BROOKHAVEN — One girl played in the all boys varsity field at Brookhaven Country Club Wednesday afternoon and she held her own. Aiden Bessonette shot a 42 in nine holes to lead Enterprise with Jerod Nations shooting 52 and William Madison shooting a 53. 

The Yellow Jackets do not currently have enough golfers to field the four scores needed for a team score. Bessonette actually beat out 17 golfers in the field of 31. A junior, academically a senior, she has played golf since she was old enough to swing a little set of clubs. Her mom said they all played golf including her mom, sisters and dad. 

Golf is a family event. They play it on their family vacations and are extremely competitive. Bessonette said the competition is strongest with her sister as they try to outdrive each other. Family competition translates to high school golf. 

“It makes me play better,” Bessonette said. “I just like being out there on the course. This is my home course but I started out at Swan Lake in Lawrence County. That is where I really started learning the game.” 

She turned 18 this year and will not be eligible to play golf next year which is why she has to graduate as a junior. It just required summer classes and spending hours studying. After graduation, she is not sure what will come next. “Hopefully I will be playing golf and I want to go to college,” Bessonette said. 

She does not have any goals this year but believes her game can improve by playing better and relaxing. Growth in her short game such as improving putting and chipping would help her, she said. 

Out of all her time playing golf one memory sticks out and it is quite fowl. 

“I hit a goose,” Bessonette said. 

She laughed with her mom. 

“It was in the middle of the fairway. My family didn’t hit it and I had no choice,” she said. “It was here on hole No. 16. It was spring, like March or April. I grabbed my driver and they were about 50 yards away. I hit it in the back and it ran away.” 

A flock of a dozen canada geese make the country club their resident home throughout the year. Bessonette said they can be quite a nuisance and can get in the way of shots. 

High hopes for Cobras

Wesson finished third with a team score of 178 in the match. Loyd Star shot 157 to take first, Franklin shot 167 for second place, Brookhaven shot 181 for fourth, West Lincoln shot 195 to finish in fifth place. It was West Lincoln’s second time on the course and Wesson’s third match of the year. 

Loyd Star’s Brody Thibodeaux took the low medalist honors with a 37, two over par, while Kolby Cox finished second from Franklin County with 38. Harlan Brewer shot a 39 for Wesson and tied with Loyd Star’s Casen Easterling and Riley Case for third place. 

“We started out good. We were on a roll there and had a bad finish. We played better than we did last match and right now we are going for improvement,” Brewer said. 

He is a senior at Wesson and in his seventh year of playing golf. He started in sixth grade after one of his dad’s friends introduced the game to them. Brewer picked up a club on a summer vacation and has enjoyed playing the game of golf ever since. It is a game where he can always find something to improve.

“It is one of the hardest sports. Playing good is one of the best feelings you can get but when you play bad it is awful. The emotional differences that come with it,” Brewer said. “I shot a 37 last round and nearly had a 36 today. I just want to make state and place. I want to place in state and win medalist in either district or state.” 

Brewer said to make state he will need consistency in his game and get practices in to keep on working. A senior, he said the years of experience makes this year feel the same but watching the younger guys play is fun to him. A couple of those guys were ones he recruited to join the golf team. 

Brewer’s older brother signed to play at Co-Lin and he signed to play at Co-Lin upon graduation. He knows the competition in college will be harder and he wants to make sure he keeps working to improve his game. 

At Co-Lin, he plans to start a path towards earning a degree in business administration. 

“I would like to open up my own business. I just want to be in control of something and watch it grow,” Brewer said. 

Looking back at the last seven years one memory painfully stands out. Two years ago, Wesson placed second in state. They were in first on the first day but the second day they came up short. He said it was still fun to be that close to winning a title. 

“I want to have that feeling again. I want to be at the top with the team and everyone,” Brewer said. “We have gotten better every tournament so far. If we keep trying to get better we have a chance to place.”