NATCHEZ — Thanks to a birdie on the par-4, 7th hole, the team of Gerald Cornwell, Thomas Boyer and Mike Essary won the championship flight of the 17th annual Krewe of Alpheus 3-Person Scramble Saturday at the Duncan Park Golf Course.

The Cornwell-Boyer-Essary team had seven birdies in a row at one point in its round and finished with a score of 9-under-par 62. But they had to wait a while to find out if that score would hold up.

“Made good shots. Made great putts. It’s easy to make putts when there’s somebody in front of you putting and you can read their putts,” Essary said. “One reason we did so good is because the course is in such great shape.”

The reason for string of birdies that started on the 5th hole and went to the 11th was easy, Essary said.

“We got hot. We just made the shots that count,” he said. “Thomas was hot. He had the putter going. We all made a lot of putts.”

However, even having seven birdies in a row almost accounted for a second-place finish in the championship flight for the trio.

Charlie Ratcliff and Roger Maddox, with one extra shot using rotation, also finished with a round of 9-under 62, but finished in second place because of a par on No. 7, which was the second hole of the scorecard playoff. Ratcliff and Maddox, who started on No. 4, started with four birdies on the front nine, then added three more birdies on the back nine, and had a chance to win after an eagle on the par-4 1st hole. But came up short.

This year’s Krewe of Alpheus golf scramble is expected to raise approximately $2,000, which is approximately the same as last year, Krewe treasurer Diana Glaze said.

“We probably raised a couple of thousand dollars. Of that, we gave $500 to Pleasant Acre Day School and the rest went to supporting our Mardi Gras events,” Glaze said.