by Claudia Terry – Club Correspondent
Every year the Rossmoor Women’s 18-Hole Golf Club hosts a benefit for the Monument Crisis Center (MCC) and this year the event fell on May 4, a day before Cinco de Mayo. 18ers Laura Kim and MaryJean Kidd headed up the popular event and things ran very smoothly for such a large turnout. Participation was meant to be capped at 144 golfers but after all the golfing foursomes were assembled, the field ended up consisting of 146 men and women who came out to play in the cool temperature and wet conditions. It had rained the previous day so both Creekside and Dollar courses were fairly damp.
For this tournament, the pro shop had converted all the holes on both golf courses to par threes. Flight 1 (Uno Mas Margarita Flight) and Flight 3 (Tres Generaciones Flight) played on Dollar’s 18 holes, while Flight 2 (Dos Equis Flight) played Creekside’s nine holes two times around. The format was two best balls of the foursome.
After golf, a Mexican feast of salad, rice, beans, chicken or beef enchiladas, chips and salsa and a Mexican dessert was provided by Creekside Grill at the Event Center. Bartenders offered wine and beer and soda at the back of the dining area and a collection box was set up for further donations to benefit MCC.
The $38 entry fee covered food and drink, prize money for flight winners, and room rental. Out of each entry fee, $5 was donated to MCC. In the end, $750 was collected from entry fees and a further $1,050 in cash and checks went to the cause. The MCC’s mission is to provide food, education, assistance, and referrals to families and individuals in crisis situations, and promote community awareness of needs and available resources to at-risk and low-income people in Contra Costa County.
The biggest announcement of the day came before the tournament winners were named. Mark Heptig, who was in attendance with Jacque Vigil to tally the scorecards and determine flight winners, announced that he would be stepping down as head pro of the golf shop. While remaining director of golf here at Rossmoor, Heptig was happy to announce that Vigil would be replacing him as head pro. There was an emotional response from the attendees and not many dry eyes amongst the women in attendance.
Vigil thanked the crowd for their faith in her and then announced the winners. The closest-to-the-hole contests on Creekside hole 7 were won by Beverley Friend at 4 feet and 3 inches, and Robin Bollinger at 8 feet and 2 inches. Closest-to-the-hole winners on Dollar hole 16 were Judy Ruble at 54 inches from the hole, and Ron Kojima at 43 inches from the hole. All four were awarded $15 each for their achievement.
Uno Mas Margarita Flight winners were John Weyand, James Brown, Mark Linden, Joyce Mccann, coming in with a net of 96, or 12 under par. The Dos Equis Flight winners were Elliott Tertes, Tanc Agius, George Bodnar, Dan Poulin, with a net of 101, or 7 under par. The Tres Generaciones Flight winners were Gayl Thorn, Larry Jensen, Vicky Lucas, Joanne Thorne, with a net 102, 6 under par. First place winners were awarded $22 apiece.
The Women’s 18ers are grateful to Kim and Kidd for producing such a successful event.
Photo from Left to Right: 2nd Flight winners Elliott Tertes, Tanc Agius, George Bodnar, Dan Poulin; 3rd Flight Winners Gayl Thorn, Larry Jensen, Vicky Lucas, Joanne Thorne; 1st Flight winners John Weyand, James Brown, Mark Linden, Joyce Mccann