By Dave Schroder, Golf Committee Chairman
Our 27th Annual AZTroopers Memorial Golf Classic was held on May 5th, 2018 at The McCormick Ranch Golf Club located at 7505 McCormick Parkway in Scottsdale, AZ. We partnered with Gateway Golf Group again this year and they did an outstanding job as usual.
I want to personally thank our AZTroopers Golf Committee members; Tim Kvochick, Pat Eagan, Greg Girard, Ken Nelson, Tim, Dave Dubner, and Denise Wiseman as well as the volunteers who helped with the event. Our golf committee is dedicated to improving our annual event each year and we will be trying different things from year to year as we want our event to stay innovative. After all itās all about our supporters/participants having a good time, as well as raising funds for our charity involvement.
This year we had the putting contest as players made the turn between hole # 9 and #10, then the final putt off took place during the luncheon/award ceremony. We also kept in place our ability to accept credit card payments for raffle tickets, mulligan and the Super-Ticket during check on the day of our event. The āSuper-Ticketā gives participants the option of making one single payment rather than digging in their pocket for each individual event they came upon during their round of golf. This year the Super-Ticket included two mulligans, 10 raffle tickets, Beat the Pro, putting contest, $10,000 cash for a Hole-in-One, Skirt Hole (men could hit from one Ladies tee box of their choice, Women hit zero off one tee box of their choice), card for a free Humble Pie pizza, 15% off at La Sala Tequila Cantina and The Living Room wine cafe & lounge, and the golf ball launcher. The ball launcher shot a golf ball onto the green from the tee box ā approximately 350 yards. Super Tickets sold for $60 during check in or $50 if purchased on line prior to our event. For an additional $40 participants received raffle tickets as long as their arm span.
All the winning tickets for raffle prizes were drawn while the tournament was being played. The winning numbers were posted near the podium with lists on each table when the participants arrived for the awards luncheon. People with one or more of the winning tickets could then come up and claim their raffle prize(s) at their leisure. This year we had over 100 raffle prizes which included two official spring training baseballs autographed by Willie Mays with letters of authenticity. We also had the privilege of having a Wind-fall Willie look-a-alike participate in our event this year.
The date of our 2019 event will be on Saturday, May 4th, 2019, so mark your calendars now as we expect the tournament to fill quickly. For the next two years our event will be at the Legacy Golf Resort located at 6808 S. 32nd Street, Phoenix, AZ 85042. When available, there will be a link to register and pay on our website so be sure to visit www.aztroopers.org, starting in November or December of this year and keep watch in your email inbox for news and updates on the event.
As in all prior years we awarded team prizes for first, second and third in each of three flights ā A (US Open), B (British Open), and C (PGA Championship). Flight āAā = lowest team handicap, then āBā, then āCā. Teams are placed in each flight according to their team handicap. In the event of a team taking first place in their flight and returning with the same team the following year, that team will be moved up to the next higher flight.
This yearās winning teams were:
A Flight___________________________________________________
First Place: Elle Carlson, Britney Biltz, Collin Sprous, and Zack Johnson ā Score-62 ā (Not Present)
Second Place: Mark Remsey, Tom Glynn, Rich Benson, and James Snarrenberg ā Score-62
Third Place: Adam Olceski, Paul Rivera, Jon Garcia, and Octavio Sanchez ā Score-65
*1st & 2nd ā Scorecard Playoff
B Flight________________________________________________________
First Place: A. Peterson, Tom Elias, Kelly Sullivan, and Mark Brown ā Score-57
Second Place: Shane Travis, Dane Sifuentes, Ivan Torralva, and Alfredo Ibarra ā Score-59
Third Place: Manuel Celaya, Mike Disney, Floyd Craig, and Trent Hancock ā Score-59
*2nd & 3rd ā Scorecard Playoff
C Flight______________________________________________________________
First Place: Dave Schroder, Tim Kvochick, Ron Reddic, and Jeff Sharp ā Score-62
Second Place: Chris Hughes, Leonard Rheame, David Paul, and Howard Hughes ā Score-63
Third Place: John Mason, Tom Curtis, and Joe White ā Score-67
*Each team member of the First, Second and Third Place winning teams received graduating sized (1st place being the largest) etched crystal tower.
Specialty hole winners for this yearās event were:
Closest to the Pin – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – Stephen Schwartz
Longest Drive (Women) – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – Elle Carlson (Not Present)
Longest Drive (Men) – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – A. Peterson
Golf Ball Launcher – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – Jon Garcia
Putting Contest – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – Paul Curtis
Beat the Pro – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – Andy Reed
SPONSORS
Law Offices of Dale Norris ā Long Drive Sponsor
California Casualty ā Putting Contest Sponsor
ALC Transportation ā Beat the Pro Sponsor
Brent-Wyatt West
Phoenix Law Enforcement Association
Rally Point Alpha
Pepsi Beverage Co.
Frito-Lay
Arizona Diamondbacks
Arizona Cardinals
Symbol Arts
Body Armor Super Hydration Drink
Talking Stick Resort
Right Toyota, Right Honda
Texas Roadhouse
Chiliās
Blackstone Country Club
Jacksonās Carwash
Costco
