NATCHEZ &045; The rascals at Beau Pre Country Club cannot call him &uot;Lloyd the second&uot; any longer.

Many times a bridesmaid, Lloyd Trisler put it all behind him with his first-ever Beau Pre Club Championship on Sunday with a final round 76, and a two-day total of 143.

Trisler, who shot a 67 on day one, held off a charging Chi Chi Barnes, who fell one stroke short after coupling a 71 on Saturday with Sunday’s 73.

&uot;I told them I was going to put it on my trophy,&uot; said Trisler of his cronies’ jab. &uot;The course was tough today because of all the bad weather, but I just had to kind of hold my own to come away with the victory.&uot;

There were four golfers within seven strokes of Trisler heading into Sunday, but the championship quickly turned into a two-horse race when Bill Byrne, Gary Farmer and Howard Jones began struggling.

Trisler said he did not do himself any favors by coming out with a pair of bogeys at Nos. 1 and 2, and then tacking on a double bogey on the third to get back to even par for the weekend.

&uot;I don’t normally hit the ball very far, and the weather hurt me even more,&uot; Trisler said. &uot;Chi Chi hits a mile, but I putted well on the back side, which is something I couldn’t do on the front.&uot;

After the double, Trisler regrouped with a birdie at the fourth, and then sandwiching four pars before a bogey at No. 9 put him back at even-par.

He would go to 1-over with a bogey at No. 11, before the heavens unleashed a hefty deluge that delayed play for some time.

&uot;C.C. wouldn’t give up,&uot; Trisler said. &uot;He kept coming back, making birdies everywhere it seemed like.&uot;

When the players returned to the course, Trisler held a one-shot lead over Barnes, but quickly doubled the advantage with a birdie at No. 12.

&uot;After that, I knew I was going to play safe and make him beat me,&uot; Trisler said. &uot;I knew he was going to have to birdie the last three holes to beat me.&uot;

Unfortunately, Trisler almost got his wish.

Barnes birdied the par-4 17th, and had somewhere in the range of a 10-foot eagle putt for the win on No. 18, but it fell short, preserving the victory for Trisler.

Trisler praised Beau Pre Professional Golf Association Professional Mark Powell and his staff for managing the golf course in tip-top condition despite the rain that has passed through the Miss-Lou in recent days.

&uot;We had close to 1/4-inch of rain out there today, and we were still able finish up when it stopped,&uot; he said. &uot;That’s something you would not be able to do at a lot of golf courses. At Bellwood (Country Club) we would’ve had to go back to the day before’s scorecards.

&uot;I’ve played at a lot of golf course all over, especially the coast, and I’d put up ours against anybody’s, in particular our greens. They were putting extremely well (Saturday).&uot;