Bud Light Scramble kicks off busy stretch at Clear Creek

Published 8:56 am Thursday, June 16, 2016

The cart paths at Clear Creek Golf Course are about to look like rush hour trafic.

The public golf course in Bovina will host four big events in the next two weeks, beginning with the annual Bud Light Two-Man Scramble on Saturday and Sunday.

The inaugural Warren Central High School Viking Classic, a weeklong junior golf clinic, and the Clear Creek Club Championship are also on the schedule before the end of June.

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“I was just talking to my superintendent that I might have overbooked myself,” Clear Creek course pro Kent Smith said with a laugh. “They’ve always been pretty close, and it depends on the scheduling of the statewide tournaments as to when they fall. Sometimes you have to cram them into the same window.”

The first event on the calendar is also the biggest. The Bud Light Scramble typically draws between 120 and 140 golfers from across Central Mississippi. A mix of free beer, good times, quality golf and excellent prize money have combined to create a major local event.

The tournament is the biggest Clear Creek hosts each year. The course will be closed to the public on Saturday and Sunday to accommodate it.

The first place team in each flight will win $600 in merchandise from the Clear Creek pro shop. Second place will win $400, third place gets $200, and fourth place $100.

The entry fee is $250 per two-person team.

“For their money, they get a lot,” Smith said. “They get two rounds of golf, food from Goldie’s Express, as much as you can eat and drink. They take care of them.”

Taking care of people is also what the Viking Classic is all about. The one-day tournament on June 22 is a fundraiser for the Warren Central Touchdown Club, the football team’s booster arm. Touchdown Club president Brandy Katzenmeyer said proceeds from the tournament will help buy meals for football players on game days during the 2016 season.

The Touchdown Club provides meals and snacks for Warren Central’s varsity, junior varsity and ninth-grade teams — nearly 200 players in all.

“It cost us $12,000 last year to feed them, so that’s what we’re working for. We’re trying to get a good chunk of it with this tournament,” Katzenmeyer said.

The entry fee for the Viking Classic is $75 for an individual, or $300 for a four-person team. Hole and title sponsorships are also available.

“There’s going to be some cash and door prizes. That depends on how many teams we get,” Katzenmeyer said.

The Clear Creek Club Championship is scheduled for June 25 and 26. The tournament is for members of Clear Creek’s golf club only, and will begin at 8:30 a.m. each day.

The Clear Creek Junior Golf Camp will close out the month, on June 27-30. The weeklong youth clinic will run from 9 to 11 a.m. each day and costs $80 per golfer.

Smith said the junior camp focuses on teaching fundamentals and introducing children to the game of golf.

“The last day we’ll have a little tournament. It’s a fun thing for the kids,” Smith said. “It’s just to introduce them to the game. We try to have fun with it and not get too serious.”

The Warren County Championship is scheduled for July 30 and 31, and the Warren County Junior Championship will be held in the middle of the month. Smith said a date has not yet been set for the Junior Championship.

UPCOMING EVENTS AT CLEAR CREEK

June 18-19: Bud Light 2-Man Scramble (course closed to the public both days)

June 22: Warren Central High School Viking Classic

June 25-26: Clear Creek Club Championship

June 27-30: Clear Creek Junior Golf Camp

July 30-31: Warren County Championship

July, TBA: Warren County Junior Championship

For information on all tournaments, or to register, visit the Clear Creek Golf Course clubhouse or call course pro Kent Smith at 601-638-9395.

About Ernest Bowker

Ernest Bowker is The Vicksburg Post's sports editor. He has been a member of The Vicksburg Post's sports staff since 1998, making him one of the longest-tenured reporters in the paper's 140-year history. The New Jersey native is a graduate of LSU. In his career, he has won more than 50 awards from the Mississippi Press Association and Associated Press for his coverage of local sports in Vicksburg.

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