Columnist Peter Benton: South Shore pro takes top honors

Peter Benton

Wednesday, July 5, 2000 | 9:49 a.m.

Peter Benton's golf column appears Wednesday.

South Shore head professional Dale Akridge fired a 68-68 --136 at the par-72, 6,909-yard Rhodes Ranch Country Club to win last week's PGA Southwest Section, Las Vegas Chapter $10,000 added Smith's Championship.

Ken Whitaker (Boulder City) fired a 71-65 -- 136 to tie Akridge, but lost in the sudden-death playoff and had to settle for second place.

Eaglecrest's Mike Starks and Wes Weston of Shadow Creek tied for third with 139s.

Sharing fifth spot at 141 were Mike Gehner (Highland Falls), Joe Roth (Canyon Gate) and Brian Hawthorne (TPC Summerlin).

In the Senior Division, the venerable Bill Farkas, a lifetime member of the Section, won rather handily with rounds of 68-74 -- 142.

Unattached John Long placed second at 149 and in third spot with 154 was Tom Jamison (Paiute).

With the Chapter's schedule now at the halfway stage for the season, Weston leads the points race with 258. He is followed by Starks with 254.

Rounding out the top five are Akridge with 204 points, Whitaker with 198, Brian Anderson (Spanish Trail) with 172 and Jeff Jones (Paiute) with 168.

Farkas leads the Senior Division race with 93 points, followed by Long with 84, Jerry Roberts (Spanish Trail) with 53,unattached Mike Harper with 50 and Joe LePire Jr. with 37.