Backspin July 2018 | Page 10

juniorspin McKenzie, Manne take top honors at Louisiana Cup by Ian Auzenne Baton Rouge, Louisiana – Heat and humidity swamped the competitors at the Mizuno USSSA Louisiana Cup on Monday and Tuesday. Ninety-five- degree high temperatures and heat indexes in the triple digits beat down on the participants playing at the Country Club of Louisiana as they played one of the toughest courses in the state. Tanner McKenzie led the Boys 15-18 Division from start to finish. McKenzie, of Franklinton, won the senior division title by shooting 162. Tyler Louviere, of New Iberia, shot 172 to finish in second place. Luke Hightower, of Sulphur, shot 178 to finish in third place. Alston Manne raced to a commanding lead in the first round and never looked back. Manne, of Baton Rouge, entered the final round with a seven-stroke lead en route to the victory in the Boys 12-14 group. Manne shot 153 to win the intermediate division title. Anthony Lopresto, of New Iberia, finished in second place with a total of 167, overtaking Zachary Robertson in the final round. Robertson, of Lake Charles, took third place with a score of 169. Henson Sharpe, of Hattiesburg, Mississippi, took top honors in the Boys 9-11 division with a total of 92 over the two-round, 18-hole event. Sharpe entered the second round with a one-hole lead over Drew Daigle and pulled away from the field in the final day. Daigle, of Brusly, maintained his second-place position, shooting 98 10 to take runner-up honors. Nicholas Fischer, of Baton Rouge, finished in a distant third place with a total of 114. Kylie O’Brien, of Zachary, took top honors in the Girls 15-18 division by shooting a 200. LauraD’Amico, of Lafayette, shot a 208 to take second place. Sophia Macias, of Denham Springs, won the title in the Girls 9-11 division, shooting a 101 over the 18-hole event. The Mizuno Louisiana USSSA Junior Golf Tour is gearing up for two of its major annual tournaments. The Cajun Classic regional tournament is set for July 17 and 18 at Oakbourne Country Club in Lafayette. One week later, the best junior golfers in the United States will converge on Le Triomphe Country Club in Broussard for the Mizuno USSSA National Championships. That National Championships will feature USSSA’s state and regional champions competing against each other on a PGA-sanctioned course. That tournament will also be a final tune- up for some senior members of the tour before embarking on their college careers.