Picture-perfect skies all day made for a beautiful backdrop at the 2017 Jesuit Golf Classic, presented by IBERIABANK. A total of 220 Blue Jays and friends took to the links to support Jesuit and play on the challenging Jack Nicklaus-designed, par-72 championship course at English Turn Golf and Country Club on Friday, April 7.

Enjoying a day out at English Turn Golf and Country Club were members of the Class of 1991 – (from left) Gary Radelat, Ryan LeBlanc, Scott Smith, and Bradley Hamilton.

Class Cup

The coveted Class Cup, which goes to the foursome made up of alumni from the same class with the lowest overall score, is awarded to the Class of 1992. The winning foursome includes William Elliott, Wiggins Edrington, Scott Lagarde, and Roland Waguespack.

Morning Round

The winning foursomes were determined using a Jesuit-inspired (and English Turn-approved) innovative handicap scoring system that divided golfers into three flights based on how they finished. The morning round, consisting of more than 115 golfers, was won by Tim Finn, Brandon Darden, and George Kellet, who posted a score of 60.

The foursome of Chris Casey ’92, Keith Jenkins ’99, Ron Keller ’00, and Joe Barnett ’94 took second place, recording a score of 62. Rajan Pandit, Julien Chouest, Derek Morel, and Matt Bonila of the Class of 2002 finished third, with a 66.

Afternoon Round

The afternoon round was won by Mike Pizzitola ’02, Sean Hardy ’02, Ryan Peters ’06, and Philip Kelly ’04, who shot a 53.

Second place in the afternoon went to the foursome of Chris Capitelli ’97, Tim Cragin, Tom Slattery ’05, and Charlie Newell, who tallied a 66. Third place went Paul Perez ’79, Blake Perez ’05, Russell Perez ’09, and Zach Rosenberg, who shot a 69.

Phillip Kelly hit a hole in one on Hole #8

Other Awards

The longest drive contest (Hole #14) was won by Kris Martinez ’02 (morning) and James Griffin ’99 (afternoon). Bryan Brown ’88 (morning) and Philip Kelly ’04 (afternoon) — who hit a hole in one — won the closest to the hole competition (Hole #8).

Special Thanks

Jesuit thanks 2017 Golf Classic chairman J.P. Escudier ’95 and his committee: Beth Bares, Anne Barnes, Quinn Vorhaben ’96,  Bill Hare ’90, Mike Rodrigue ’71, Cheri Turk-Adler, John Faherty ’53, Br. Billy Dardis, S.J. ’58, D.J. Galiano ’07, Mat Grau ’68, Krista Roeling, and Tom Bagwill.

Jesuit would also like to thank two members of the Class of 2006 — Jeff Ganucheau and Ricky Becnel — for frying fish and shrimp for the lunch crowd. Bill Poynot, the father of Joe Poynot ’09, generously donated and prepared jambalaya for afternoon golfers.

Jesuit is grateful for the help of Anne Barnes and her dedicated group of volunteers, including Jeanne Dufour, Jeannie Favret, Leah Grau, Diane Gruezke, Kathy Weidner, Ellen Frischhertz, Lacey Glorioso, Lisa Kuebel, Stacey LaCour, Cindy Wooderson, Julie Calhoun, Allison Talley, and Denise and Bern LaCour.

And finally, Jesuit offers its gratitude to the following organizations for their generous donations: Acme Oyster House, Banner Chevrolet, Borgne, Chateau Cafe, Crescent Crown Distributing, Drago’s Seafood, English Turn Country Club, Festivious Gourmet Catering, Galatoire’s, Harrah’s Gulf Coast (Biloxi), Homewood Suites by Hilton French Quarter, IBERIABANK, Koz’s Restaurant, L’Auberge Casino Hotel, Louisiana Garment, Mr. Mudbug, Pelican Ice, and Sports Beat Pub & Cafe.