Most of Tuesday's opening matches were close, with 19 out of 34 decided in the final two holes and 11 of them not determined until the final hole.
But "Team Acadiana" came through at the end in the great majority of those matches, giving the local delegation a solid 24-10 lead on the first day of the 16th annual Acadiana Cup international golf event.
The local team won six and halved four of the 11 matches decided on the final green, and won six of eight decided on the next-to-last hole at TPC Louisiana in Tuesday's best-ball competition against the "Team International" squad from France, Belgium and Canada.
"That was the whole difference, those last two holes," said Buddy Guillory, chairman of the Acadiana Cup organizing committee and Team Acadiana captain. "If those matches go the other way, it's a whole lot closer going into Thursday."
The international golf and cultural exchange continues Thursday with 34 two-person scramble matches at Gray Plantation in Lake Charles. The competition will wrap up Friday with 68 individual matches slated for The Wetlands, when possession of the Acadiana Cup for the coming year will be determined.
The local team's lead wasn't nearly that large for most of Tuesday's 18 holes, with each team in front in a nearly equal number of matches at the halfway point. In the Cup competition, each player uses his or her handicap index, meaning that better teams had to give a varying number of strokes to teams with higher handicaps depending on the handicap difference between the teams.
"It was nerve-racking," Guillory said. "The handicap system certainly levels the playing field. We had a lot of good teams that were having to play from behind."
Many of them did just that. The six local teams winning their best-ball matches on the final hole were Gary Hood and Tony Tramel (1 up), Ron Gaubert and Rusty Wilson (1 up), Cheryl Neu and Mike Ledet (2 up), Rachel Montiville and Gerald Bertinot (2 up), Wayne Shullaw and Thomas Hutton (1 up) and Jack Arceneaux and Francis DeBlanc (2 up).
Winning on the 17th hole for the locals were Curtis LeBlanc and Richael Degeytaire, Bob Hammack and Mike Welborn, Russell Montiville and Allen Jones, Bob Hardy and Ken Rabalais (all 2 & 1), Robert Vonderheide and Tony Gibbs, and Gaynal Alleman and Steven Pulkowski (both 3 & 1).
All the close matches didn't go the locals' way. Ronald Martin, captain of the Canadian contingent, and Normand Daigle took a 2-and-1 win over Laura LeBlanc and Guy LaFleur of Team Acadiana, Lilianne Comeaux and Patrick Russo of the Poitiers, France, group posted a 2-and-1 win over Team Acadiana's Janice Ehni and Luis Mora, and Leandre Desjardins and Eloi Arsenault of Canada took a final-hole 2-up win over Bruce Jordan and James Orth of Team Acadiana.
But most of the last matches to finish ended up going up in red numbers, symbolizing the red-shirted local group.
"In match play, a lot of things can happen right at the end," Guillory said. "We were very fortunate that a lot of those went our way."
