Marie Thibodeaux Dugas
March 27, 2013
LSU falls in Sweet 16 to Cal
April 3, 2013
Tri-parish golf fans are in for a treat this week.
The Fakiér Open started this morning at Ellendale Country Club in Houma.
The tournament is part of the Adams Golf Pro Tour Series – a hotbed for some of the best young players with PGA Tour aspirations.
The four-day event kicked off at 8:30 a.m. this morning and will roll until Saturday afternoon.
Admission to the public is free for each day of the event, which makes the tournament a can’t-miss for golf fans, according to those affiliated with the event.
“This is going to be a milestone for Houma – it’s going to be our 10th year having the event there,” said Tyler Wolford, Adams Golf Pro Tour Series Tour Director. “We’ve been going out there since 2004. It’s definitely an event that has been very successful for us over the years. It’s a stop that we look forward to making on our schedule.”
Wolford said this year’s event is loaded with quality players.
The tour director confirmed this week that 2012 champion Bill Allcorn will return to the event to defend his title.
He will be one of “approximately 90 guys” in the field.
Last year, Allcorn shot 10-under par for the event and earned a dramatic one-stroke victory over Michael Smith, Jeremy Alcorn and Jeff Rein who all finished tied for second place at 9-under par.
He earned the title thanks to a 9-under par 63 in the final round – 18 holes of excellence that included an ace on the fourth hole at Ellendale and also an eagle at the course’s Par 5 seventh hole.
“It was very dramatic last year,” Wolford said. “That final round was something to see. … This year, we have Bill Allcorn returning and also a lot of our other talented players who are anxious to try and play some good golf and try to win the title.”
The Adams Golf Pro Tour Series has been in operation since 1994 and is based out of Carrollton, Texas.
Because of its Texas roots, Wolford said the vast majority of the field in the tournament will either be from the Longhorn State or Louisiana.
But even with a regionalized player pool, the professional golf tour is a hotbed for talent.
The tour plays 16 tournaments a year throughout Louisiana, Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas.
In its nearly 20 years in existence, the tour has molded players like current PGA Tour members J.L. Lewis, Tim Herron, Cameron Beckman and Ryan Palmer.
Former LSU All-American John Peterson also has experience on the tour. Just months before making a run at the 2012 U.S. Open Championship last June, Peterson was busy winning the Adams Golf Pro Tour Series’ Coca-Cola Walmart Open in March – the only event he played in 2012 on the tour.
But the Adams Pro Tour Series’ biggest alum is probably 2012 Masters Champion Bubba Watson.
Houma fans know about Watson’s pre-PGA experience first-hand.
The now-famous golfer won the Tri-parish golf tournament in 2005.
“We have a great collection of talented players,” Wolford said. “We have a good mix of young, hungry players who are trying to jump-start their careers. … But we also have a lot of seasoned, experienced guys who’ve been with us for a while who are also very talented and skilled players.”
This year’s Houma event will be somewhat larger in significance than those of years past.
That’s because the 2013 tournament marks a decade that the event has been coming to Houma.
Community support is the biggest reason for the week-long event’s success, according to Wolford.
Fakiér Jewelers serves as the title sponsor for the event.
Proceeds for the event benefit Terrebonne General and its Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center.
“This is a charity event,” Wolford said. “That makes it extra special.”
But in addition to the title sponsor and host, Wolford said a slew of local businesses rally together annually and sponsor the event.
Rouses, BP, T. Baker Smith, HTV-10, Charter Media, Community Bank, Coca-Cola and Budweiser are among the local companies that have also pitched in to support the event.
A pro-am was held yesterday to honor the sponsors that make the event click, according to Wolford.
“Everyone really enjoys that – it’s a good time for everyone,” Wolford said. “It gives us a chance to honor the people who help us out, while also giving a lot of people a great chance to meet and play golf with the pros. … It’s one of the highlights of our week.”
A free junior clinic will also be held Friday at Ellendale where golfers age 6-16 will get swing tips from the pros.
“It’s really a full week that we’re out there almost,” Wolford said. “And we make sure that we do the best job that we can to get our players involved and to make sure that everyone is having a good time during our time in the Houma area. That’s important to us.”
Wolford said the players don’t mind – they love lending a hand when called upon.
It’s the least they can do after being fed and given the “red-carpet treatment” throughout the week.
“I think the biggest thing we like is the food,” Wolford said with a laugh. “Everywhere we turn, we’re being fed by someone. Everyone loves that. Aside from that, I think the thing everyone says is just that they are treated so well by everyone the whole time we’re there.”
2012 Fakiér Open Champion Bill Allcorn lines up a putt during the tournament last year. Allcorn will be in the field again this year after firing a 9-under par 63 in the final round in 2012 to seal the title.
