By ROBERT L. LEE

LAPLACE – He’s done it again. It’s not golf season for school, it wasn’t a tournament for prizes or prestige, but 18-year-old Brett Bergeron sunk another record on the golf course, the Riverlands Country Club course record. Bergeron hit a 30 on the front nine, then followed with a 33 on the back nine to break the course record by one stroke.

Bergeron and Riverlands’ Greg Shirron have held the prior record for the par-72 course at 64 for the past few years.

During a usual friendly golf game at Riverlands on July 4, Bergeron began the day shooting six under par after his first six holes, then decided raise the bar and lower the course record.

Playing in a foursome with friends Michael Schoen Sr. and Jr., the latter a prior Riverside Academy teammate and future Southeastern University teammate, and friend Don Savoie Jr., the day on the course was not set to be anything spectacular.

However, after the first six holes he continued his pace up to hitting par on the last two holes.

“The way I started, I had a really good feeling that if I kept playing solid I could be close to breaking the record,” said Bergeron.

However, resurfacing was the memory of the past two rounds he had shot 30 on the front holes, then went on to shot a 36 on the back nine.

When he finished the front nine five under par this time around, he felt a renewed confidence and but also told himself he needed to pick his game up a little to have a chance at the record.

Bergeron parred the 17th hole then needed to par the final, hardest 18th hole.

He lined up for a 10-foot birdie to put him one stroke under, but barely missed.

The last stroke put him at an even par, which, when the strokes were tallied, equalled the new low course record.

Soon after his final stroke, word of his performance spread fast.

“I was playing a couple of groups ahead of him,” said his father David Bergeron.

“I had an idea of how he was doing but I didn’t know about the record until we tallied the scores at the end. Then word got around quick and people were congratulating him.”

“It seemed like everybody was asking how I did,” he said.

Bergeron mentioned Schoen Jr. was also having one of his top games, following closely under par. However, his performance on the course was again overshadowed.

“He said he felt like Phil Mickelson, coming out second all the time. But it was a fun day. Hopefully we can both continue like this at Southeastern,” he added.

He said he didn’t know of any plans to honor his achievement, only that he heard the pro shop might hang his scorecard for the day on the wall.

“I’m just honored it was on the fourth of July. It was a real special day,” he said.

Setting a new course record also served to boost Bergeron’s confidence at an important stage, he is preparing to compete in the U.S. Amateur Qualifier July 29. Bergeron and numerous golfers will shoot 36 holes at the Lake Charles Country Club course.

“This is a great time for it since he’s got the qualifying coming up,” said his father.

“He’s got to be on his A game.”

“They’ll probably take the top two and I’ll probably have to shoot in the 60s,” said Bergeron.

“This is a big one coming up. I’m going to be confident. It’s going to be tough and I can’t really get after it, but just let it happen and hope I get a couple breaks and a couple putts.