Bob Edelblut
This year it did not take four full months to finish this tournament—only two and one half months from start to finish. Special Events Chairman David Cohen has issued a proclamation thanking every player in the field for the sacrifices they made to get all matches completed as quickly as possible. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
Play began on June 30 with a field of 46 players positioned in six flights. The basic format for the event did not change; an individual’s tee selection and course handicap determined his flight and within each flight there were two brackets (Winners and Consolation). One new twist was devised by the tournament director for this year’s event. The Championship Finalists would be the two flight winners who best dominated their opponents. In other words, the one who required the fewest number of holes played to win their matches.
To say that the competition was intense from beginning to end would be an understatement. It was fabulous! Paul Zapf beat Fred Schneider 2 and 1 to win Flight 1; Jim Hardwick beat Bob Stiens 4 and 3 to win Flight 2; Jim Donat beat Phil Gray 3 and 2 to win Flight 3; Dennie Wilbour beat Peter Campbell 4 and 2 to win Flight 4; Dick Helms beat Alan Doan 8 and 6 to win Flight 5 and Dan Hoshino beat Jerry Westra 3 and 2 to win Flight 6. Consolation Bracket winners were Eric Vonderheid, Tom Fitzgerald, Len Raab, Manny Lemos, Greg Cahill and Colin Barnard. Congratulations to all one more time.
Are you ready yet for the good stuff? The individual match scores recorded by Dick Helms and Jim Hardwick clearly show that they were the top of the field. Jim played a total of 43 holes (14.33 per match) in his matches finishing second behind Dick who played just 41 in his (13.67 per match). Yes, they finished the same way overall as Dick Helms continued his stellar play and bested Jim by the score of 4 and 2 in the finals. Congratulations, Dick, for a hard fought and well deserved championship!