Flurry of late entries adds depth to field
Posted on Friday, July 4, 2008
URL: http://www.nwanews.com/adg/Sports/230478/
Waiting until the final day or two to enter the annual Fourth of July Classic is almost as big of a tradition as the tournament itself.
The 72 nd annual event begins today at War Memorial Golf Course, the oldest public course in Little Rock. This year’s field will include 133 players, 30 of whom waited until the final day to turn in their entry forms.
“It’s kind of a tradition around here,” said Stephen McBride, the course’s assistant facility supervisor. “Everybody waits until the last minute, partly due to the weather. Sometimes they wait to see if their buddies are going to play and what flight they’re going to be in.”
Included among this year’s field for the weekend’s 54-hole event are the past four champions — Michael Barre, Wes McNulty, Jay Fox and Chris Jenkins.
Competing in his first Classic tournament last season, Barre, 21 of Little Rock, defeated McNulty by a stroke with a six-under 189. McNulty, of Pine Bluff, won the title in 2006.
Fox is a six-time champion in the event, winning in 1983, 1989, 1994, 1997, 2003 and 2005. Fox did not play in the tournament last year because of tendinitis in his left thumb and he also pulled out of the event during the second round in 2006 because of the same injury.
Jenkins is a four-time champion, having won in 1995, 2001, 2002 and 2004.
McBride said there have been no major changes on the course since last year’s event, but that the “greens have improved.”
The first players will tee off on the par-65, 4, 432-yard course at 7 a. m. today. The Classic will conclude on Sunday afternoon.
“This tournament is a tradition and we’re very proud it’s still around,” McBride said. “We’re looking at a great tournament, especially if the weather isn’t too hot, and from what I’ve seen, it looks like it will hold off.”
McBride said the American Revolution Shootout, a nine-hole elimination tournament that traditionally had been played the day before Classic began, will not be played this year because of time constraints. Fourth of July Classic WHERE War Memorial Golf Course THE COURSE Par 65, 4, 432 yards WHEN Today through Sunday NOTABLE This is the 72 nd annual event..... Little Rock’s Michael Barre returns to defend his title.... Among the other former champions in this year’s field are Wes McNulty, Jay Fox, Chris Jenkins, Tracy Harris and Joey Nichols.... The tournament has been played every year since 1937.