Acadiana Cup
First-Round Results
Tuesday at TPC Louisiana, New Orleans
Best-Ball Matches
Team Acadiana 24, Team International 10
Kansas Hernandez-Ben Berthelot (Team Acadiana) def. Jean-Marie Pelletier-Marc Belanger (Team International) 6 & 4; Danny Duhon-Ron Newman (Team Acadiana) def. Martin Boudreau-Guy Thibault (Team International) 3 & 2; Marion Burley-Kent Girouard (Team Acadiana) def. Maurice Saulnier-Ghislain Chiasson (Team International) 7 & 6; Gary Hood-Tony Tramel (Team Acadiana) def. Paul-Andre Turcotte-Andre Marbach (Team International) 1 up; Chris Kohlenberg-Al Fandrich (Team Acadiana) def. Louis Lapierre-Jean-Marc Vezina (Team International) 7 & 6;
Roy Laurent-Francis Jaumouille (Team International) def. Jim McCartney-Phil Smith (Team Acadiana) 3 & 2; Phil Hyatt-Gary Smith (Team Acadiana) halved with Ghislaine Luce-Jacquelin Auger (Team International); Jim Johnson-Chris Counce (Team Acadiana) def. Victoria Gionet-Roberte Romain (Team International) 5 & 4; Byron Alleman-Elaine Ledet (Team Acadiana) def. Paul Gionet-Cedric Gionet (Team International) 3 & 2; Leandre Desjardins-Eloi Arsenault (Team International) def. Bruce Jordan-James Orth (Team Acadiana) 2 up;
Carroll Robicheaux-Robert Venable (Team Acadiana) def. Doris Desjardins-Jean-Maurice Doublet (Team International) 4 & 3; Keith Simon-Tom Ehni (Team Acadiana) def. Robert Frenette-Roger Arsenault (Team International) 3 & 2; Ron Gaubert-Rusty Wilson (Team Acadiana) def. Diane Belanger-Renee Vanlede (Team International) 1 up; Everett Daigle-Francis Arceneaux (Team Acadiana) halved with Joan Laierre-Normand Gionet (Team International); Curtis LeBlanc-Richael Degeytaire (Team Acadiana) def. Louise Bourgeois-Maryse Lafontaine (Team International) 2 & 1;
Bob Hammack-Mike Welborn (Team Acadiana) def. Yvette St-Onge-Marcelle Henn (Team International) 2 & 1; Chantal Parent-Dominique Pecasaing (Team International) def. Ray Trahan-Trudy Hutton (Team Acadiana) 7 & 5; Normand Daigle-Ronald Martin (Team International) def. Laura LeBlanc-Guy LaFleur (Team Acadiana) 2 & 1; Russell Montiville-Allen Jones (Team Acadiana) def. Bertrand Poudrier-Leo LeBlanc (Team International) 2 & 1; Bob Hardy-Ken Rabalais (Team Acadiana) def. Endre Potor-Jean Louise Rousseau (Team International) 2 & 1;
Robert Vonderheide-Tony Gibbs (Team Acadiana) def. Ernest Thibodeau-Claude Essiembre (Team International) 3 & 1; Cheryl Neu-Mike Ledet (Team Acadiana) def. Gerald LeBlanc-Suzanne Gaudet (Team International) 2 up; Rachel Montiville-Gerald Bertinot (Team Acadiana) def. Remi Gobeil-Agathe Ellers (Team International) 2 up; A. J. Roeling-Leo Levesque (Team Acadiana) halved with Francis LeBlanc-Max Dion (Team International); Johnny Johnson-Jay Neu (Team Acadiana) def. Emile Gionet-Etienne Vanlede (Team International) 6 & 5;
Claude Blaquiere-Max Dusart (Team International) def. Mark McDuffie-Craig Durio (Team Acadiana) 5 & 3; Gaynal Alleman-Steven Pulkowski (Team Acadiana) def. Anne Potor-Frederic Iovleff (Team International) 3 & 1; Wayne Shullaw-Thomas Hutton (Team Acadiana) def. Roger Gagnon-Eric Landry (Team International) 1 up; Bernard Maillet-Michel Hailon (Team International) def. Ron Robicheaux-Steve Wilt (Team Acadiana) 4 & 3; Jack Arceneaux-Francis DeBlanc (Team Acadiana) def. Janice LeBlanc Robichaux-Monique Plever (Team International) 2 up;
Gilles Desloges-Guy Mure (Team International) def. Gerald Comeaux-Camille Girouard (Team Acadiana) 5 & 4; Charles Fox-Tony Brown (Team Acadiana) halved with Clement Vanavermaet-Martine Vanavermaet (Team International); Lilianne Comeau-Patrick Russo (Team International) def. Janice Ehni-Luis Mora (Team Acadiana) 2 & 1; Tonya Gibbs-Andrew Dwyer (Team Acadiana) def. Lucille Chiasson-Mireille Dusart (Team International) 5 & 4.