Golfers raise money for high school program

The Bigfork High School golf team is in

its second year of being a self-funded sport, and although last

year a generous anonymous donor picked up the bill for the team,

this year the Viking and Valkyrie golfers will need to come up with

$9,783.

A barbecue and Calcutta golf tournament

held Saturday at Eagle Bend Golf Course took care of a big chunk of

that need. Head coach Steve Hullett said the event raised $6,730

for the team.

“I was real happy with the support that

we got,” Hullett said.

The players and coaches will need to

come up with the remaining $3,053 and turn it into the school’s

district office no later than one month prior to the start of golf

practice in mid-March.

“We’ll get the rest of it raised,”

Hullett said. “I’m not too worried about that.”

As for Saturday’s fundraiser, he

estimates about 75 people attended the barbecue, which preceded the

tournament, at Harbor Village Pavilion. During the barbecue a

raffle and a silent auction were held. The raffle included several

rounds of golf at various golf courses. The silent auction items,

which were all donated by community members, included two

watercolor prints painted by Mark Ogle that were donated by Lon

Hinkle. One of the paintings depicts hole No. 3 as it was on the

original course, which is now No. 6 on the current layout. The

other painting is a recreation of hold No. 16 at Big Mountain Golf

Course.

In addition to the prints, a basket of

candles was donated to the silent auction by Lorne and Karol

Fonteyne, and Donna Lawson donated a bottle of top-shelf tequila

from The Jug Tree. Also, Barrett and Lanny McDonald donated a keg

of beer from Tamarack Brewing Company for the festivities.

“We are very thankful to everyone who

donated items to the event and who came out and joined us at the

barbecue and on the golf course. We really appreciate the support,”

Hullett said.

After lunch, 24 golfers were divided by

random draw into teams of two. The teams were then split into two

groups that set out to play their way through the Lake Nine course.

After three holes were completed, the team with the highest score

was eliminated from the tournament on each of the following three

holes. After six holes were completed, the two groups merged into

one and eliminations continued with one team being cut after each

round.

After 11 holes, Bill Simmons and Lauren

McClurg were named the victors, and the recipients of a $475 prize.

Charlie Mason and Todd Emslie took second place and earned $275.

Hinkle and Susan Currie placed third and took home $150.

“It was a good day, and I think that

everyone had fun and we’ll do it again next year,” Hullett said.

“Brad (Nelson) and I had a lot of fun doing it, and I think that

all the people that participated had a lot of fun.”

With this being the first year of the

fundraiser, Hullett said that he does plan to make a few

adjustments in the future, including the addition of a ladies

division.

“I think it was a success and hopefully

next year it will be an even bigger success,” Hullett said.