Riley finishes in top 10 at TPC Louisiana event

AVONDALE — Acadian-by-marriage Chris Riley posted a three-under 69 in the final round Sunday and finished in the top 10 at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans, leading three Louisiana golfers that made the cut for the state’s PGA Tour stop.

Riley, husband of Lafayette native and former LSU and LPGA Tour player Michelle Louviere, finished at 10-under 278 (73-66-70-69) and moved up four spots in the final round to tie for seventh overall and earn $199,467 for his efforts. Riley birdied five of Sunday’s first 12 holes and stood at 5-under for the final round before bogeying the 14th and 16th holes, but still had his best finish of the season and moved from 156th to 113th on the Tour money list.

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Toms, Sonnier, Mathis post solid finishes

Shreveport’s David Toms used a stellar second-round 63 to get back into contention and eventually had a top-20 finish in the PGA Tour’s Transitions Championships at Tampa Bay, Fla. Toms shot 74-63-73-71–281, three-under-par, after an up-and-down final round that included four birdies and four bogeys.

Hammond’s Heath Slocum shot 73-72–145 and missed the two-over-par cut by one stroke. Toms and Slocum are both in this week’s Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill in Orlando.

In other local pro golf news from Sunday:

*  Former UL Lafayette standout Greg Sonnier, now living in Lake Charles, had a top-10 finish in the $125,0o0 Coca-Cola Walmart Open at Oak Wing in Alexandria, the first of 16 stops on this year’s Adams Golf Pro Tour Series which wrapped up Saturday.

Sonnier shot 70-68-69-73–280, eight-under-par, and won $2,965. Lafayette’s Brian Rowell (even par), Lafayette native and current Dallas resident Kris Cox (+2) and Lafayette products B. C. Thibeaux (+3) and Michael Smith (+5) missed the two-round cut line of one-under-par.

* Former Opelousas resident Amanda Mathis, now playing out of Picayune, Miss., finished tied for 16th in the $100,000 Florida’s Natural Charity Classic, the opening event of this year’s Futures Tour at Winter Haven, Fla.

Mathis shot 71-73–144 in the rain-shortened event and banked $908 for her finish. She was in the top five after the opening round of play before slipping back on Saturday. Sunday’s final round was washed out. Angela Oh won a one-hole playoff with Jane Rah for the title and the $14,000 first-place prize after both tied at seven-under 137.

Strong final round earns Riley top-40 finish

PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. — A three-under-par 67 in the final round — tied for the second low round of the day — helped Acadian-by-marriage Chris Riley claim a top-40 finish in the PGA Tour’s Honda Classic at the PGA National Resort on Sunday.

Riley finished tied for 40th, rallying from a five-over 75 struggle on Saturday with his strong Sunday round, and finished at 71-71-75-67–284. He moved up 29 spots in a final round that included five birdies and two bogeys.

Riley was the only player with local ties to make the cut for the final two rounds.

Hammond’s Heath Slocum and Shreveport’s David Toms are in the field this week for the restricted-entry World Golf Championships’ CA Championships at Doral in Miami. Riley, Monroe’s Brian Bateman and Breaux Bridge native Brent Delahoussaye are in the field for the PGA Tour’s regular stop, the Puerto Rico Open at Trump International in Rio Grande, Puerto Rico.

Riley makes cut for final rounds in Honda meet

Acadian-by-marriage Chris Riley carded a second straight one-over-par 71 Friday and made the cut for the final two rounds at the PGA Tour’s Honda Classic in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.

For the second straight day, Riley had two birdies and three bogeys over the PGA National course and is tied for 44th entering the weekend play.

Baton Rouge’s Perry Moss missed the cut with a 74 on Friday, following an opening-round 81 on Thursday. Moss, who was a Monday qualifier for the event, was in his first PGA Tour action of the season.

Baton Rouge’s Scott Sterling, former Lafayette resident Ryan Hietala and Monroe’s Brian Bateman all missed the cut midway through the Nationwide Tour’s Pacific Rubiales Bogota Open in Colombia. Sterling was one off the cut line with a two-over 144 score after a second straight 72 at the Country Club of Bogota, while Hietala and Bateman each missed by four shots. Hietala shot 75-72–147 and Bateman shot 74-73–147.

Riley, Sterling in good shape after opening rounds in Florida, Colombia

Acadian-by-marriage Chris Riley had a solid opening round Thursday in the PGA Tour’s Honda Classic, and Baton Rouge’s Scott Sterling is also in good shape after one round of the Nationwide Tour’s first-ever stop in the country of Colombia.

Riley had two birdies and three bogeys in Thursday’s opening round over the par-70 PGA National Course in Palm Beach Gardens, and his one-over 71 has him tied for 43rd in the 144-player field entering Friday’s second round.

Baton Rouge’s Perry Moss, a Monday qualifier to the field, struggled with three double-bogeys in an 11-over 81 opening round and is 142nd in the field.

Sterling had two birdies and three bogeys in a one-over 72, standing tied for 54th after Thursday’s opening round of the Nationwide Tour’s Pacific Rubiales Bogota Open. The Bogota meet is the last stop on the Nationwide Tour before it opens its U.S. segment at the Chitimacha Louisiana Open March 22-28 at Le Triomphe.

