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• Published: Jul 31, 2010 - Page: 8C

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LAFAYETTE — A total of 84 players — by far the largest number in modern-day history — will tee it up today in the opening round of the City of Lafayette Golf Championships.

The two-day, 36-hole tournament begins at 10 a.m. at Les Vieux Chenes and will wrap up with a final round Sunday at The Wetlands, also beginning at 10 a.m.

In recent years, the tournament was a three-day event held over Labor Day Weekend and included one round at Hebert Municipal. Since Hebert is closed while undergoing a renovation, the event was reduced to two rounds over the city’s “newest” courses — The Wetlands opening in 2004 and Les Vieux Chenes re-opening after eight months of renovation last fall.

The Les Vieux Chenes retooling forced cancellation of last year’s City Championships.

“We anticipated an increase in players with the cutback to two days and moving away from Labor Day,” said Les Vieux Chenes head professional Todd Robertson. “More players are able to take part in a two-day event than maybe a three-day, but I don’t think any of us expected this much of an increase in participation. We’re thrilled with the numbers.”

A total of 48 players are in the open division and chasing after the title of city champion. Twenty-eight others are participating in three flighted divisions, and eight women are competing for city champion honors in the ladies division.

Les Vieux Chenes will measure 6,870 yards for the open division, and The Wetlands will play its full 7,293 yards for Sunday’s final round. Awards in each flight, including gift certificates in The Wetlands golf shop, will be presented following Sunday’s final round to the overall winner as well as gross and net winners in the flighted divisions and the ladies division.

“We think we’ve got two very good tests of golf over these two days,” said The Wetlands head pro David Gary. “Both courses are in very good shape and they contrast each other very well, so our players are going to have two very different challenges.”

The City Championships stands as one of South Louisiana’s oldest events, having been contested almost every year since 1928. The event is open to all players and not limited to city or parish residents.

The open division field includes the last two city champions, David “Magic” Duhon (2007) and James “T-Boy” Hamilton (2008), as well as five-time city champion Todd Weber (1992, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2006). Defending women’s champion Cheryl Neu highlights the eight-player ladies division which will begin play at 2 p.m.