Last weekend I volunteered about 45 hours over three days at an annual event that is very special to me, the Tapemark Charity Pro-Am. This was the 40th anniversary of the tournament, which is held at Southview Country Club in West St. Paul. I’ve been there for the past ten years and have been responsible for the web site, online scoring, AV presentations and a big chunk of the photography. It’s always a very stressful weekend (especially Saturday night when we determine the cut), but it’s also very rewarding to know I’ve helped raise nearly $7 million for charities dedicated to serving people with developmental and learning disabilities.
I also love seeing this group of people – tournament officials and volunteers, great Minnesota (and regional) golf professionals, amateur players and the wonderful staff of Southview. The camaraderie and tradition in the scoring tent over the three days is unmatched – hot dog runs, White Castle (which I actually skipped this year), Cody vs. code, weather forecasts, live Twins scoring and lots of others make it a weekend like no other.
The pro golf this year on the final day was exciting – the Friday and Saturday leader, Tyler Obermueller, suffered from a bad hangover (premature celebration), Don Berry made his usual charge to the lead (but fell short after a rare bogey on six) and former Gopher Ben Meyers (pictured above) shot an incredible 64 (with an almost unfair bogey on his final hole, the par four ninth). But it was the golfer from Oxbow, Ben Freeman, who carded six birdies on his way to a 65 for the two-stroke win over Berry and Meyers. Not bad for your first pro tournament!
I usually don’t follow the team competition too closely, but team 14 had a career day on Friday, firing an amazing 30-under-par in the net best two ball format. The pro and the “A” am both shot 68s, while the “B” and “C” players both shot in the low 80s. They came back to Earth the second day, but still tied for the overall team championship on Sunday.
Mark your calendars now: the 41st Annual Tapemark will be held June 8-10, 2012.
