Ben Hargis and Trey Coker won the Deep South Four Ball Monday with a 4 and 3 victory over Mac Blanchard and Lawrence David, but their journey to a second straight championship wasn't as easy as it looked.

"In our first match Saturday against Clay Toms and Slade Hood," said Hargis, "we were the defending champs and they were the 16th seed, and, theoretically, it's supposed to be an easy match. Well, it wasn't. They took us to sudden death, which we won on the third playoff hole. But on the first hole, they had a birdie in the hole, and Trey had to make a 12-footer to cover that and enable us to stay alive. If he misses that, we're out of the tournament."

After Hargis clinched the title with a 7-foot birdie putt at the par-4 15th hole at the Alexandria Golf and Country Club, he became a five-time Deep South champion, with his titles spread over 30 years. He was 20 years old, wearing long hair and a beard and polyester pants when he was part of his first Deep South championship in 1976. He also won twice in the 1980s with Texan Terry Peddy.

Coker, a former UL-Louisiana and professional golf star who was the Player of the Year on the Hooters Tour in 1996, reclaimed his amateur status a few years ago and proved for the second straight year he is among the better amateurs in the area.

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By Bob Tompkins
btompkins@thetowntalk.com
(318) 487-6349