AESC tourney sees good crowd at Beau Pré
Published 12:37 am Tuesday, April 29, 2008
NATCHEZ — Twenty-mile per hour winds weren’t enough to stop the winning team at the second annual Association of Energy Service Companies Scholarship Golf Tournament Monday at Beau Pré Country Club.
The Ross and Yerger team of Riley Winchester, Mark Markow, Scott Moak and Will Garner used eagles on three of the four par-5 holes to shoot a round of 20-under-par 52 to win the first flight by five shots. Last year Grey Maloney was on the team that shot 17-under-par 55 that took first place in this flight.
“These guys are the ones who made it happen,” said Winchester, who is the treasurer for the Natchez Chapter of the AESC. “We had a lot of fun today. We eagled 5, 8 and 12, had one par and 14 birdies. Scott and Will were hitting some really long drives. It just worked out because we all hit some bad shots. Will sunk some good putts.”
The turnout for this year’s four-person scramble was better than last year’s, sponsors said.
Despite having to deal with the wind, Winchester said he wasn’t surprised that the team did so well. He said that he felt like 17-under would win again this year.
Second place in the first flight went to the Smith Bits/Laurel team of Brian Clairmont, Greg Wilmon, Bubba Bruce and Bill Dale.
The Baker Atlas team of Mike Robinson, Matt Caton and Chuck Warren won third place on a scorecard playoff over the Rapid Drilling Fluids team of Jody Hebling, Pat Darcey, Jeff Walker and Kenny Wilbur after both teams had rounds of 14-under 58.
“We started off strong. We had 12 birdies in a row,” said Hebling, chairman of the Natchez Chapter of the AESC. “Then we fizzled in the end. It was windy. That’s what affected us at the end. It was a lot of fun. It’s for a good cause.”
David Cothren, who was on the Black Warrior team, said the local chapter started about two years ago.
“The purpose of this is to get together and network with each other, have a good time and raise some scholarship money for the children of people in the oilfield industry,” Cothren said. “One of the highlights is that Schlumberger puts on a shrimp boil for the players and their wives the night before. We have a lot of people from out of town.”
This year’s tournament had 116 players, which was up from 100 players last year. The teams were put into three flights — first, second and third.
“Last year we raised about $8,000 and this year we’ll raise about $10,000. Money will go to local students,” Cothren said.