MICHAEL KIRAL / L’Observateur / May 30, 2000

LAPLACE – If you had wanted to find Paxton Lee this past week, the golf course at Riverlands Country Club would have been a good place to have started.

Lee, a freshman at Copiah-Lincoln Junior College in Wesson, Miss., has beenbusy preparing for the Division III College National Championships starting Monday in upstate New York. Lee qualified for the Nationals courtesy of athird-place finish at the Mississippi State Championships last month.

“I hope to do pretty good,” Lee said of his expectations for Nationals. “Mygame is starting to come around and I’m getting better. I’m looking forwardto it. Hopefully, I can rise to the challenge.”Lee rose to the challenge at the state championships held at Natchez Trace Country Club in Tupelo, Miss. He shot a two-day total of 162 (80-82),finishing seven strokes out of the lead and three shots back of second.

“I was hoping to qualify for the top five and I did that,” Lee said. “The golfcourse was set up pretty tough. I was in second place after the first day so Iknew I was ok.

“I thought I would fall to the back of the pack (after shooting the 82) but the course played harder the second day than the first.”Lee, the son of councilman and Mrs. Steve Lee of LaPlace, said he has beenplaying golf for as long as he can remember. His high school, Lutheran HighSchool in Metairie, did not have a golf team but he began to play in junior tournaments the summer of his junior year.

Lee is a member of both Riverlands and Belle Terre Country Club and has also played at a number of courses around the city, including Oak Harbor and English Turn.

Lee played in every tournament over the fall and spring seasons for Copiah- Lincoln in 1999-2000, moving up to the second spot on the team with a scoring average between 80 and 81 per round.

“It’s a big difference,” Lee said in comparing college golf to the junior golf programs. “There’s a lot more intimidation. Everybody hits the ball further.But after the first tournament and getting my feet wet, I was able to get the butterflies taken care of.”The 19-year-old, whose overall average is between 76 and 77, said the strong point of his game is his ball striking while having to work on his short game.

Lee said he is looking forward to playing golf again next year for Copiah- Lincoln and that he would like to keep playing after he finishes the two-year college next year.

But Lee, who has had his swing fine tuned by Riverlands golf professional Rick Miller, knows he has work to complete this year. He said he tries to get outon the course everyday or at least practice at the range.

Especially this week, preparing to go against the best in Division III, and out to prove he is up to the challenge again.

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