NATCHEZ &8212; Thanks to a front-nine score of 26 and a birdie on No. 3, the third hole of a scorecard playoff, the Popeye&8217;s team of Mary Kate Byrne, Neal Partridge and Mark Carter Jr. won the 10th annual St. Jude Benefit Scramble Saturday at Duncan Park.

The Byrne-Partridge-Carter team, which started on No. 13 in the morning and afternoon, had back-9 scores of 30 and 31 to finish with a 27-hole score of 87. Most of the time that would be good enough for one team to win. But not on this day.

&8220;It was a lot of fun,&8221; Byrne said. &8220;We had a few holes that got away from us on birdies. We had no bogeys, but we only had one eagle on No. 5. They (Partridge and Carter Jr.) played excellent. They were real good.&8221;

&8220;We only had one bad hole,&8221; Partridge said.

The Lakeside Ford team of Randy Johnson, Larry Davis and David Cothern also finished at 87 after nine-hole scores of 30-30-27. But they had to settle for a second-place finish in the championship flight.

&8220;We had a slow start,&8221; Davis said. &8220;We didn&8217;t make any putts until we got on the back nine. On No. 16 I drove right by the green and Randy chipped it in for eagle.&8221;

That got the Johnson-Davis-Cothern team going in the right direction. On their final nine holes, they had eight birdies that would force the scorecard playoff.

&8220;I drove the ball well. David and Randy putted it well,&8221; Davis said.

Eric Smith, Anthony Kent and Raymond Steele, representing Smith Printing, finished third in the championship flight with a total of 89 after having nine-hole scores of 27-30-32. However, it could have been better.

&8220;We hit it pretty good. We missed a few key putts,&8221; Smith said. &8220;Anthony hit a lot of long drives for us,&8221; Smith said. &8220;We had a good time. I had a good team to play with.&8221;

&8220;We had a great time,&8221; Steele said. &8220;Always enjoy the St. Jude Tournament. We play in it every year.&8221;

efit Scramble so special &8212; everyone has a good time regardless of the team&8217;s scores and it&8217;s for a good cause.

&8220;When you have a cause like St. Jude, you have a lot of people who want to be a part of this,&8221; Duncan Park master golf pro Marvin Gray said.

Kenny Jackson, Justin Jackson and Kinney Carlton, representing Great River Olds, won the first flight but lost a chance to be the final team in the championship flight on a scorecard playoff that also involved another team.

The Jackson-Jackson-Carlton team finished with a 27-hole total of 95 with nine-hole scores of 31-32-32. They lost the opportunity to end up in the championship flight to the Alexander Body Shop team of Michael Griffin, Michael Faust and Jamie Tyson, which also had a score 95 thanks to nine-hole scores of 29-34-32.

However, they did manage to defeat the 107.1 FM The River team of Mike Smith, Jamie Spring and Brandon Wells, which also had a total of 95. Their nine-hole scores were 30-32-33.

This year, the field was full with 108 players five weeks before play began on Saturday. The tournament ended up with 102 players who made up the 34 teams of three.

&8220;It&8217;s been our smoothest year of running this tournament,&8221; said Moe LeBlanc, co-chairperson with Ronnie Novak and Malcolm Anders. &8220;Our goal is to send St. Jude $10,000. Last year we sent them a check for $8,500. We had 42 $100 hole sponsors from businesses and organizations in the area. That&8217;s the most we&8217;ve ever had.

&8220;It could not have been done without the hard work of everyone involved. We&8217;re so blessed to have the type of people on the committee and the people who participate. Dottie Novak carries the load.&8221;

Dr. Billy Cannon, a retired dentist, former LSU Heisman Trophy winner, was the celebrity guest.