By Staff
FROM THE FRINGE Hoot Gipson watches his put from the fairway role to the hole on the 10th green on Monday at Northwood Country Club. Photo by Kyle Carter/The Meridian Star
By Tony Krausz / assistant sports editor
Sept. 2, 2003
The team of Judge Little and Scott Morgan began the final day of the annual Labor Day Tournament at Northwood Country Club just like they wanted to.
The duo, which entered the day with a two-stroke lead, birdied the first three holes on Monday, pushing their lead to six strokes by the time they reached the back nine.
Little and Brown went on to win the tournament with a three-day total of 177, after shooting 59, 57 and 61 over Labor Day weekend.
Nick and Eddie Brown were not treated as kindly as the tournament winners were at the start of the final round.
The Browns, who entered the final day in second following a 58-stroke performance on day two and a score of 60 in the opening round, bogeyed the first hole on the final day. The Browns finished the tournament in second place with a 182.
The tourney leaders were able to relax a little on the back nine, as they finished the tournament five strokes in front of the Browns.
The teams of Earl Aycock and Kelley Swain and Chuck Gordon and Winston Powell tied for third place in the top flight, and J.T. Williamson and Chuck Smith finished in fifth, despite four-putting a hole.
Williamson and Smith surged back from the putting gaffe to birdie seven straight holes, which was a leading topic around the scoreboard at the end of the day, to notch their top five finish.
Golfers were able to enjoy their first day on the links without a threat of rain in the tournament's finale.
While the summer showers on Saturday and Sunday didn't drastically disrupt play at the three-day event, everyone was pretty happy about playing under clear skies on Monday.
The tournament drew 192 golfers to the course, and Agnew said the annual tournament was another success for Northwood.