Midway through the final round of the Baton Rouge Open golf tournament there was a log jam of players within two shots of the lead, but a familiar name separated himself from the pack.
Greg Berthelot shot 2-under par on the back nine to pull ahead finishing off his round with a birdie at 18. It was enough to give Berthelot a two-day total of 4-under 140 at BREC’s Santa Maria Golf Course.
First-round leader Alston Manne shot 73, and finished in a three-way tie for second with Jeremy Gautreaux and Jason Humphries at 142.
For Berthelot, who qualified for last year’s U.S. Amateur, the win was his fourth at the Baton Rouge Open. It was the latest in a string of amateur wins for Berthelot, a former Catholic High golfer who played collegiately for Centenary.
“I played good,” said Berthelot, who has won seven LGA tournaments including three state amateurs. “It wasn’t the best, but I got it around. I got up and down when I needed to, and I made putts when I needed to.”
Two of those putts came on consecutive holes on the back nine, when back-to-back birdies at 12 and 13 put him in the driver’s seat. Both holes were doglegs to the left, and Berthelot sliced off huge chunks of yardage with long drives over the corner each time.
He rolled in a 12-foot birdie at the 12th and followed that with another after knocking a wedge to three feet on 13.
Gautreaux and Berthelot have battled multiple times in the final round of recent tournaments. They played out of the same cart on Sunday and were tied at 2-under through 11 holes. Gautreaux dropped three shots behind after a bogey at 13, and was only able to add a birdie at 16 in the closing holes.
“I was close,” Gautreaux said. “I caught a flyer on 13 and made bogey. Greg made birdie and that was pretty much it. He birdied 12 and 13 and picked up three shots right there.”
Manne, a 2024 Catholic High graduate, began his round at 3-under. A missed green at the second led to a bogey, but he followed that with birdies at three and four.
He came back to earth at the par-5 seventh despite reaching the rough just right of the green in two shots. He needed two chip shots to reach the green before two-putting for a bogey. He also made bogey at eight after reaching the back of the green with his approach shot.
“Today’s round was an uphill struggle,” Manne said. “I made a lot of bogeys, but overall this weekend I played pretty solid.”
Manne, who recently transferred from ULM to Nicholls State where he will be a sophomore, shot 69 on Saturday. He punctuated that round with an eagle at the par-5 18th. He had a chance for another finishing eagle on Sunday, but his chip shot ran 10 feet past.
Manne sank the putt to close with a birdie.
“The goal today was just to stay in it,” Manne said. “I kept telling myself there’s not more I can do than control what’s in front of me. If the Lord wills it that today is my day then today is my day.”
Final results from the Baton Rouge Open at Santa Maria Golf Course
Greg Berthelot 71 69 – 140
Jeremy Gautreaux 71 71 – 142
Jason Humphries 70 72 – 142
Alston Manne 69 73 – 142
Ross Davis 76 68 – 144
Austin Watts 70 76 – 146
Chad Braud 75 72 – 147
Brayden Seguin 74 73 – 147
Parker Johnson 74 73 – 147
Mark Beinvenu 70 77 – 147
Ray Poche 74 74 – 148
Will Maciasz 78 71 – 149
Brandon Garcia 73 76 – 149
Kenny Barousse 78 72 – 150
Nicholas Cristea 76 74 – 150
Robbie White 76 74 – 150