Phillips claims Jaycee tournament

Kent Phillips of Cape Girardeau overcame the heat and a double-bogey, double-bogey start to win the championship flight of the 2005 Auffenberg Chrysler Men's Individual Tournament Sunday at the Cape Girardeau Jaycee Municipal Golf Course.

Phillips, a member of Kimbeland Country Club and a former member of the Southeast Missouri State University golf team, finished with a two-day total of 141. Phillips followed up an opening-round of 71 on Saturday with an even-par 70 on Sunday. He finished four strokes ahead of runner-up Mitch Jackson and Mike Cotner.

Starting Sunday's round three strokes behind first-day leader Mike Shaffer, Phillips quickly found himself 4-over-par after misplaying No. 1, a par 4, and No. 2, a par 5.

"That kind of put me behind the eight ball," said Phillips. "I was very pleased to end up shooting par for the day."

After shooting 38 on the par-34 front, Phillips shot a 4-under-par 32 on the back nine, where he had five birdies and one bogey.

Jackson matched the tournament's low round with a 2-under-par 68 on Sunday to finish at 145. He won a scorecard tie-breaker with Cotner, who had rounds of 71 and 74.

Shaffer finished fourth, following up his first-round 68 with a 78.

Phillips was playing in the eighth edition of the tournament after finding about the event just last week.

"I love to play in tournaments," said Phillips, who played four years at Southeast before graduating in 2004. "I wish there were more individual ones around to play."

He said he entered mainly as preparation for the Missouri Stroke Play Championship, which will be played this week in Liberty, Mo. He planned to leave for the event on Sunday night.

He qualified for the Missouri Amateur earlier this summer, reaching the match-play portion.

He took a 3.2 handicap into this weekend's tournament.

"I've been playing well all summer," Phillips said. "I don't know if I expected to win, but I expected to play well."

Curtis Lonnie Myers shot a 152 to win A flight; Fred Ducharme shot a 160 to place first in B flight; and Jeff Hine topped C flight at 175.

Results

Championship flight--1. Kent Phillips, 71-70-141; 2. Mitch Jackson, 77-68-145; 3. Mike Cotner 71-74-145; 4. Mike Shaffer, 68-78-146

A flight--1. Curtis Lonnie Myers 77-75-152; 2. James Banken, 76-77-153; 3. Bill Isbell, 77-76-153; 4. Jack Watts, 79-75-154

B flight--1. Fred Ducharme, 82-78-160; 2. Mark Oliver, 80-82-162; 3. Kirk Schenck 82-83-165; 4. Robin Minner, 82-84-166

C flight--1. Jeff Hine, 88-87-175; 2. John Trimble, 91-87-178; 3. Mike Keefe, 87-92-179; 4. Bob Pastrick, 88-91-179