Rain-Shortened Inaugural Southern Southpaw Championships Still Yields Lefty Champs
Chad Hare of Southside, AL won the first Southern Southpaw Championships (SSC) with a 2
over 74 on Sunday, June 5th at Shell Landing Golf Club in Gautier, MS. Hare's 74 was good
enough for a two shot win over Earl Thornton of Brandon, MS. Hare also grabbed the Alabama
Left Handed Golfers Association title with the win. Thornton, a transplant to Mississippi from
Alabama, won his second Mississippi Lefties title with his second place finish in the overall. He
won his first MS Lefties title in 2013.
The SSC senior title went to Richard Mathis of Hattiesburg, MS. His 2 over 74 was good
enough for a one shot victory over Newton Ogletree of Chelsea, AL. Mathis also won his
second Mississippi Lefties Seniors title, repeating the feat from 2014. Ogletree claimed the
Alabama Seniors title with his finish.
Originally slated for a 36-hole championship, Shell Landing was plagued by over 5 inches of
rain the night before the tournament was to start, and a washout of the opening round reduced the
tourney to 18 holes.
The Southern Southpaw Championships hopes to create a championship tournament for lefty
golfers from the states of Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi.
The tournament will move to Alabama next year.