Kenai Golf Report: Memorial tournament honors those who have passed

  • By Gordon Griffin
  • Tuesday, June 30, 2015 11:45pm
  • Sports

The Memorial Golf Tournament is an important event at the Kenai Golf Course. This is a time when we pause to honor and remember those who have been an important part of our golf course. It was fun to retell old stories this past week. At the Kenai golf course we will always remember the good times as we remember: Shirley Morgan, George Navarre, Donnie Morgan, Butch Anderson, Rita Botelho, Bill Zubeck and most recently Spence DeVito, Jim Legner, and Lee Stalker.

The Memorial Tournament was an exciting event. Max Dye won Low Net with a total score of 138. Rich Edwards won Low Gross with a score of 158. Brian Wodarek took second Low Net with a score of 140. With a net score of 132, Rich Edwards won third Low Net. Keith Stuart won fourth Low Net with a score of 142, beating Gary Early in a cardback. Gary Early then won fifth Low Net. Other notable gross scores included: Greg Harrington with a 159, Doug Jung with a 161 and Ken Liedes with a score of 165. On Saturday, Closest to the Pin on hole No. 5 was won by Jesse Wade with 12 feet, 5 inches. Hole No. 9 was won by Mark Griffin with a shot of 11 feet, 10 inches. Tom Reese won hole No. 10 with a shot of 6 feet, 8 inches. Hole No. 14 was won by Rich Edwards with a great shot of 5 feet, 7 inches. The Gross Sidepot on Saturday was won by Doug Jung with an outstanding score of 74. Skins on Saturday were won by Greg Harrington, Ken Liedes, Eric Hardesty, Mark Griffin and Gary Early, each with one skin. Keith Stuart led the field with two skins. Closest to the Pin on hole No. 5 on Sunday was won by Todd Eskelin with 23 feet, 3 inches. Mark Azzara won Closest to the Pin on hole No. 9 with a most outstanding shot of 63 feet, 11 inches. Hole No. 10 was won by Max Dye with a great shot of 7 feet, 11 inches. Max also won hole No. 14 with 14 feet, 4 inches. Congratulations, Max, on a great tournament. Gross Sidepot on Sunday was won by Rich Edwards with a great score of 76. Congratulations to Rich. It was great to see you back in town, playing at the Kenai Golf Course. On Sunday, Gary Early won one skin. Doug Jung, Rich Edwards and Jesse Wade each had two skins. Congratulations to all who participated in this event. Again, it was so nice to reminisce and to celebrate the lives of those who have passed. Many thanks to Mike Navarre for his generous contribution to this tournament in honor of George Navarre. Mike, we do so appreciate all your contributions to our tournaments throughout the year.

This 4th of July is the annual Red, White and Blue Tournament at the Kenai Golf Course. This popular tournament is a two-person scramble format. All red, white and blue tees will be played forward. Thank you, Rich Edwards, for bringing this format to our course and running the tournament. Sign-up deadline is July 3 at 6 p.m. Entry fee is $75 per person which includes greens fees and lunch. Come and have some fun!

Men’s Night, June 18: The team of Max Dye, Bill Haese and Skip Dove finished first with a good score of minus-3. The team of Greg Harrington, Roy Wells and Jerry Butler and the team of Brian Wodarek, Gary Brumley and Aaron Walters tied for second with a score of minus-2. The team of Gary, Roy and Jerry won second place in a cardback. The fourth place team at minus-1 included Tommy Carver, Matt Hopson, Andrew Carver and Kevin Stalker. Closest to the Pin on hole No. 10 was won by Tommy Carver with an outstanding shot of 42 feet, 8 inches. On hole No. 14, Closest to the Pin was won by Brian Wodarek. Brian also won on hole No. 18 on the second shot with 12 feet, 4 inches. Congratulations on a great Men’s Night.

Men’s Night, June 25: Brace yourselves guys, this was Big Thursday when the buy-in was $25 and all KP’s were worth $5 each. The team of Rich Edwards, Roy Wells and Bill Haese finished first with a score of minus-3. Second place was won by the team of Mark Azzara, Aaron Walters and Skip Dove with a minus-2. The team of Brian Wodarek, Dan Cabrera and Vitto Kleinschmidt, and the team of Max Dye, Matt Hopson and Keith Stasek tied for third with scores of minus-1. Keith Stasek won Closest to the Pin on hole No. 5 with a great shot of 7 feet, 6 inches. Closest to the Pin on the second shot on hole No. 7 was won by Dusty Steinbeck with 11 feet, 7 inches. Brian Wodarek won hole No. 9 with a great shot of 10 feet, 8 inches.

Senior League, June 16: Bill Davis and Pat Bowen tied for Low Gross. Low Net was won by Bill Haese. Longest Putt was won by Pat Bowen with a putt of 10 feet, 6 inches. On this day Dwight Kramer and Noel Widmayer each won one skin. Bill Haese won two skins.

Senior League, June 23: During this competition there were three golfers tied for Low Net: Skip Dove, Dana Bassel and Craig Jung with net scores of 36. Closest to the Pin on hole No. 8 was won by Jesse Wade with a shot of 12 feet, 3 inches. Jerry Norris, Dana Bassel and Skip Dove each won one skin.

Atigun Cup Update: Greg Harrington 41 points, Tommy Carver 29, Doug Jung 26, Bob Sizemore 23, Gilbert Arellano 15, Ken Liedes 9, Gordon Griffin 8, Mark Griffin 7. In the Net Division: Skip Dove 42 points, Jesse Wade 41, Pat Bowen 40, Kirk Hyman 35, Chuck Rupenthal 26, Steve Fickes 21, Eric Hardesty 10, Chuck Rehder 10 and Mike Kebschull 9. The top five in each division will enter the playoff competition at the end of the year. The first place finisher in each division will get a first-round bye. Many thanks to Bob Sizemore and Atigun for their continued and most generous support of these season long competition.

The Junior Mentorship Program: This program is sponsored by the Kenai Golf Association and is played each Thursday at 9:30 a.m. Greens fees are paid by the KGA so that juniors play free. Parents are welcome to walk along or they may pick up their children between 11:30 a.m. and noon. Tee times start at 9:30 a.m., so juniors should be in the clubhouse by 9:15 a.m.

Ladies’ Intermediate Golfer Clinic: The next clinic will be held Monday and Tuesday, 6 to 8 p.m., July 13 and 14. This short game instruction will help you put your ball on the green from five to 125 yards, making you proficient with your wedges. Ask any of the ladies who have already taken this class. It works!!!

Tuesday Night Ladies’ League: The format on June 23 was a three-person scramble and the report is that fun was had by all. It included some ladies new to golf and we are delighted that they joined in. Tee times are at 6 p.m., so come out to the course and join in the fun.

There will be a temporary hold on the Thursday, 12:30 p.m., Ladies League as Debbie will be unavailable, but she has marked that tee time off on the books for any ladies who would like to play then anyway.

July Tournaments

Saturday, July 4: Red, White, & Blue 2 Person Scramble Tourney

Saturday, July 11: Brown Bears Tournament

Sunday, July 12: KGA Tourney

Saturday, July 18: Alliance Tournament

Thurs., Fri., & Sat., July 23, 24, & 26: Walker Cup

Saturday, July 25: Firefighters Tournament

As always, see you on the course!

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