March 4, 2021
Sun City West, Ariz.
Tournament Director Ken Holtz reports:
Having fun and staying safe – 84 players, sporting 100-year-old clubs with wooden shafts and attired in knickers, argyle socks, woolen caps and vintage outfits, found their way to Sun City West, Ariz., and the Grandview & Pebblebrook Golf Courses, Feb. 27-28, for the 9th annual Arizona Desert Hickory Tournament.
Players came from across the USA and Canada, along with Arizona communities of Sun City West, Tatum Ranch, Buckeye, Pebblecreek, El Mirage, Gilbert, Scottsdale, Surprise, Payson, Sedona and Goodyear. The tournament supported a field for Championship, Senior, New To Hickory, Super Senior and Ladies.
The outstanding weather complemented the excellent course conditions, even with a windy Sunday with gusts of 35 mph+. Our northern visitors enjoyed their get-away from winter to our beautiful community. Players and guests enjoyed the golf, hospitality, weather, prizes and fun, while following covid environment protocols for safety.
The scoring provided some spectacular performances. In the Championship Division, our very own Bill “Ernie” Ernst of Sun City West, Ariz. was our overall Tournament Champion, shooting a two-day performance of 75 / 80, and Jason Reynolds of Griswold, Iowa, took second, posting 77 / 80.
Our Senior division winner was Kevin Cawley from Omaha, Neb., shooting 81 on the first day and 80 on day two. Ed Horvat of Sun City West, was the Senior leader on day one, shooting 79 but came in second in Seniors with an 83 on the second day.
The New To Hickory Division winner was Keith “Woody” Woods, from El Mirage, Ariz., with 96 / 87. The New To Hickory Runner Up was Mike Pedersen of Phoenix, Ariz., with 94 / 93; and our Super Senior Division was won by Tom Tracy of Star, Idaho, with 79 / 78, Runner Up in Super Senior was Chuck McCollum of Rocklin, Calif., shooting 85 / 80 winning in a scorecard playoff over both John Mabry and Lyle Rowland, who finished third and fourth respectively. Note: Chuck McCollum has competed in all nine of the Arizona Desert Hickory Events since 2013.
The Ladies Division produced some spectacular performances. Our winner was Rylee Stovall of Litchfield Park, Aria., shooting 79/89. The Runner Up was Susan Tracy of Star, Idaho, with 88 / 84.
Click here to see a scoreboard of the winners and photos.
Click here to see the final scoreboard for everyone.
In the Best Dressed category, Fran Zinger of Sherwood Park, Alberta, Can., took the Ladies honors with a beautiful vintage outfit. Her equal on the men’s side was Richard McAllister of Payson, Ariz., who sported a distinguished kilt for both days of the event. I hope the wind did not cause too many issues on day two from the neighbors watching the event.
Special thanks to the tournament committee; the Sun City West Golf Operational staff; Todd Patty, greens and grounds superintendent; and the support of all the players. A personal thank you also goes to our Tournament Volunteers. With all the covid procedures and new steps we needed to follow, the tournament came off without a hitch. Thank you!
Dates for next year’s 2022 10th Anniversary tournament is slated to be Saturday/Sunday the last weekend in February. For information about the tournament, contact Ken Holtz k.holtz2430@gmail.com.
