Ozark Invitational preview

The 65th Ozark Invitational set for this weekend at Westwood Hills Country Club in Poplar Bluff will be played. Here's a preview which ran in Thursday's edition and tee times for the first round:

The reigning champ may have to defend his title in the rain at the 65th Ozark Invitational.

Carr Vernon became the youngest winner of the event last year at age 16 by playing a waterlogged Westwood Hills Country Club at 5-under-par 137.

The conditions will be similar again this weekend.

Over the past week, nearly 16 inches of rain has drenched the area and the 6,248-yard, par-71 course and there's a chance of rain each day.

"Considering the amount of rain, it's in decent playing shape," said Tom Hoover, tournament director, of the course Wednesday.

The course may dry over the two days leading up to the opening round Saturday and the Ozark Shootout, which tees off at 3 p.m. Friday. But all the rain should soften up and slow down the notoriously fast greens at Westwood.

That's actually not good news to Vernon.

"I think the faster the better because it's more of an advantage to the home-course players," he said.

Vernon was the first Poplar Bluff golfer to win the tournament since 2002, playing in just his second Ozark. The junior at Poplar Bluff High School said there's more pressure this time around.

"I want to have a good showing again so I'm not just a 16-year-old kid that one it one time," Vernon said. "I want to do well again.

"I really want to contend this year, get in the top 10, and hopefully win."

There have been only 12 multiple winners of the tournament, most recently John Kelly and Rob Long, who won consecutive titles, and four-time champion Ben Godwin, who is in the field this year along with two-time champ Danny Green.

Vernon has been playing at Westwood since the age of 10 and was a caddy for his father, Jimmy, in the Ozark before getting a chance to play for the first time in 2009 when Carr finished 54th.

The win was apart of a special year for Vernon, who was named the Missouri Golf Association's Junior Player of the Year. He also qualified for the U.S. Amateur, reached match play at the Missouri Amateur where he lost to the eventual champion and helped the Mules finish fourth at the state tournament to go with three wins on a junior tour.

Vernon will have a unique situation in which he will play perhaps 63 holes of competitive golf over four days. He started today at the MSHSAA Class 4 District 1 tournament at Dalhousie Golf Club in Cape Girardeau playing for the Mules. After playing in the Shootout, a 10-player, nine-hole format that eliminates a player after each hole, Vernon tees off at 10:03 a.m. Saturday.

"The pressure of having districts (Thursday), it gets the competitive juices flowing," Vernon said. "I think I should be in a pretty good competitive mood come Saturday."

Vernon shot even-par playing in wet conditions at Westwood Hills earlier this month, earning medalist honors in the PB Invitational. The Mules look to play their home course again May 4 if they can finish in the top two at the district tournament today, then qualify for state.

Vernon's teammates Hunter Pyland, John Gilmore, Collin Davis and Jake Russell are also in the field while Davis Caldwell will again be on Vernon's bag.

"For high school you don't play any two-day events," Vernon said. "Playing in the Ozark, it's a two-day event and you realize you've got to stay patient.

"It's a lot of golf to play, it's 36 holes," he added. "One bad hole won't kill you, you have 35 more to do well."

Only five players played par or better for the tournament last year and three of those guys are back in Vernon, Ben Godwin and Wayne Fredrick of Springfield.

Vernon's winning score was three strokes better than the previous year, which was dry and featured faster greens. He said he's accustomed to the fast greens after playing at Westwood for so many years.

"Most of the greens out there slope from the back to the front," Vernon said. "If you're behind the hole it's like putting on your tile floor in the kitchen. You've got to baby touch it and hope it stops in the hole."

The recent rain will slow the greens and a tree was lost behind the 11th green, making it tougher for players to aim an approach shot, Hoover said.

The new clubhouse is ready just in time for another wet weekend.

Last year, a thunderstorm that dumped nearly four inches of rain delayed the start of the tournament and 16 players couldn't finish their opening round until Sunday, when the final group teed off in more rain.

The last time the tournament didn't go the full 36 holes was in 1995 when Green won on the second playoff hole, his 20th.

Green, of Jackson, Tenn., is back in the field after nearly a decade away. He is one of five former champions in the field and has played in 57 USGA events, third most all-time for men and women.

Also returning is four-time champion Ben Godwin and his brother Bobby, who won in 1989, along with '94 champ Antonio Serrano.

The tournament is sponsored by Michelob Ultra.

OZARK INVITATIONAL

Westwood Hills Country Club, Poplar Bluff

Championship Division

7:51 a.m.

John Gilmore, Poplar Bluff

Alex Vahldick, Kansas City, Mo.

Mike Mueller, Brentwood

8 a.m.

Dex Demaree, Dexter

Jake Leonard, St. Louis

Hunter Pyland, Poplar Bluff

8:09 a.m.

Sean Jackson, Overland Park, Kan.

Donny Ngala, Dittmer

Jason Waddell, Poplar Bluff

8:19 a.m.

Corey Connell, Cape Girardeau

Collin Davis, Poplar Bluff

Taylor Smith, Doniphan

Alan Jett, Bryant, Ark.

8:28 a.m.

Jack Connell, Cape Girardeau

Andrew Kreutzer, Columbia, Ill.

Jake Russell, Poplar Bluff

Steven Souchek, Columbia, Ill.

9:25 a.m.

Sam Bass, Doniphan

Bob Englehart, Jackson

Chris Rahlmann, Poplar Bluff

Ted Ward, Oronton

9:35 a.n.

