THE Putt Buddies triumphed in the 13th Wollak Golf Classic on Sunday at the Kingfisher Golf Links.
The team consisted of Tom Linden, Dominic Kieffer, Nick Kelley and Ed Manibusan.
Among 15 teams and 60 participants, the Putt Buddies came out on top with a net score of 73.
In 2nd place were Tha Fireballas — Gage Salyards, Adam Walsh, John Favreaux and Dan Wollak —with a score of 73.33 followed by the sCrATch playa’z Tina Goodwin, Elly Lee, Angie Mister and Kynga Park with a score of 73.67.
The participation ribbon for last place went to the Stiff Shafts — Charlie Peters, Greg Borja, Salam Younis and Elias Rangamar — who received free range vouchers from Marianas Trekking so they can sharpen up their game for next year’s tournament.
Dan Wollak, the tournament host and organizer, said their format is different compared to most standard tournaments.
“The players’ handicaps dictated what tee box they hit from and how many free mulligans they got during the round,” Wollak said.
“There were also moving tees — teams had to move back tee boxes after playing a hole under par and moving forward a tee box when playing a ball over par. The high handicap players also had designated ‘bocce shots’ where they could throw the ball rather than hit it with a golf club.”
Wollak said the “whole point of the rules is to…even the playing field and give the higher handicap golfers an ability to still contribute to the team.”
The front nine, he added, was played individually with the top three scores out of four counting toward the team score and the worst score getting dropped.
The back nine was a team scramble, Wollak said.
For the third straight year, he said all proceeds went to support Saipan Cares for Animals.
“This year’s WGC was able to raise $1,019 for Saipan Cares,” he added. “This would not have been possible without our sponsors. Our major sponsors for the tournament were Marpac who for the third straight year donated all sorts of drinks and merchandise for our awards ceremony. Top Shelf Wine and Spirits donated a bunch of wine, cigars, and golf balls for the raffle. The last major sponsor was Skydive Saipan who donated a free skydive or WACO plane ride as the grand prize for our raffle. Our other sponsors who provided prizes for our raffle included McDonald’s, Shell Highway, IT&E, Marianas Trekking, and Kingfisher Golf Course. I really appreciate their support for the WGC. They are the true stars!”
Participants of the 13th Wollak Golf Classic pose for a photo Sunday at the Kingfisher Golf Links.
The Putt Buddies: Nick Kelley, Tom Linden, Ed Manibusan, and Dominic Kieffer pose for a photo during the awards ceremony of the 13th Wollak Golf Classic at the Kingfisher Golf Links.
