Swing on it: Duncan Park, Beau Pré prepare for summer tournaments

Published 12:00 am Friday, June 1, 2018

Summer is in season, which means Beau Pré Country Club and Duncan Park Golf Course are gearing up for their respective tournaments.

Both courses will hold a tournament on June 9 and 10 — the Norman Puckett Junior Championship at Duncan Park and the Club Championship at Beau Pré.

“It’s a big, big tournament for (the course),” Duncan Park Golf Course Superintendent Greg Brooking said.

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The Norman Puckett Junior Championship is not only open to junior golfers in Natchez and the state of Mississippi, but also to juniors around the United States and other countries.

The junior championship has been running since 2008, and Brooking said the course’s goal is to make the tournament more nationally recognized. He said he believes the course has accomplished just that.

“Players all over the state come out and participate,” Brooking said. “Also, previous winners have gone to play at SEC schools.”

Some of the notable winners who have gone on to play in the SEC are Wilson Furr, 2012, and Griffin Agent, 2013 and 2015 — the tournament’s only two-time winner.

As for the Club Championship at Beau Pré, the club’s golf pro David Meyer expects 50 or more members to come out and compete.

While those two tournaments are scheduled for early June, the two courses will hold other events throughout the summer.

On June 23 and 24, Beau Pré will hold the Beau Pré Flash Tom Matthews Memorial Two-Man Scramble Tournament, which will honor former club member Tom Matthews.

“Tom was a real big golfer,” Meyer said. “I remember him golfing while we were both in Alexandria, La.

“The club wanted to honor him, so it decided the best way to do so was with a two-man scramble.”

A two-man scramble is when each golfer hits from the tee. The team then chooses from the spot of the selected drive. The team chooses the best second shot, and the players hit their third strokes from the position of the preferred second shot. The players do that same for putting.

The event will be open to members and non-members.

Then on last weekend in July, Duncan Park will be hosting the City Championship.

“This and the Norman Puckett Championship are the two major golfing events in Natchez,” Brooking said.

Brooking went on to say the City Championship determines the best golfer in Natchez.

Although those are the major golf tournaments this summer, there are also clinics being held — primarily the Norman Puckett Junior clinic held at Duncan Park every Monday in June.

For ages 6-12, the camp will be from 9 to 10 a.m. and for ages 13-18, sessions are from 10:30 a.m. to noon.

“We have a major sponsor that we are really proud to have,” Brooking said. “Without (the sponsorship), this wouldn’t work. Neither our junior clinics or championships would work.”