Brian Craig, St. Louis

Justin Gosa, Germantown, Tenn.

Aaron Wier, Columbia

Jimmy Vernon, Poplar Bluff

9:44 a.m.

Ben Johannsen, St. Louis

John Osteen, Memphis

Derek Rahlmann, Collierville, Tenn.

Tim Saracini, Kansas City, Mo.

10:03 a.m.

Jeff Chandler, Kenton, Tenn.

Scotty McClellan, O'Fallon

Neil Vanleeuwen, Tarpon Springs, Fla.

Carr Vernon, Poplar Bluff

10:13 a.m.

Ryne Fisher, Columbia

Wayne Frederick, Springfield

Ben Godwin, Poplar Bluff

Lane Poppen Ocean Springs, Miss.

10:23 a.m.

Buddy Allen, Pevely

Lucas Black, Columbia

Ben Brumitt, Poplar Bluff

Matt Murray, Overland Park, Kan.

10:32 a.m.

Bobby Godwin, Poplar Bluff

Danny Green, Jackson, Tenn.

Brian Haskell, St. Joseph

Antonio Serrano, Springfield

10:42 a.m.

Craig Caringer, Palm Harbor, Fla.

Nathan Fredrick, Springfield

John Shock, Poplar Bluff

Travis Simmons, Cape Girardeau

10:51 a.m.

Brevlin Giebler, Cape Girardeau

Brett McCauley, Poplar Bluff

Joshua Rhodes, Paducah, Ky.

Tyler Stalker, Springfield

11:38 a.m.

Todd Metz, Hattiesburg, Miss.

Jerrod Murphy, Poplar Bluff

Bobby Prichard, Paragould, Ark.

Richard Wentz, Little Rock, Ark.

11:48 a.m.

Shane Burkett, Jay, Fla.

Kyle Christian, Dexter

Brian Hall, O'Fallon

Chris Montgomery, Poplar Bluff

12:06 p.m.

Dave Bremer, St. Louis

Jim Garren, Hattiesburg, Miss.

Chris Love, Poplar Bluff

Brad Thielemier, Jefferson City

12:16 p.m.

Tom Barry, St. Louis

Trent Hillis, Poplar Bluff

Fred Janneck, Hattiesburg, Miss.

Ted Moloney, Ballwin

12:25 p.m.

Justin Bliss, Brentwood

Tim Holmes, Springfield

Tanner McKinney, Piedmont

Chad Niezig, Manchester

12:35 p.m.

Luke Chailland, Doniphan

Barron Hemenover, St. Charles

Tyler Hillis, Poplar Bluff

Brent Hobbs, Hattiesburg, Miss.

12:44 p.m.

Nick Brown, Hattiesburg, Miss.

Jarred Green, Silva

Logan MacDonald, Poplar Bluff

Kevin McLaughlin, St. Louis

12:54 p.m.

Aron Persons, Poplar Bluff

Ronnie Strong, Jackson

Scott Whittaker, Springfield

Richard Williams, Eminence

1:03 p.m.

Joe Christian, Ballwin

Jim Mitchell, Grover

Justin Robinson, Cahokia, Ill.

Tom Viers, Cape Girardeau

1:13 p.m.

Russell Brightman, St. Louis

Mike Ivie, Poplar Bluff

Mike Lynch, St. Louis

Bill Smith, St. Louis

1:23 p.m.

Troy Bell, Poplar Bluff

Tyler Berry, Poplar Bluff

Travis Fitzgerald, Cahokia, Ill.

Michael Perryman, Springfield

1:32 p.m.

Sammy Gonzalez, Poplar Bluff

Tony Markham, Piedmont

Cory Mills, Poplar Bluff

Jake Numbler, Cahokia, Ill.

Senior Division

8:38 a.m.

Schooner Fitzgerald, Cahokia, Ill.

Lonnie Hickman, Poplar Bluff

Thomas Rainwater, Jackson

J.T. Thompson, St. Louis

8:47 a.m.

John Bailey, Nashville

Karl Elbrecht, St. Louis

Bernie McGuire, Chesterfield

Terry Souchek, Columbia, Ill.

8:57 a.m.

Gary Adkins, Metropolis, Ill.

Rufus Harmon, Jefferson City

Vince Lopiccolo, Creve Coeur

Billy Pyland, Poplar Bluff

9:06 a.m.

Bill Metzger, Paducah, Ky.

James Moser, Pine Bluff, Ark.

Walter Powell, Springfield

Ed Walsworth, Kansas City, Mo.

9:16 a.m.

Tony Brown, St. Louis

Dennis Osborne, Ballwin

Charlie Schorgl, Leawood, Kan.

Tommy Thomas, Paducah, Ky.

11:01 a.m.

Ron Brewer, Columbia, Mo.

Bill Jett, Maumelle, Ark.

Rocky Walther, St. Louis

Micky Williams, Fisk

11:10 a.m.

Don Bliss, Chesterfield

Ben Cantrell, Cape Girardeau

Ron Eilers, Columbia, Mo.

Mike Shelbourne, Paducah, Ky.

11:19 a.m.

Steve Groom, Raytown

Jeffrey Johnson, St. Louis

Gerald Siemons, Jefferson City

Andy Smith, Kansas City, Mo.

11:29 a.m.

Darrel Huisinga, Fenton

Bob Meeh, St. Louis

Dirk Teagarden, O'Fallon

Robert Trittler, Wentzville