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Danny Jones

Chitimacha Louisiana Open kicks off

The Chitimacha Louisiana Open’s Million Dollar Hole-In-One charity golf tournament begins Sunday at 3:30 p.m. at Le Triomphe Golf and Country Club in Broussard.
The golf tournament began in 1992, and it is Louisiana’s oldest.
“Since its inception, (the Chitimacha Louisiana Open) has donated over $4.65 million to local charities,” said April Wyatt, vice-chairman of the Chitimacha Tribal Council.
“The Louisiana Open prides itself not only on being a golf tournament, but what we do for charity and what we do for the non-profits and youth organizations of our seven-parish area,” said Danny Jones, the director of the tournament.
“The big winner isn’t the champion on Sunday,” Jones continued. “It’s the charities that we support and Lafayette as a whole.”
With 144 golfers and 144 accompanying caddies competing, Jones is expecting that visitors will contribute $3 billion to the local economy.
“(The golfers and caddies) are all staying in a hotel,” Jones said. “They’re eating somewhere…they’re staying at a private house. That person’s probably providing them food so they’re going out and buying more food that week. Or they’re driving a rental car and they’re stopping to get gas. There are so many components of the economic impact that this tournament has,” Jones said.
“We’ve had challenges in August when the flood hit us here,” said Jack Darden, interim general manager of Cypress Bayou Casino and Hotel. “We always find a way as a tribe to be resilient, to come back and try to support a community that supports us.”
The Million Dollar Hole-In-One is one of several golfing events taking place throughout the week. The tournament will conclude on Sunday, March 26, with the presentation of the champion.
Participants will attempt to make a hole-in-one at Hole #8 at La Triomphe for a shot at $1 million. There is a $100 entrance fee on the day of the event.
A charity component, the Celebrity Hole-In-One includes qualifying local celebrities such as David Cellecod, president of Lafayette General Health; Gerald Gruenig from news team KLFY TV; Rob Perillo, chief meteorologist at KATC; Joel Robideaux, mayor and president of Lafayette Consolidated Government and David Schultz, program director of 103.7 FM The Game. Cypress Bayou Casino and Hotel will donate $5,000 to a charity of the winner’s choice.
A pro-am party will take place on Monday from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. at The Pavilion. Tickets are available for $60 and can be bought from Danny Jones.
In addition, there will be a charity blackjack tournament on March 20 at 7 p.m. at the pre-function room at Cypress Bayou. The entrance fee is $20 and winnings will be evenly divided between the winner and charity.
Charities include the Animal Rescue Foundation of Louisiana, Autism Foundation Group, Boys & Girls Club of Acadiana, the Children’s Museum of Acadiana, Hospice of Acadiana and more.

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