BOB WEST ON GOLF: Kaeden Legg, 9, gets first ace

Published 3:14 pm Tuesday, June 11, 2019

Nobody I’ve asked seems to have a candidate for the youngest person to make a hole in one at Babe Zaharias, so, until a name and corroboration is furnished, the honor goes to 9-year-old Kaeden Legg of Nederland.

Kaeden aced the 15th hole from 132 yards on Monday, using his driver. The shot was witnessed by his grandmother, Connie, who lives on the golf course and takes Kaeden to Zaharias most afternoons so he can play the game he loves.

“It was so amazing,” said Connie. “He said ‘grandma I think it went in.’ I said, ‘oh, probably not.’ We got to the green and the ball was in the hole. He was so excited and so was I.”

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Kaeden, who currently has only four clubs, started learning the game from his late father, Michael Legg, a former PNG golfer. To help speed his quest for a second ace, Connie has him enrolled in the Jerry Honza PNG junior golf camp that started Tuesday at Zaharias.

Legg wasn’t the only player to score an ace at Zaharias in the past few days. Former Nederland star Hunter Huff bagged one Sunday with a 170-yard, 7-iron on the 12th hole. Witnesses were Dalton Shields, Amanda Shields and Brian Caraway.

The fact that the 23-year-old Huff is a scratch player, and that he’s 23, should make Legg appreciate his hole-in-one accomplishment even more. Many golfers don’t ever make one or have to wait until late in life. My first of four didn’t happen until age 58.

Even if he hadn’t made that first ace, Huff’s name was going to appear in this week’s golf column. Recently graduated Baylor star Braden Bailey, tuning up to play the Canadian PGA Mackenzie Tour, stopped at Zaharias long enough last week to match Huff’s course record of 62 Sunday from the championship tees. Huff had previously shared the record with the late Rick LaBove.

Bailey, though he didn’t make it, acquitted himself well in the Monday qualifier for this week’s Golf BC Championship in Kelowna, British Columbia. With eight spots available, Bailey missed by one shot after posting a 4-under-par 68 to tie for ninth.

The PNG ex really made it interesting on the back nine. After shooting even par 36 on the front, Braden rolled in two birdies and an eagle for a sizzling 32 on the back. His next shot at getting into a Mackenzie Tour event will be Monday, June 17 in Picture Butte, Alberta …

Pressure is building on Chris Stroud to secure his PGA Tour card for next year. With rounds of 72-74 at the Canadian Open, Stroud missed his sixth consecutive cut. That dropped him nine places to No. 106 in FedEx Cup points.

Stroud, who must finish in the top 125 to maintain full time playing privileges, has six tournaments left to hold his ground or move up. He returns to action next week at the Travelers Championship in Cromwell, Connecticut.

The Travelers is where Stroud nearly won his first PGA event back in 2013. Stroud, another PNG ex, chipped in for a birdie on the 72nd hole to tie Ken Duke at 12 under, but lost to Duke on the second hole of a sudden death playoff.

Perhaps there will be some good karma at the TPC River Highlands Course that will help Chris lock up his tour card …

Collin Lietzke of Sour Lake shot a 77 to win Boys 15-18 by four strokes over Wyatt Wozniak of Orange in the Southern Texas PGA Junior Tour stop at Henry Homberg on Monday.

Other flight winners included John Perry of Sulphur (83 in Boys 13-14), Lincoln Parks of Orange (72 in Boys 11-12), Makenna Henry of Sour Lake (78 in Girls 15-18), Annabel Cardenas of Beaumont (89 in Girls 13-14) and Ava Borne of Groves (107 in Girls 11-12) …

In the Monday Senior 50 Plus 2 ball at Zaharias, the team of Benny Sharpe, Ronnie LaSalle, Bob Luttrull and Randy Trahan won the front with minus-3. On the back, the foursome of Earl Richard, James Shipley, Mike Brown and Dwayne Benoit placed first with minus-4 …

The Saturday Super Senior 2 ball saw the team of Kenny Robbins, James Shipley, Butch Cross and Stuart Ellis take the front with minus 3. Gary Hanan’s team that included Randy Monk, Paul Flores and Jay Hampson won the back with minus 4 …

It took only minus 1 for the team of Calvin Landry, Joe Gongora, Rufus Reyes and Paul Duplantis to claim the front. Minus 5 won the back for the foursome of Russ Gloede, Sharpe, Rick Pritchett and Wes McDonald …

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Golf news should be e-mailed to rdwest@usa.net.