Aydlett wins 99th LGA Amateur
Brandon Aydlett of Metairie fired a
final round two-under par 70 on Sunday at
Oakbourne Country Club in Lafayette to win
the 99th LGA Amateur Championship by four
strokes over Matt Weber of Scott.
Aydlett shot rounds of 70-67-75-70 to finish at
six-under par 282 for the Championship. Aydlett
made three birdies on his front nine on Sunday
(holes #2, #3, and #6), and the only blemish on
his scorecard was a bogey at the signature par 3
9th hole. Aydlett bounced back after the bogey
and played steady golf the remainder of the
round, making nine consecutive pars to finish
and secure the victory.
Aydlett, a former golfer at LSU, won the
LGA Mid-Amateur in 2015 at TPC Louisiana
and now adds the prestigious LGA Amateur
Championship trophy to his impressive resume.
Aydlett said of this victory, “The Mid-Amateur
was great to win, but this Championship is
special and historic. It means a lot because it is
the one that I have been pursuing and wanted
for years.”
Jack Tolson of Opelousas finished in third
place and was the only other competitor to
finish with a 72-hole score in red numbers (one-
under par 287 for the Championship).
Aydlett and Weber started the day tied for first
at four-under par 212 for the Championship.
When they stepped on the tee box at the par
3 9th hole (140 yards) on Sunday, Aydlett was
three-under par for the day and had amassed
a one-stroke lead. Weber had just made back-
to-back birdies on the par five seventh hole
and the par four eighth hole and was gaining
momentum.
On Sunday, the tee shot at the 9th hole was
all carry over a water hazard, and the hole
location was cut in the front right portion of the
green, which slopes back to front. Weber calmly
hit his tee shot to within 15 feet, while Aydlett
hit his ball into the water hazard. Aydlett went
to the dropping zone located 83 yards from the
center of the green and hit an incredible shot
within six feet of the hole, but he left himself a
lightning fast downhill putt for bogey.
Weber missed his birdie putt on hole #9 and
tapped in for par. Aydlett showcased nerves of
steel and sank his bogey putt to curtail some of
Weber’s momentum.
Weber stumbled at the par four 10th hole,
making a bogey, while Aydlett made a par. On
the following hole, the par five 11th, Weber
bounced back with a birdie and evened the
score. Both competitors parred holes 12 and 13.
Hole 14 was the turning point of the final
round as Weber surrendered the lead after
making a bogey and Aydlett held steady with
another par. They both made par at the par
three 15th hole. Aydlett showcased great poise
down the stretch, making par after an errant tee
shot into the right rough on the par four 16th.
Weber bogeyed his final three holes on the day,
and Aydlett cruised to a four-shot victory.
Rounding out the top 10 are: fourth, 2011
LGA Amateur Champion Greg Berthelot of
Baton Rouge, 290; tied for fifth Brent Struthers
of Baton Rouge, David Griffin of Saint Gabriel,
and Nicholas Arcement of Thibodaux, 294;
and tied for eighth, Dante Caldera of Greenwell
Springs, 1972 LGA Amateur Champion
Robert Shelton of Lafayette, and Ryan Alford
of Shreveport, 295.
Play was suspended at 8:15 a.m. on Sunday
due to lightning and resumed two hours later.
The final group of the day teed off at 12:21
p.m. and finished at 4:40 p.m., eclipsing the
recommended 4 hour and 30-minute pace of
play time by 11 minutes.
29