WESTLAKE — Rain has been a problem all week in Southwest Louisiana, and it nearly derailed first-round leader Kade Hagan on Friday at the Jeff Davis Bank/Westlake City Championship at the National Golf Club of Louisiana.
Rain delayed the start of the first round and forced a shotgun start. Hagan’s group started on No. 2. He was 3 under through 14 holes, but then a brief shower hit the course and Hagan bogeyed Nos. 15 and 16.
“I had my momentum going and we caught that little rain,” Hagan said. “I missed the green, tried to get up and down and missed a 6-footer. Back-to-back bogeys just set me back but I got my birdie back on 17, pared 18 and birdied 1 to be back where I need to be.”
His plan wasn’t just a guess. He had already birdied the par-five eight and 11th hole. Hagan went on to birdie the par-five No. 17 and No. 1 and finished the day at 3-under 69.
“I just knew I had to get out there and get it going again,” Hagan said. “I had two par-5s coming up and I could birdie both of them and hopefully get it back to three.
“It is a good position to be in after Day 1. I figured two or 3 under would be good today.”
Right behind Hagan, who won the Sulphur City championship last year, is 2013 champion Neithen Allen, 2009 Lake Charles city champion Blake DeReese and Channing Kyle at 2 under.
Allen was 1 under through 10 holes but got tripped up by a bogey on No. 11 and double bogey on No. 12. He got a huge boost of confidence on the par-5 17th hole. Allen hit a 3-iron from 220 yards out to the right side of the green and made a long putt for eagle to get back to 2 under.
“I hung around there and happened to luck up and hit a long bomb on No. 17 for eagle to get back to 2 under,” Allen said. “I hung in there pretty much all day. I knew it was going to be tough to shoot a really low number today because of the conditions.”
DeReese’s trouble came on No. 14 thanks to a three-putt and he missed a short putt for par on No. 15.
“I had a mediocre day putting,” DeReese said. “I had two three-putts and I missed two more inside 3 feet.
“I salvaged this round. I got to 2 under and I gave those two shots back but then I made two birdies coming in, so that wasn’t bad.”
Kyle started on hole No. 6 and was even through 13 holes before back-to-back birdies on Nos. 1 and 2.
“It wasn’t bad,” Kyle said. “Believe it or not, with the greens as soft and slow as they are, I didn’t putt as well as I could have.
“It was definitely more challenging on the mind than anything else. I didn’t hit any long putts; it was mainly just hitting good approach shots.”
Craig Trosclair and Zak Barton were two shots off the lead at 1-under 71. Trosclair was 1 over with three holes to go, but got pair of late birdies, including a chip-in from 40 yards out on the par-4 No. 18 with a sand wedge.
“I was just trying to get up there and make par so it was a gift,” Trosclair said. “It was a grind today.
“The course was playing long. Everyone had the same struggles. It was a tough day.”
Hank Shaheen finished the first round three shots behind Hagan but was tied with him at 3 under at one point. Shaheen started the day with a bogey on No. 1 but birdied Nos. 3, 4, 8 and 12 before three bogeys on the final six holes dropped him on the leaderboard.
The second round will start at 8 a.m. today with the championship flight. The championship flight will be divided into two flights for the final round on Sunday.
Westlake City Championship
Championship
First Round
Kade Hagan 69
Blake DeReese 70
Channing Kyle 70
Neithan Allen 70
Craig Trosclair 71
Zak Barton 71
Hank Shaheen 72
Seth Cox 74
Thad Gaspard 74
Scott Ortego 74
Austin Stewart 75
Chris Vallette 75
Jevon Perry 76
Reid Giardina 76
Byron Martin 76
Bill Stevens 76
James Anderson 77
Sutton Farmer 78
Eric Brown 78
Nick Sonnier 78
David Martin 79
Shane Heinen 84
Colby Wynn 88
Second Round
Tee Times
Championship Flight
8 a.m. — David Martin, Shane Heinen, Colby Wynn.
8:09 a.m. — Eric Brown, Nick Sonnier, Sutton Farmer.
8:18 a.m. — Jevon Perry, Reid Giardina, James Anderson
8:26 a.m. — Chris Vallette, Byron Martin, Bill Stevens.
8:35 a.m. — Thad Gaspard, Scott Ortego, Austin Stewart.
8:44 a.m. — Craig Trosclair, Zak Barton, Hank Shaheen, Seth Cox.
8:53 a.m. — Kade Hagan, Blake DeReese, Neithan Allen, Channing Kyle.
Third Flight
9:02 a.m. — Mike Beglis, Ross Beasley, Derek Fontenot.
9:11 a.m. — Jason Katchur, Paul Breaux, Chad Smith.
9:20 a.m. — Darien Duhon, Paul Reaux, Len Pauley.
9:29 a.m. — David Duzan, Cody Soileau, Russell Leblanc, Richard Martin.
Fourth Flight
9:38 a.m. — Brock Smith, Ehtesham Syed, Fred Carver.
9:47 a.m. — Pap Williams, Rusty Montiville, Charlie Buller.
9:56 a.m. — Kevin Wiese, William Wiese, Allen Burkhead, Davon J Pauley.
10:05 a.m. — Walter Dulany, Mike Klumpp, Carlos McGee, Clark Cormier.
Fifth Flight
10:14 a.m. — Trey Miller, Kevin Snyder, Huey Hebert.
10:23 a.m. — Tyler Richard, Billy Creel, Mitch Eubanks.
10:32 a.m. — Joey Adaway, Jeff Harper, Todd Mathis, Joe Underwood.
10:41 a.m. — Ricky Norwood, Matthew Peek, Chris Barnes, Matt Gillespie.
Sixth Flight
10:59 a.m. — Dwayne Hightower, Evan McManus, Kenny Brown, Chase White.
11:08 a.m. — Jonathan Courville, Wilford Carter, Bryan Hollingsworth, Mack Kirby.
11:17 a.m. — Chad Langley, Richard Bertrand, Tommy Breaux, Derrian Webb.
Seventh Flight
11:26 a.m. — David Vizirat, Mike Kerns, Carl Cole.
11:35 a.m. — Vince Castille, Mack LaVergne, Richard Johnson.
11:44 a.m. — David Stewart, Rene Durflinger, Jarad Buller.
11:53 a.m. — Mark Fontenot, Michael Boyette, Darin Stewart, Ronnie Gibbs.
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