J. EDMUND BARNES

PHOTO: Riverside golfer Brett Bergeron practices chipping at Riverlands Country Club betweensummer tourneys.(Staff photo by J. Edmund Barnes) LAPLACE – For some area teen-agers, the beginning of summer means a road trip. To the beach, to Disney World, to the Grand Canyon, to anywhere. But for Riverside Academy’s Brett Bergeron, a road trip means doing more of what he is best at – playing golf. Since the beginning of summer, Brett has traveled across the South competing in golf tournaments. During the first week of summer he was in Memphis, Tenn. playing at the Bubba Conlee Junior National Tournament. The second week he was in Myrtle Beach, S.C., playing in the American Junior Golf Association’s Junior Classic. Two weeks ago he was in Alexandria playing in the Louisiana Junior Amateur and this past week he was playing in the Florida Junior Invitational in Orlando, Fla. This week marks the first week of the summer when he has not been on the road playing golf. Instead, he is playing golf back home. Bergeron has done pretty well on the road. His first tournament was his weakest, with him placing in the middle of the pack in Tennessee. But since then he has done no worse than fourth. At Myrtle Beach, Bergeron shot a 70-69-71 over three days to place fourth in the AJGA Ping-Myrtle Beach Junior Classic. In Alexandria, where he was the returning champion, he placed third by shooting 75-72-76. In Florida, Bergeron had a three day total of 222, which earned him second place honors. “I didn’t finish as well as I wanted to,” said Bergeron of the Orlando tournament. He said he was tied for the lead at the 16th hole, but bogeyed the two remaining holes to finish two shots out of the lead. After his week off the road, Bergeron has two more road trips planned. Next week he travels to Chattanooga, Tenn. to compete in the Western Junior Amateur. The week after that he plays in the Hooters Tour Tournament in New Orleans. “I’ve been on the road most of the time,” said Bergeron. “I’ve got this week off to rest and get ready for next week. You get tired of sleeping in hotel beds.” Bergeron, who is taking a wait-and-see approach towards playing professional golf, now has a much better idea about what the life of a pro is like. “I can see how tough it has to be for the players on the buy.com tour who are struggling to make money. I can relate to how tough it must be,” he said. The major difference between Bergeron and the touring professional? “I’m having fun. They have to work to make money,” he said. There have been some highlights from the road trip. “The Louisiana Junior Amateur, second round, 130 yard par 3. I hit a seven iron off the tee to within three inches of the cup. It was right in line with the hole. A couple more rotations and it would have gone in,” he said.