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Rod Smart (February 4, 2013) |
Rainfall Jan. 26 may have stalled the 20th annual Clark Seybert Memorial Wildcat Open golf tournament from teeing off on schedule, but it finally got under way Saturday to the greatest success the event has seen in recent memory.
“It was a very successful tournament,” said event coordinator Phil Finnell, “but because we got rained out the week before, there was some skepticism as to how it would turn out. We actually had a rise in the number of players, so yeah, I’d say it was the best showing we’ve had in the last five or six years.
“Brawley golf wants to send a big thank you to the community of Brawley and to the entire Imperial Valley for their continued support,” he said.
Winners in the gross division were Rod Smart and John Courier, while Tyler Colace and Darren Smith took second. First in the net division were Rick Bradford and Brett Mamer, followed by the team of Joe Iten and Grant Elmore. Tim Allen and Jim Duggins took third.
The event was renamed in 2007, in honor of the late Clark Seybert, a Brawley fixture and lifelong golf aficionado.
He is survived by his wife, Leighanne Seybert, who is only minimally involved with the tournament that bears her husband’s name but plays a much bigger role in the Jim Skipper Honorary Gridiron Classic, the proceeds of which go toward the Brawley Union High football team.
Funds raised by the Wildcat Open, on the other hand, go toward Brawley golf, but 5 percent of the net proceeds are siphoned off for the Clark Seybert BUHS Athletic Scholarship.
In order to qualify for this grant, the student-athlete must be an “outstanding citizen” who is interested in furthering his or her education, whether through a state university or trade school.
Leighanne recalled that when her husband and his friend, Tom Veysey, started the tournament back in 1993, it was something of a radical notion.
“Believe it or not, it was the first charity golf tournament in the Imperial Valley,” she said. “It sounds so strange, doesn’t it? (Back then, high school) golf was a sport with a very small budget, but with the advent of Tiger Woods, we saw more people going out to the courses who didn’t necessarily grow up in a golfing household. What (the Wildcat Open) did was make it so anyone could go out for the team.
“I so appreciate the support of the community and from Mr. Finnell, for all he’s done,” she added. “I’m also very proud and humbled to continue my husband’s legacy because if there’s one thing Clark loved to do, it was helping kids.”
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