The 47th Little River Men’s Club Abalone Golf Tournament finished Sunday afternoon September 20th. The tournament is a two-day event with teams playing back-to-back 18 holes on Saturday and Sunday with a practice round option on Friday. This year there were 13 four-person teams. Each player played their own ball and the best two scores on each hole was the team score. Handicaps were in play so if team member scored a par on a hole, that they had a handicap stroke, they earned a birdie for the team. Participants come from various locations in northern California. Many local golfers and many from Ukiah and Lake County who have been coming for years. The furthest to travel to the tournament would be Joe Campbell flying in from Knoxville Tennessee. Joe used to live in Lake County and play in the Abalone but has lived in Knoxville the past nine years and still plays the Abalone every year. The event also includes breakfast donuts and rolls and coffee with lunch available on Saturday and Sunday. Thanks to the Women’s Club for organizing and serving the lunch. There is also, on Saturday, at the end of golf, hors d’ oeuvres and drinks served at Abalone Hall.
The two-day first place winner this year, shooting a team 241, forty-one under par, was team Glen Beck, Mike McQeen, Chuck Saiz and Dan Garcia. Dewey Turner asked Glen Beck what he attributed the win to. “If we hadn’t played so well on Saturday, we probably wouldn’t have won.” The team shot an amazing team 112, thirty under par on Saturday, 17 strokes better than Sunday. Dewey also asked Glen how many times he had been on the winning Abalone team? “This is my third time.”, Glen answered. Second place was won by team Bill Gibney, Robert Mainini, Ken Baumgartner and Mike Reynolds. The second-place team scored 245, thirty-nine under par. Bill Gibney is the only Abalone player who has played in all 47 tournaments. Congratulations on your 47th Bill. Third place was won by Jerry Pendleton, Johm Dougery, Bobby Burdick and John Flinn. This team scored a two day 249, thirty-five under par. Fourth and final place was taken by Chuck Allegrini, Garry Van Tassel, Robert Rhead and David Herrick scoring a team 253, thirty-one under par.
Closest to the pin on Saturday on hole two, hole eleven on the back nine, was Dan Garcia at one foot three inches. On hole seven Dan was closest again at fifteen feet, eleven inches. On number nine Grant Pardini was closest with 0 feet from the hole. In other word a hole in one. Wow! Nice shot Grant. On hole sixteen Greg Pickel won nineteen feet, nine inches close. Low gross, a 71, was shot by Dewey Turner on Saturday, with Mike McQeen shooting a low net 65. On Sunday closest to the pin on hole 2/11 was Dewey Turner at eight feet two inches. On hole seven Larry England landed it closest at one foot, five inches. Close to an ace Larry. On hole nine it was Dewey Turner again stopping it seven feet nine inches from the hole. On hole seventeen Tennessee Joe Campbell was closest at seventeen feet. Sunday low gross, a seventy-five, was shot by Dewey Turner. Dewey’s name is showing up frequently in this event. Mike Reynolds shot the lowest net on Sunday a sixty-six. As always, it was a fun event and thank you Terry Stratton and his ground keeping crew for gussying up the course. More Abalone information will be included in next weeks column.