ALEXANDRIA — It’s about time for former Byrd High golfer Philip Barbaree Jr. to win his first professional golf tournament, and he couldn’t ask for a better place to do so than a couple hours down I-49.
Barbaree, a former LSU standout, is one of about 140 golfers who will be competing in the All Pro Tour’s Coke/Dr. Pepper Open this week in Alexandria at the Links on the Bayou, the site of one of his great triumphs as an amateur. Ten years ago, he won the Louisiana Junior Amateur Championship at the Links by six strokes with a record 54-hole total of 197, which is 19-under-par.
The following year, he earned two more impressive crowns, winning the U.S. Junior Amateur Championship at Colleton River Plantation Club in Bluffton, S.C., and the American Junior Golf Association Rolex Tournament of Champions at the Crosswater Course in Sunriver, Ore.
Barbaree’s hometown of Shreveport is about 125 miles north of Alexandria. The two cities are connected by the Red River and Interstate 49, and Philip feels a warm connection to Alexandria, which he visited often as a youth when his grandparents, Marion and Jane Chaney, lived here. They have since moved to Shreveport.
Since turning pro in 2021, Philip is hunting for that elusive tournament title. The 25-year-old finished 14th on the APT Tour’s money-winning list last year with almost $21,000 in earnings, so it’s not as if he has struggled as a pro.
“There are a lot of good players on this tour and in this event,” he said in a phone interview. “It’s about playing good at the right time. I’m still going at it. I think I’m on the right track. I’ve been playing well. I think good things are up ahead.”
Philip’s best finish as a pro was a second-place tie in the Southwest Kansas Pro-Am last August. He has since added the experience from a couple of Tour qualifying schools, including one that took him across Europe to Italy and Spain. Further confidence has come from his almost two years of working with PGA teaching pro Chad Darby, who works at the David Toms 265 Academy in Shreveport.
“He’s been great for my game and my attitude,” Barbaree said, noting Darby can keep things simple and is always willing to help when asked.
Barbaree’s best friend is fellow Shreveport native and former LSU teammate Sam Burns, whose golf résumé includes five PGA Tour championships and a Ryder Cup victory.
“I talk to him weekly, if not daily,” said Philip. “He’s always encouraging and helpful. Whenever we’re in town at the same time, we’ll play and see how our games match up. It’s great to see what he’s done and how successful he’s been.”
So how do their games match up?
“On any given day,” Barbaree said, “I can beat him and he can beat me.”
The obvious takeaway from that, Philip said, is Burns plays better more consistently.
“Consistency and repeatability, that’s what I need to work on,” said Barbaree.
Alexandria is a good fit to hone those virtues.
“It’s always great coming back to Alexandria, where I spent a lot of time, and I know the course well,” he said.
The APT tournament kicks off today with the Robby Rogenmoser Shootout with 10 two-man teams in scramble and alternate shot competition for seven holes, with one amateur and one pro on each team. Tuesday is the Walker GMC Pro-Am, with four-man teams — three amateurs and one pro on each team. The 54-hole competition amongst the pros runs Wednesday through Saturday.
Manna House of Alexandria is again partnering with the APT to present the tournament, which has a total purse of $130,000 and will raise money for the local soup kitchen.
Barbaree, who has qualified for two PGA Tour events, including the 2018 U.S. Open, nine PGA Tour Canada events and five Korn Ferry Tour events, is itching to return to a town and course he likes as much as Marvel movies and seize a breakthrough victory as a pro.
“At the end of the tournament,” he said, “I want to be sitting with the (championship) trophy.”
Not to mention $20,000 in prize money.