UL Senior qualifies for USGA Amateur Golf Championships

<blockquote><p align=justify>Marc Noel readily admits that he’s never been as nervous in his life as he was Monday in Lake Charles.

The Abbeville product and senior-to-be on the University of louisiana golf team found himself in the hunt for a spot in the U.S. Amateur Championships, and fought off shaking hands to earn a berth in the nation’s most prestigious amateur golf event.

“I’ve never felt like that,” Noel said after his even-par 144 total was good enough to send him to the legendary Winged Foot Golf Club in Mamaroneck, N.Y., next month. “To be able to hit shots like I did, as nervous as I was, really made me feel good.”

A total of 63 golfers took part in Monday’s sectional qualifier at Lake Charles Country Club, with only three berths in the Aug. 16-22 national tournament available. Noel’s 74-70 score in the two rounds were good enough to put him in a three-way tie for second, and he claimed one of the coveted slots in a sudden-death playoff.

“That was really the ultimate in pressure,” said Noel, a former All-State player at Vermilion Catholic. “To have that many players from Texas and Louisiana and for all of us trying for only three spots, and then to get into a playoff, that was the most pressure I’ve ever felt in my life.”

Noel finished two strokes behind top qualifier Everette Nini of Sour Lake, Texas and was tied with Shawn Stafani of Baytown, Texas, and Casey Russell of West Monroe at 144. Those three went into a playoff competing for the final two spots, starting at the par-four 15th hole.

“They both hit the green and two-putted,” Noel said, “and I flew the green but chipped up within two feet and made the putt. Then on 16, Casey hit in the water and Shawn hit into the left bunker, and I hit third on the back fringe and was feeling pretty good.”

Russell, though, holed a 15-foot putt for bogey after the penalty stroke, forcing Noel to make a testy 3-footer for par to earn the trip to the national tournament.

“That was the best feeling of a lifetime,” Noel said of making that putt. “It’s something I have waited for a long time. My hands were absolutely shaking.”

<center><p><a href="http://www.theadvertiser.com/sports/html/1FD92147-9905-47AF-B0C1-4D5C3A70B15D.shtml">The rest of the story</a>

Dan McDonald
dmcdonald@lafayette.gannett.com <!--


Noel’s 74 in the opening round didn’t have him among the morning leaders, but a 70 as one of the early finishers in the afternoon round put him at even par — a score he didn’t think would qualify.

“I had no idea what was going on behind me,” he said, “but I didn’t think par would get me in. I had to wait about an hour and a half for all the guys behind me, but the scores kept getting higher and I kept climbing the leader board.”

Noel will be one of 312 players taking part in the U.S. Amateur, the nation’s oldest golf tournament dating back to 1895. Sectional qualifying provided 113 of those players, with the rest coming through automatic exemptions from past events and other USGA tournaments.

The national meet includes two rounds of medal play on Aug. 16-17, with the top 64 players advancing to match play over the final five days of the Winged Foot event.

“It’s a legendary golf course, and it’s a chance of a lifetime to experience it first-hand,” Noel said. “It’s something every amateur dreams of, with the history it has. I absolutely can’t wait.”

Noel is the first Ragin’ Cajun player to qualify for the U.S. Amateur since George Cestia played in the event at Pebble Beach in 1999. He will also become the second Cajun to play in one of the USGA’s national events. Brett Ashmore played in the U.S. Amateur Public Links Championship which wrapped up Tuesday in Maple Grove, Minn.
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