St. Al wins golf tournament VIEW GALLERY (use arrow keys on the keyboard to navigate through the gallery)
VICKSBURG – The annual Catholic Schools Golf Tournament was held April 15 at Clear Creek Golf Course in Bovina.
The Warren County public course has been the site of this event for the last few years, being centrally located to the participating Diocese of Jackson schools: St. Joseph, Greenville; St. Joseph, Madison; Cathedral School, Natchez; and St. Aloysius, Vicksburg.
Coach Jim Taylor, athletic director and golf coach at St. Aloysius, organizes the event with the assistance of Clear Creek pro Kent Smith.
“Just like the Catholic Schools Basketball Tournaments, it gives the schools in our diocese the chance to compete in non-district events and to have some real tournament experience early in the season before we compete in our respective MHSAA (Mississippi High School Activities Association) district and state tournaments,” said Taylor.
Although the play is competitive, it strives to be a friendly event, allowing full team rosters to participate, not just the top five which is the rule for MHSAA tournaments.
There is also a triple-bogie-per-hole scoring limit. MHSAA tournaments count all strokes.
Greenville St. Joseph’s coach Brian McGaugh understands the importance of the event. “We are proud to have made it to the State 1-A tournament this year. It is the first time we have been in five years.”
Cathedral, under the direction of coach John Wright, assisted by Gary Farmer, has also advanced to the state 1-A tournament having finished first in their district.
“We have a young team that has worked very hard and has come a long way,” says Wright.
The Madison St. Joseph Bruins, the only 2-A school participating, took third place in their district this year, led by coach Rusty Boshers.
St. Al too qualified for the state 1-A tournament, which they won last year, by taking first place in their district.
The state 1-A tournament was May 15-16 at Bay Pointe Country Club in Brandon.
