The first day of the Vicksburg Country Club Championship had only nine players break 80 Friday evening as club members scrambled around the hilly course searching for lost balls.

VCC Championship

Par 70

First Round Leaders

Eddie Buckner……………….72

John Boland…………………..72

John Caldwell………………..73

Jake Dornbusch……………74

“We made the course pretty tough on them,” said new VCC club pro Jack Slocum, the father of PGA Tour golfer Heath Slocum.

Not only did the golfers had to battle the tough course, but there was the near 100-degree heat, hardly any breeze to speak of, and finally, because this is a stroke-play event, each golfer had to hit his own shots.

“They call this three days of Hell and today was just Day 1,” said Eddie Buckner, who drained a 30-foot putt on No. 18 to gain a share of the first-round lead with John Boland with a two-over-par 72.

“I leave it to the last hole to finally make a putt and it’s a 30-footer,” Buckner quipped. “I thought I hit it good. I hit 14 greens, I just couldn’t get the putter going. I had several chances, but the putt I made at 18 was one of only two birdies that I could make.”

Buckner said playing partner Jake Dornbusch had a good round going until the back nine.

“Jake was two-under at one point, but had some trouble coming in,” Buckner added.

“I hit a driver on 17 when every one else hit an iron,” Dornbusch said.

Boland was in the last group and just did finish before darkness set in.

“Played pretty good, we got it in,” Boland said. “I had five birdies. Had one at 3, 11, 13, 14 and 18.”

John Caldwell was a shot back at 73 while Dornbusch finished with a four-over 74. Benjamin Brooks and Bob Houser each carded a 75. Quentin Lovins came in with a 77 while Matt Bell and Barry Palmertree rounded out the below 80 club with 79’s. Former Porters Chapel Academy coach Randy Wright was in 10th place at 80.

Thirty six golfers started the tournament but two dropped out during the first round, leaving 34 to go out again for round two on Saturday.

Brooks, Houser and Lovins go out first with an 8:10 tee time. Palmertree, Bell and Wright go off at 8:20 followed by the group of Larry Rocconi (81), Allen Hudspeth (81) and Steven Marcus (81) at 8:30.

The lead group consisting of Buckner, Boland, Caldwell and Dornbusch tee off at 11:30.

 The tournament will conclude on Sunday.

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Contact Jeff Byrd at jbyrd@vicksburgpost.com