Matthews, Barnes win Bud 4-Ball

Published 12:00 am Friday, October 14, 2005

NATCHEZ &045; Tom Matthews and C.C. Barnes went into the final round of the Budweiser Four-Ball Scramble trailing by one shot to Joel Dupre and Chad Rittle.

Both had good first rounds on Saturday, with the Dupre-Rittle team shooting an 8-under-par 64 and the Matthews-Barnes team at 7-under 65.

While Dupre and Rittle had a stunning final-round collapse en route that left them at 6-over 78 to finish out of the money at 142, Barnes and Matthews kept their composure and shot a solid 2-under 70 to win the tournament with a two-day score of 135.

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&8221;We had three bogeys and that wasn’t fun,&8220; Barnes said. &8221;The greens were great. The wind was blowing. We brother-in-lawed fairly well.&8220;

Barnes and Matthews had birdies on Nos. 5, 8, 11, 15 and 16, the last two of which are tough birdie holes. Surprisingly, one of the bogeys was on the par-5 18th.

&8221;We limped in,&8220; Barnes said. &8221;We tried to play safe. That’s what you get when you try to play safe.&8220;

It was the first win in this tournament for the team of Matthews and Barnes, who have two previous second-place finishes.

Lew Ward and Charlie Kennon of Baton Rouge, who started the day five shots back of Dupre and Rittle, finished in second place after a final-round 4-under 68 for a two-day score of 137.

&8221;First of all, these greens are in the best condition I’ve seen anywhere in Louisiana and Mississippi in years,&8220; Ward said. &8221;We were 1-over after three. Charlie got us going with birdies on 7 and 9.&8220;

Ward and Kennon then got things going on the back with birdies on Nos. 12, 14, 15 and 18 to go with one bogey.

As to their second-place finish, Kennon said they were &8221;mildly surprised.&8220;

Two teams, Randy Moore and Clay Pinson as well as Grady Hickman and Terrell Bourgeois, finished at 138 after both teams had rounds of 71.

Lloyd Trisler had his second-ever hole-in-one on Sunday on the par-3 13th hole from 178 yards out with a 4-iron. Witnesses were playing partner Iley Dillon, Mitch Ashmore and Bobby Meason.

&8221;I couldn’t see it. It went over the bunker,&8220; Trisler said. &8221;We didn’t know it until we got to the hole. I was happy I didn’t putt it. I didn’t make a putt all day.&8220;

Mike Fauks and Randy Robinson, both from Oklahoma City, Okla., came out of nowhere to win the first flight after shooting the low score of the day.