By By Richard Dark/The Meridian Star
April 8, 2001
The 2001 Rush/Boy Scouts of America Benefit Golf Tournament got going Saturday in some comfortable weather that lent itself to low scores.
At the end of the day it was the team of Justin Eliot and Paul Gardner sitting at the top of the leaderboard having tamed Briarwood Golf Course with a 62.
The duo birdied five of the first seven holes en route to the low mark.
Meridian's Jack Combest and Willie Frazier currently occupy second place with a 63.
Combest, however preferred to talk about the play of his partner Frazier as the impetus to the stellar round.
The pair got birds on Nos. 1, 7, 8 11, 12, 15 and 17.
An eagle on the fourth hole also gave them an extra boost.
Combest said the back nine tomorrow should be interesting.
The field was flighted today and the leaders will tee off at 1:30 p.m. Four other teams fired a 67, including Scott Albanese and Robby Garrett, Johnny and Will Grace; Michael Graham and Thomas Kennedy and David Sinclair and Shane Humphries.
This year's field attracted 85 teams, a slightly smaller number than usual, but Choctaw-Area Scout Executive Noel Evans attributed the small decrease to a plethora of events going on in the area.
Last year's winners John Rea and Clarke Weems, carded a 74, good for a spot in the third flight today. Half of the field will hit the links at 8:30 a.m. today.
Richard Dark is a sports writer for The Meridian Star. E-mail him at rdark@themeridianstar.com.