L’Observateur / June 21, 2000

LAKE CHARLES – Michael Connell of Richardson, Texas, survived a three- hole playoff with Lake Charles product Greg Sonnier to take the championship of the 2000 Tight Lies Tour’s Bank One Open this weekend.

Connell, a Tight Lies Tour regular, took home the $12,000 first prize, shooting 13-under par. Sonnier took the $6,885 second prize in the 128-player tournament.

Jarrett Walker of Luling had rounds of 76 and 70 to tie for 48th after two rounds with a 2-over par 146.

This year’s tournament was marked by two days of rain delays, delaying the start of Saturday’s final round by two hours and delaying the last three holes of play by an additional two hours.

The five-day tournament raised money for the Salvation Army’s Center of Hope, an expanded shelter for homeless men and families. During theprevious four years, the Bank One Open has raised about $115,000 for the shelter.

The Bank One Open is considered one of the five major events on the Tight Lies Tour’s schedule. The Tight Lies Tour, formerly the Lone Star Tour,was founded in 1994 by Gary DeSerrano as a way to help young golf professionals get to the PGA. Since then, the tour has grown from anaverage of 50 players per event to more than 100 players with an average tournament purse of $60,000.

Ten of the Lone Star Tour’s graduates have earned PGA Tour cards, including three-time Tour winner Tim Herron.

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