The 18ers annual Invitational Tournament shared in the excitement of the Summer Olympics on June 5 and 6. With 96 participants dressed in Olympic fanfare that supported their favorite country or athlete, the Rossmoor event started on June 5 with games, cocktails and delicious chicken and beef tacos from Creekside from 4:00-6:00 pm. Despite the warm weather, spirits were high and the athletes had great fun.
For the games on Wednesday evening, there was one overall winner, Joan Upshaw who received $100. Each of the other games had a prize of $70, which was split amongst the winners if there was a tie.
Club Throw (Who could throw a golf club the furthest.): Teri Johnson and Jun Chao tied.
Low Putts: Darlene Martel.
Chips: Dorothy Keen and Rebecca Palomo tied.
Sticky Golf (Golfers had to chip onto a sticky mat.): Sandra McGonigle, Yolanda Peacock and Pat McSween tied.
On Thursday, June 6, the gold medal round was an 18 hole event based on two best net balls of each foursome. There were four flights, the Nancy Lopez Flight, Julie Inkster Flight, Annika Sorenstam Flight and Nelly Korda Flight of which each team had the opportunity to win gold receiving $60 each, silver winning $50 each or bronze winning $40 each. The winners were:
Nancy Lopez Flight: Gold was awarded to Darlene Martel, Kim Selby, Claudia Terry and Karla Witte. Silver went to Nancy Levey, Marta Parker, Buffy Ross and Mirna Wong. Bronze went to Barbara Competello, Naomi Laccrino, Nancy Seibert and Donna Wagner.
Julie Inkster Flight: Gold was awarded to Kathy Andrews, Judith Coleman Cohen, Alice Hansen and Junko Nagatani. Silver went to Yeonboon Choi, Marsha Jennings, Sandy Lee and Okey Ro. Bronze went to Judy Leckonby, Fay McDonald, Robin Moreau and Maude Scott.
Annika Sorenstam Flight: Gold was awarded to Betty Cuniberti, Margo Dunton, Teri Johnson and Linda Pritchett. Silver went to Laura Kim, Pat McSween, Dianne Morin, and Margot Somerville. Bronze went to Karen Mar, Rebecca Palomo, Donna Sherman and Daisy Soo Hoo.
Nelly Korda Flight: Gold was awarded to Susan Chipman, Cindy Miller, Teddi Swanson and Joan Upshaw. Silver went to Mindi Canner, Alleen Hodgkin, Jill Martin-Smith and Charlotte Moon. Bonze went to Joanne Brennan, Kay Doyle, Ann Fuller and Genie Tyler.
The winners were announced by Mark Heptig, Director of Golf / PGA Professional and Jacque Vigil, Head Golf Professional who as always did a wonderful job coordinating the logistics of the event along with their entire team in the Pro Shop.
Many thanks go to the gold medal production of the event by Invitational Event Chair Denise Pratt and Committee Members Myra Belfiore, MaryAnn Higgins, Gail Ramirez, Toni Snyder and Margo Dutton. Other volunteers included Linda Ingalls, Mary Jean Kidd, Laura Kim, Bari Mantel, Robin Moreau, Esta Podberesky, Del Poirier, Lee Shaffer, Garnet Shelly and Peggy Yamada. The event ran smoothly because of other volunteers including Ambassadors Rich Fuller and RMGC, bartenders Jon Shaffer and Chuck Moran along with catering by Creekside Grill.