South Alabama’s Marc-Etienne Bussieres of Canada finished 10th as an amateur in last weekend’s Montreal Open on the Canadian Pro Tour.
He fired an opening-round 66 and a final-round 65 on the way to a 13-under 271. “It was kind of a great surprise and very encouraging,” Bussieres said in a telephone interview this week as he drove back to Mobile from Canada. “That’s one of the strongest tournaments on the (Canadian) tour.” If not for his amateur status, Bussieres would have collected a check for $10,855. Instead, he’ll take the experience and apply it to his senior season at South Alabama. He’ll also have the experience of a solid summer of play behind him. He won both the Quebec Amateur stroke-play and match-play tournaments. “From last year, I’ve been through quite a lot,” he said, “I had a pretty good season (a year ago) and I’ve gotten better this summer, so I’m looking forward to playing my senior year.” At USA, Bussieres recorded a 72.59 scoring average last season and earned a spot in the NCAA Southeast Regional. LITE SCRATCH TOUR WINDING DOWN: This week’s Lite Scratch Tour event at Azalea City is the next-to-last tournament of the regular season. The final event, the Lite Scratch Tour Championship, is set Sept. 26-27 at Lakewood Golf Club.
Robert Nelson leads the regular division, and Robert Parmar leads the senior division.