford) hits it as far as I’ve seen him hit it.&uot;

&uot;It was a blast,&uot; Cole Bradford said. &uot;My father said he didn’t like scrambles because they just mess up his tempo. When we got to the No. 18 green he loved it.&uot;

Kurt Russ, Trey Dickey, B.R. Mosby, Tom Purvis and John Nugent finished a close second with a 14-under 58, which consisted of an eagle on the par-5 5th hole, 12 birdies and five pars.

&uot;We had a great time. The course was gorgeous,&uot; Russ said. &uot;Hats off to the greens crew, the superintendent and his crew. They did a good job.

&uot;Trey putted his eyes out. I’d say it was a whole team effort. Everyone contributed perfectly. It’s as fun as you can get. It’s one of the best tournaments there is.&uot;

As for how they got their eagle on No. 5, Russ said, &uot;Trey hit a 3-wood and I hit a 3-wood to about eight feet and I made the putt.&uot;

Ken Smith, Dick Power, Chick Graning, Bob Dearing and Pete Buttross finished third in a scorecard playoff over Paul Sparks, Chris Hutchins, Joe Brumfield Sr. and Joe Brumfield Jr. thanks to a birdie on No. 13 after both teams finished with rounds of 12-under 60.

&uot;I thought we all played well,&uot; said Buttross, at 84 years old the oldest player in the scramble. &uot;Bob’s the long driver. I made a few putts. We had a good time. The course is in great shape. There’s no finer golf course in the state than this one.&uot;