By JOHN JAMES MARSHALL, Journal Sports
They talk a lot about golfers “sleeping on the lead” on the night leading up to the final round of a tournament. There’s the idea that the leader has a whole lot of time to think about what could happen, both good and bad, before they show up on the first tee the next day.
Chris Baker shot a four-under 68 in the opening round of the 36-hole Greater Shreveport City Amateur Championship on Saturday to lead the field. But sleeping on a three-stroke lead was not an issue for him.
“We have four kids,” Baker said. “I didn’t have time to think about that. Actually, I didn’t even know until the morning I was leading when they posted the scores.”
Baker made his way around Huntington Park Sunday with a 74, but it was good enough to take a one-stroke win over Patrick Blount to win the medal play title.
Byrd High sophomore Grant Reagan finished third overall but was also the winner of the Junior Division with a 72-72-144. “It’s exciting,” the 16-year-old said. “I’m ready for the summer.”
Meanwhile, Baker will be heading back to work. Actually, it’s Dr. Chris Baker, an anesthesiologist at Christus Highland.
It’s interesting how Baker and Reagan made it to the victory stand. Reagan was part of a Byrd team that won the Division I state championship earlier this month, finishing in the top 10 in the individual competition. Once he gets through final exams this week, he will be off to play in tournaments all summer.
Baker knows all about that life. He once was a star on Captain Shreve’s golf team (he’s a ’98 graduate) before playing collegiately at Louisiana Tech.
Then he stopped playing golf completely. “I didn’t pick up a club for probably 10 years,” he said.
Going through the rigors of medical school and residency doesn’t exactly do wonders to help the short game.
After living in Chicago, Baker and his family moved back to Shreveport. Playing golf at Huntington and Querbes began to rekindle that same interest he had in the game a couple of decades ago.
Now, he will have his name permanently etched on the City Am trophy.
“Yesterday was pretty easy,” Baker said. “Today was a little tougher.”
Certainly the course conditions were. Saturday, Huntington played dry and fast. The overnight rains and cool temperatures made Sunday’s round completely different. (The field was allowed to lift, clean and place due to the conditions.)
Baker was all over the place on the front nine – three birdies and three bogeys – but bogeyed the par 5 11th hole and No. 14.
“I was going the wrong way until 15,” he said. “I got down for a birdie on that par 5 to get back to two (shot lead).”
He didn’t exactly waltz in from there – bogeys on 16 and 18 – but it was enough for the win.
Reagan matched his Saturday 72 with another on Sunday, but said there was a key shot that turned things around.
After consecutive bogeys on Nos. 7 and 8, he hit a 6 iron to a foot away from the pin on No. 9.“That got the momentum going,” he said. “I couldn’t get the putter going early, but I got it going after that.”
Reagan was three under on the last 10 holes and did not have a bogey. “I just kind of figured it out,” he said. “Today was a lot better with the ball striking. Yesterday was better with the putter. It hit it a lot better today. More fairways and greens.”
Photo by JOHN JAMES MARSHALL