Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

NATCHEZ — It took three playoffs holes to determine who the overall champion would be at the fifth annual playing of The Natchez Open Golf Championship at the Duncan Park Golf Course between two golfers in the professional division.

When the dust settled, Casey Fernandez of Madill, Oklahoma, and Jonathan McCain of Brighton, Tennessee, ended up in a tie for first place with three-day totals of 12-under-par 201 after Fernandez had a final-round 66 and McCain shot a final-round 67.

After neither one could end the playoff on either hole No. 1 or hole No. 2, it was back to No. 1 and it was there that Fernandez won both the professional division and the overall championship with a birdie on No. 1. His first-place prize for finishing first was a check for $8,000. McCain finished second and won a check for $4,500.

“He was extremely happy. He was so happy,” Duncan Park Golf Course Superintendent Greg Brooking said about Fernandez’s reaction to winning the tournament. “He’s a great player, also. We had some people from all around.

Fernandez had rounds of 67, 68, and 66 while McCain had rounds of 69, 65, and 67 in the three-day tournament that was played last Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Defending overall champion Michael Arnaud of Covington, Louisiana, who also played in the professional division, just missed out on the playoff and defense of his title by one shot. He had rounds of 67, 68, and 67 to finish in third place at 11-under-par 202.

“He was so close,” Brooking said of Arnaud missing out on the playoff.

Gracen Blount of Hot Springs, Arkansas, the only female golfer in the field and playing in the professional division, finished 22^nd in the professional division and 23^rd overall with a three-day total of 10-over-par 223.

It was a good weekend for a few amateur golfers from Natchez. Pete Powell once again won the Legends (65+) Division with round of 70-72-77 for a three-day score of 291. Powell was nearly caught by Ricky Sims, who finished second thanks to a final-round 70 for a three-day total of 220.

“Pete’s a really good player,” Brooking said.

Natchez native and current Madison resident Bill Byrne fared well on Saturday and Sunday and ended up in fourth place in the Legends Division with a three-day score of 225.

“Bill Byrne made a fine comeback. He played some really good golf. He could’ve come back and finished second. He fell a little short at the end,” Brooking said.

As for Brooking himself, he finished fifth in the Legends Division with a three-day score of 227 mainly thanks to a second-round 73. But as Brooking said, trying to both put on and play in a tournament on the same weekend can be a lot for one person to do.

“I was not playing well. There’s a lot of stress and pressure to put on a tournament,” Brooking said. “But I like meeting all the players while you’re playing with them. I like doing that.”

Tom Bryant won the Senior (55-64) Division thanks to three solid rounds of golf. Bryant had round of 74-70-70 for a three-day score of 214 to finish eight shots ahead of second-place Tim Roop.

“Tom Bryant is a great player. He’s one of the best players in Natchez and probably in the state of Mississippi. He’s a national-caliber player. He beat a quality field from all over the Southeast,” Brooking said.

Jack Lee won the Amateur (Under 55) Division with round of 68-69-72 for a three-day score of 209 — nine shots clear of second-place Dedrick Harris of Chesterfield, Mo., whose 66 put him only two shots back of Lee after Round 2 on Saturday in that division. Unfortunately, Harris could not keep place with Lee as he shot a final-round 79 to finish at 218.

Once all of the withdrawals and did-not-finishes were tabulated, what was supposed to have been a full field of 84 players ended being a field of 72 players last weekend. One who surprisingly had to withdraw before play even began was Casey Ham. Brooking said Ham had to withdraw because of a medical emergency.

As for the tournament itself went, Brooking said, “It went great. We were very pleased with all the participants. We would like to thanks our sponsors – Taco Bell, Delta Bank, Visit Natchez, and GoMart.”