Left to right: Joe Oczak, Bill Cornell, Dan Alderman, Mike Jahaske and Bob Eder
Bob Edelblut
This year 34 two-man teams competed for the championship. The tournament was played on three courses—SaddleBrooke Ranch, The Preserve Golf Club and MountainView and as one may have expected they showcased themselves admirably. On April 14 play began at SaddleBrooke Ranch. Hectic is a good word to describe the morning but as soon as check-in was completed golfers were on their assigned tees by 7:45 a.m. Today’s game was a two-man net best ball and scoring clearly showed that everybody brought their A game. Thirty-three teams had a net score below par and the lowest score, a net 55, was produced by the team of Dan Alderman and Bill Cornell. Fantastic golf! After the round was completed everyone journeyed to the Mesquite Grill for burgers and beer and, of course, a team putting contest. The Flight Winners were Bruce Fink and Jon Lillis, Matt Kambic and Fred Pilster, Tony Blunt and Lew Townsend and Steve and Jeff Pomeroy.
The Preserve Golf Club hosted Friday’s competition and the game was the best net Stableford score for the team. The field continued its great play as 28 teams had scores below par and, by the way, did I tell you that the wind never stopped blowing? The top gusts reached 40 miles per hour. The team of Mike Taken and Jim Greenlee had the best net score for the day—61. Congratulations, gentlemen, for a great round. Lunch was served on the patio at The Preserve and of course, prizes were awarded to all the day’s winners. The Shoot-Out, a flighted sudden death alternate shot competition where flight winners compete in a single hole playoff for the title, began at 2:00 p.m. It has become a staple of the Member Guest and this year’s winning team was Matt Kambic and Jon Lillis. Great work.
On day three at MountainView the game was a modified Shamble and great scoring continued. Thirty-three teams bested par this Saturday and the team of Bob Maruniak and Jim White were the best at 58. Okay, here comes the really good stuff—Dan Alderman and Bill Cornell are the 2016 Desert Classic Champions with a net total score of 180. Second place belongs to Mike Taken and Jim Greenlee at 185. Other Flight Winners were Dan and Kevin Nordhill, Mick Borm and Rob Anderson and Pete and Brian Schwartz. All we can say one more time is congratulations to all our winners in this year’s Desert Classic.
The closing luncheon was held at the MountainView Ballroom and it was the perfect setting to award prizes and trophies to all winners and to recognize our sponsors and volunteers who made the Member Guest a roaring success. Thank you, Robson Resort Communities, for continuing to be the Featured Corporate Sponsor for this tournament. Lexus of Tucson and Golf Cars of Arizona, many thanks for continuing your participation. Someday someone is going to win! To Mike Jahaske, Shannon Adragna and all golf and banquet staff professionals we say thank you for all you did to make our tournament a wonderful experience. And yes, Shannon, the ladies loved their luncheon. Finally, to Joe Oczak and his army of Men’s Club volunteers who truly handled all the heavy lifting and made our Desert Classic an event to remember—we say thank you.