Westbrook shoots 68, leads BR Open

• By CHARLES SALZER
• Special to the Advocate
• Published: Jun 28, 2009 - Page: 1C

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Former St. Michael the Archangel golfer Garrett Westbrook shot 68 Saturday afternoon to grab the first-round lead at the Baton Rouge Open.

Friday showers weren’t enough to soften up Santa Maria Golf Course as only three players broke par while putting on crusty greens in hot, dry conditions.

Westbrook, who currently plays for Meridian Community College, had five birdies and one bogey to shoot 4 under.

Can Le started slowly, but came on late to post a 70. Brett Baker shot 71, and Brad Jackson, Gayle Sanchez and Donnie Schmitt were next at even par.

The 36-hole tournament concludes today with the championship flight of 16 golfers teeing off at 8:30 a.m.

“I got off to a good start,” said Westbrook, who started at the 10th. “I made a good putt on 11 to get things going. I didn’t really make any mistakes. My only hiccup was number seven, which is actually the easiest hole on the golf course.”
Westbrook birdied holes 11, 14, 18, 1 and 3. A poor drive on the par-5 seventh led to a three-putt bogey, one of the few times Westbrook had a problem with the greens.

“The greens were real hard — they just wouldn’t hold a shot,” said John Henchy, who shot 76. “The rain got a little bit of the grain back in the greens, and they’re not rolling the way they were a week ago.”

Henchy bogeyed three of his first four holes before steadying himself. It was a start similar to that of Le, who was 3 over after six holes before rallying on the back nine.

Le’s start hit its low point at the par-3 fifth where he took double bogey. He came back with a birdie at 7, and went on to birdie 10, 11, 14 and 16 to shoot a 32 on the back nine.

Baker shot 34-37 on his way to a 1-under round that feautured birdies at 1, 3, 6, 12 and 15. He made bogey at 5, 11, 16 and 18.

Sanchez had less drama in his even par round with just one birdie and one bogey.

“The greens were firm and sneaky fast,” Sanchez said. “It’s a little difficult, but there’s not much rough and there wasn’t much wind.

“They actually had the course playing a little short today. There were a lot of up tees, and I thought the pin placements were generous. The greens were firmer, so it made play harder. It was a fair setup.”