GUNKEL, GUNKEL, HUGHES & GAYLEAN WIN ELKS

As it is tradition in Elk City in most tournaments, any tie is played off with sticks and balls, on the grass... a sudden death playoff!

No matter who is in a playoff... in Elk City there is always a gallery!

This year, three flights had to settle paying places anywhere from 1st to 3rd place in various sudden death playoffs, the latest of which started, as the sun was setting down in the west, this was the playoff that would settle 1st and 2nd place in the "C" flight as two teams had tied with 61.

Previously, the "A" flight had been settled without a playoff as Dustin Gunkel, Paul Gunkel, former member Alfred Gaylean and Clint Highes, took care of business with an eighteen under 53 that won first place overall by three shots.

As far as In these playoffs, a team starts the first hole with a complete team, if the tie persists, each team drops one player of their choice to start the second hole. If the tie persists, the procedure is repeated until only one player is representing the team. Even though these playoffs sometimes take a long time, this procedure helps settle them quicker.

The first and shortest playoff was to settle 2nd and 3rd in the "A" Flight, where four septuagenarian (Grady Lantz, Randall Wright, Gaylan Edwards & Rick Rex) golfers - in fact, closer to their 80's than 70's -, beat a bunch of "kids" in their 30's and 40's (Jorey Price, Ricky Nagle, David Dyson and Brian) in the first playoff hole with a birdie:

This year, the longest playoff was actually the one that started the latest... it went 3 holes (10, 11, 18) with the winning team, Greg Dodson Construction (Greg Dodson, Brandon Thomas, Jason Fritx and Kim Jordan) scoring a birdie 4 on hole #18.

Whether it is because of the inevitable playoffs every year, and a variety of other reasons, including the format and chance to donate to a local club that does a number of good deeds for children around the USA, the Elks Tournament is a local favorite.

A special thanks to Ann Cowan, who worked tirelessly to ensure that all went well and that all had fun, from the minute it started, to the lunch and snack served to the players afterwards, to the music to be played, to the prizes, and of course, to phone calls to all teams and sponsors!

Most everyone stayed late, to either see a playoff or to watch the scoreboard as the results were being posted, and,to everyone's enjoyment, it all went well. The tournament ended up with 6 more teams than last year (28) and many more sponsors as well, so everyone, from winning players to Elks Lodge, got well rewarded. 

For complete results, please see below:
 
"A" Flight:
53 - Dustin Gunkel, Paul Gunkel, Clint Hughes, Thumper Gaylean
56 (*) - Randall Wright, Gaylan Edwards, Grady Lantz, Rick Rex
56 - Ricky Nagle, David Dyson, Jorey Price, Brian
(*) Won Playoff





"B" Flight:
57 - James Ainsworth, Billy Jennings, Jason Wood, Ricky Marr
58 - Craig Martin, Rusty Wilson, Aaron Kauk, Bret matlock
59 (*) - Conley Ernst, Steve Welch, Ron Shephard, Zack Nulik
59 - Gary Scott, Jeannette Scott, Mick Kendall, Lilly Kendall
(*) Won Playoff




"C" Flight:
61 (*) - Greg Dodson, Brandon Thomas, Jason Fritz, Kim Jordan
61 - Rick Womack, Michael Womack, Robert Lakey, Kelly Smith
62 - Ann Cowan, Michael Cowan, Joe Wynn, Jerry Eden
(*) Won Playoff

"D" Flight:
67 - Scott Brown, R. Hilger, Justin Flaming, Bobby Wechsler
68 - Brad Gilbert, Vera Gilbert, Blake Brewer, Amber Brewer
70 - Jackie Carnes, Lynn Bailey, Chuck Cook, B.J. Barnett





SEE YOU NEXT YEAR!