NATCHEZ &045; Thanks to a solid morning during the four-ball matches, Team Carnoustie is determined to reclaim the Beau Pr Cup that it lost last year to Team St. Andrews.

Team Carnoustie jumped out to a 4-1/2 point to 1-1/2 point lead after the morning matches and led 7-1/2 to 4-1/2 after completion of Saturday afternoon’s alternate shot matches at Beau Pr Country Club.

&uot;I’m so proud of my team,&uot; Team Carnoustie captain Chee Chee Barnes said. &uot;I asked them to grind it out and they grinded it out. They have the heart of a champion.&uot;

Team Carnoustie needs just five more points out of today’s 12 singles (match-play) matches that start at 9:30 a.m. to win back the Beau Pr Cup.

&uot;They’re psyched,&uot; Barnes said.

&uot;That’s going to be a hard thing to do,&uot; Team St. Andrews’ captain Bobby Meason said.

Barnes, Paul Sparks and Jerry Lambuth won both of their two-versus-two matches to account for five of the team’s total points as Barnes and Sparks teamed up in the first alternate shot match of the afternoon.

&uot;I didn’t have to coach team that much,&uot; Barnes said. &uot;A perfect mix of golf skills and personalities.&uot;

In the first four-ball match, Barnes and Tom Matthews defeated Lloyd Trisler and Rob Smith 3 & 2, which set the tone for both teams.

&uot;The first match Chee Chee birdied the first two holes and that got us off and running,&uot; Matthews said. &uot;At the turn they were 2-down. We finally got a par and they bogeyed 16. They both hit in the water. It was a good even match. It could’ve gone either way.&uot;

Howard Jones and Gary Farmer then rallied from a big early deficit to defeat Mitch Ashmore and P.Z. Brewer 2 & 1.

&uot;We got behind early. In fact we were 3-down after five holes,&uot; Jones said. &uot;Gary and I both started playing extremely well. We started making some birdies.&uot;

Lambuth and Dan Bland defeated David Harris and Ward Graning 1-up and Sparks and Kent Hudson defeated Woody Allen and Meason 5 & 4.

&uot; I was very forunate,&uot; Bland said. &uot;Tom has helped me a lot. He showed me how to make long putts. I made one earlier in the day on 16 from about 40 feet to help us win the match. Tom helped me with my driving. He is a good teacher.&uot;

St. Andrews picked up one point when Trampus Butler and Chuck Fields defeated Jerry Pyron and Bill Lambert 5 & 4.

Both teams picked up a half point when Team Carnoustie’s Scoop Murray and Jack Benson went all-square with Team St. Andrews’ Richard Edgin and Phillip West.