By Duncan Nixon
Correspondent
On Aug. 19, the weather was good, and the Lake Monticello course was in great shape. Accordingly, a new charity golf tournament was held at the Lake Monticello golf course under top notch conditions. There were 14 four person teams competing. The beneficiary of the tournament was the Joe Pro Life Camps, a charity that was established by Joe Bock, a fairly new resident to the area, and a former NFL pro football player. The Life Camps, which are located in several cities, provide free football and cheer-leading instruction to youths. NFL alumni provide motivational speeches at the camps.
The format for the tournament was captain’s choice which is standard for charity events. In this format, all teammates tee off on each hole and the four players all take their second shots from the location of the best drive of the four. The next shot is again taken from the location of the best second shot, and so forth, as needed. Teams that have four strong players can record low scores in this format, as on most holes the best of one, two or three shots (on pars 3, 4 and 5) will be on the green in regulation and four players will then putt for birdie. In addition, as is often the case, each player was able to take two mulligans. A mulligan is an extra shot to replace a poorly hit shot.
The low score for the tournament was a strong 57. Two teams of top Lake Monticello senior men tied for first place. Team Bergstresser which consisted of Karl Bergstresser, Jim Darlington, Steve Goodwin and Bill Scanlon was one, and the team that named itself The Lake Boys was the other. That team consisted of John Alluisi, Colt Sinclair, Tom Mundell and Dan Atkinson. In most charity tournaments, the winner when two or more teams tie is decided by comparing scorecards, going backward from the eighteenth hole, until one team has a lower score than the other(s).
This tournament had a rather novel way of resolving a tie. There was a sudden death putting contest with one representative of each team, or a stand-in, designated to participate in the putting contest. The teams could select one of their members or they could select Joe Bock or Tournament Director Mike Mundell to represent them. The Lake Boys elected to be represented in the contest by Joe Bock, while Team Bergstresser elected to be represented by Mike Mundell. With most of the tournament players watching, the putting contest was decided on the third hole with Joe Bock winning on behalf of The Lake Boys.
It is anticipated that this tournament will be an annual event. Some of the additional charity tournaments on the schedule include, the Phil Browning Memorial tournament on Sept. 24 the Rivanna Lions Club tournament on Oct. 14 and the American Legion Post 2003 on Oct.1, which will consist of a men’s and a women’s flight.
