It’s a grrrrrreat opportunity for golfers who want to supportthe Brookhaven Animal Rescue League. Grab your golf clubs andrecruit three friends to enter a team in BARL’s Golfing for theAnimals Tournament. The 11thannual event will be held Friday, April30, at the Brookhaven Country Club.

The 4-person scramble includes men and women golfers of all ages.Anyone interested in playing who does not have a team will beplaced on a team.

Lunch will be served at 11 a.m., with tournament action starting at1 p.m. A $70 per player entry fee covers the cost of lunch, greenfees, cart rental and drinks on the course. Mulligans are two for$5.

Prizes will be awarded for first, second and third place teams.Also, there will be prizes for the longest drive by a man and awoman, plus closest to the pin by a man and a woman on No.10.

Golfers should pre-register by contacting Tournament ChairpersonShirley Johnson at 601-833-7281 or 601-757-1671. They also can sendin a check with team information to: Shirley Johnson, 614 Hwy. 51N. Brookhaven, MS 39601.

“Everyone has spring fever right now, so playing in a golftournament is an excellent way to get outside, while alsosupporting BARL, ” said BARL president Lu Becker. “We’ve orderedperfect weather for the day, so all golfers, with or without ateam, need to come out and have a good time.”

In addition to the actual tournament, BARL raises money throughthis event by seeking $100 hole sponsorships from businesses andindividuals. Anyone interested in being a sponsor should call BARLat 601-757-4367.

Just a few of the sponsors supporting BARL this year are Bank ofFranklin, Bude Texaco, First Bank, King’s Daughters Medical Center,McGehee, McGehee & Torrey, Rusty’s Family Restaurant andSouthern Foot Care.

The BARL is a nonprofit, no-kill, volunteer-based animal welfaregroup. For 29 years BARL has arranged shelter and basic veterinaryservices for abandoned and orphaned animals until they can beplaced into homes.

BARL also seeks to reduce the number of unwanted animals througheducation regarding the value of spaying and neutering. It alsooffers the Community Outreach Spay/Neuter Program for families inneed.

BARL is a 501 (c) (3) organization and donations are taxdeductible. Donations may be mailed to BARL, P.O. Box 3477,Brookhaven, MS 39603.

For information on adopting or volunteering call BARL at601-757-4367 or e-mail info@barl.net.

The Mississippi Gulf Coast will be saturated with golfinglegends next weekend. Based in Biloxi, the Mississippi Gulf ResortClassic is one of three new tournaments on the Champions Tour for2010. It has the most recognizable and accomplished in the gamewith 16 World Golf Hall of Fame members competing.

The Gulf Resort Classic will be held at the Fallen Oak course, fromApril 28-May 2. It is uniquely funded by a dozen title sponsors whosee this event as an ideal way to showcase the Mississippi GulfCoast.

Among the champions expected to compete are Ben Crenshaw, PaulAzinger, Hale Irwin, Tom Kite, Bernhard Langer, Nick Price, LeeTrevino, Bob Tway, Jerry Pate, Lanny Wadkins, Hal Sutton, ScottSimpson, Ian Woosman and Craig Stadler.

The Champions Tour was conceived in 1980 as the Senior PGA Tour. Itstarted slowly but has steadily grown to 26 official Charles SchwabCup events in 2010. It offers over $51.5 million in official prizemoney, with the average tournament purse of $1.98 million.

The Champions Tour also generates plenty of money for charity. TheCoast event will benefit the Habitat for Humanity.

Fallen Oak, located in Saucier, is the exclusive home course forthe guests of Beau Rivage Resort and Casino. The Tom Fazio-designedcourse, which was opened in 2006, has earned 12 national honors andis ranked the second best gaming resort course in thecountry.

Tournament tickets are on sale through Ticketmaster online for $15each and they can be used any day of the tournament. Children age15 and under will be admitted free of charge when accompanied by aticketed adult. Order tickets online now atwww.msgulfresortclassic.com or call the tournament office at (228)896-6365.

Track Champions: Congratulations to the Brookhaven Lady Panthers onwinning their district track championship. They ran away from teamslike McComb, West Jones and Forest Hill. Next stop is a regionalmeet at Picayune, April 30.

Write to sports editor Tom Goetz, c/o The DAILY LEADER, P.O. BOX551, Brookhaven, MS 39602 or e-mail sports@dailyleader.com