Weather temps dropped for the three days of the tournament, Oct. 7-9, after having beautiful 70s the previous two weeks. Luckily, many of the players who participated were from Michigan’s Wyandotte Hickory Organization (WHO) and were plenty tough enough to handle the chilly starts. The sun came out for all three days and it turned out very nice for the 2022 Indiana Hickory Open at the Hickory Stick Golf Course in Greenwood, Ind.
In the Statesmen Division, the WHO’s Gary Trapani put together solid rounds of 88-82=170 to come out on top, with Max Hollon finishing second at 174.
In the Senior Division, Tim Flynn from Lexington, Ky., finished on top with 85-85 =170 and Dirk Wonnel of Ohio finished in second with 178.
In the Open Division, rookie hickory player, Drew Kirk, of Shelbyville, Ind., played solid golf with his collection of original clubs, firing 83-78 =161 to finish first. David Cotton finished in second at 170 and Lyle Lingenfelter “Best in show” finished a close third at 173.
A special thank you goes out to the WHO and their players for traveling to support our tournament and helping all weekend. Also to Max Hollon, Gary Oldham, and Johnny Horner for their promotion of hickory golf in Indiana.
The late Ed Ronco, a co-founder of the WHO and past president of the SoHG, was honored for his steady support of our tournament with closest-to-the-pin sponsorships along with a wee nip and memorial signage.
It was a lot to pull the tournament together last fall but I had some great help during the tournament (very special thanks to Joe Bodnar from the WHO for jumping in at scoring time to help me get that done efficiently) .
We look forward to the fall of 2023. Pencil us in for the same time of year but we may try a new course. We’d love to find a home for the tournament, maybe south of Indianapolis, but not too far for our great Michigan gentlemen to travel.
Drew Kirk, left, accepts the winner’s trophy from event host Dave Cotton at the 2022 Indiana Hickory Open.
John Horner shows good form at the 2022 Indiana Hickory Open.
Lyle Lingenfelter prepares to putt at the 2022 Indiana Hickory Open.
Max Hollon prepares a drive at the 2022 Indiana Hickory Open.