Monroe’s Brian Bateman had a roller-coaster first round over the par-71 Country Club of Bogota course with seven bogeys and four birdies in a three-over 74 opening round and is tied for 86th. Former Lafayette resident Ryan Hietala had three birdies, five bogeys and a double-bogey Thursday and is one more stroke back at four-over 75.

Slocum struggles in final round

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Louisiana’s only survivor to the weekend play struggled in the final round of the PGA Tour’s Waste Management Phoenix Open at TC Scottsdale.

Hammond’s Heath Slocum, who made the cut by one stroke at three-under 139 through two rounds, shot 71-74 over the weekend rounds and finished at even-par 284, tying for 70th in the field.

Slocum had four bogeys in Sunday’s final round before birdieing the par-four 17th hole to get back to even for the tournament.

Hunter Mahan won the event by one stroke, matching six-under 65’s in each of the two final rounds to finish at 16-under 268 and top Tour rookie Rickie Fowler by one stroke.

The PGA Tour shifts to Florida this week and the Honda Classic at Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. Acadian-by-marriage Chris Riley is the only player with local connections in the field for the $5.6 million event.

Slocum makes cut for final two rounds, Toms misses out

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — State players went 1-for-2 on Friday at the PGA Tour’s Waste Management Phoenix Open, with Hammond native Heath Slocum making the cut on the number and Shreveport’s David Toms missing by one stroke.

Slocum carded a one-under 70 on Friday to go with his opening-round 69, and matched the cut line at three-under 139 over the TC Scottsdale course. Slocum bogeyed the second hole but birdied the 13th and then got on the cut line with a birdie on the par-four 18th hole.

Toms had an up-and-down round with four birdies and five bogeys Friday to finish at 68-72–140.

Camilo Villegas and Mark Wilson shared the mid-point lead at 11-under 131.

All state players miss cut in third Nationwide event

REPUBLICA DE PANAMA, Panama — All three of the field’s players with Louisiana connections missed the cut Friday in the Nationwide Tour’s Panama Claro Championships, the Tour’s third outing of the season.

Baton Rouge’s Scott Sterling was closest to the one-under 139 cut line, carding a 71-74–145 score in the opening two rounds Thursday and Friday. Former Lafayette resident Ryan Hietala was at 73-75–148 and Monroe’s Brian Bateman was at 75-74–149.

All three players are entered in next week’s Pacific Rubiales Bogota Open, a first-ever event to be played in Bogota, Colombia. That is the final event on the season-opening inernational portion of the Nationwide Tour. The first U.S. outing on Tour is the Chitimacha Louisiana Open, scheduled March 21-28 at Le Triomphe Country Club in Broussard.

Riley, Slocum each get top-15 finishes in Mexico meet

PLAYA DEL CARMEN, Mexico — Louisiana’s two connections in the PGA Tour’s Mayakoba Golf Classic both did themselves proud.

Hammond native Heath Slocum and Acadian-by-marriage Chris Riley each tied for 13th place at nine-under-par 275 in the weekend’s PGA Tour event which ran simultaneously with the Accenture World Match Play Championships in Arizona.

Riley finished with a two-under 69 that included three birdies and one bogey to shoot 68-68-70-69–275. Slocum had an up-and-down final-round 71 that included four birdies, two bogeys and one double-bogey and finished at 68-69-67-71–275.

Each earned $67,500, and Slocum also moved up to No. 50 in the FedEx Cup standings with his finish.

Cameron Beckman won the event by two shots with a 15-under 269 score.

Slocum and Shreveport’s David Toms are both in the field for this weekend’s Waste Management Phoenix Open. In this week’s Nationwide Tour Panama Championship are former Lafayette resident Ryan Hietala, Baton Rouge’s Scott Sterling and Monroe’s Brian Bateman.

Riley, Slocum in contention in Mexico event

Two Louisiana-based players are in solid contention after Friday’s second round of the Mayakoba Golf Classic at Riviera Maya in Mexico, while two others missed the cut for the final two rounds of the PGA Tour event.

Acadian-by-marriage Chris Riley posted a second straight 68 Friday and is at 68-68–136, tied for ninth in the field and six strokes out of the lead held by Joe Durant (64-66–130). Riley had a bogey-free round with three birdies, and in fact has now played 32 holes without a bogey dating back to his four-birdie, one-bogey opening round.

Heath Slocum of Hammond and Baton Rouge is one stroke behind Riley at 68-69–137 after a four-birdie, two-bogey round on Friday. He is tied for 17th entering Saturday’s third round.

Breaux Bridge native Brent Delahoussaye missed the one-under-par (141) cut line by two shots with a 74-69–143 score. He had four birdies on Friday but was never able to rally from starting out four-over-par in Thursday’s first nine holes. Monroe’s Brian Bateman also missed the cut with a 76-71–147 score.

One other Louisiana player was in action on the Tour this weekend. Shreveport’s David Toms lost in the opening round of the Accenture World Match Play Championships in Arizona, falling to Sergio Garcia 2-up in Wednesday’s opening round of the 64-player field.