The Rock Creek Golf Course hosted two big golf tournaments, each major fundraiser events, this past weekend and there was a strong turnout for both. Each also featured some impressive play, vibrant community spirit and lots of fun.
First, on Friday, there was the Rock Creek Chamber of Commerce Foundation Tournament, with proceeds benefiting the Sapulpa Chamber of Commerce, providing a significant chunk of its yearly budget. There were actually two sessions, one in the morning and one in the afternoon, with prizes given out after each one, and Janet Birnie, President of the Sapulpa Chamber of Commerce, was very pleased with the turnout, which consisted of 20 four-person teams in the morning and 19 in the afternoon.
“This tournament’s been going on at least 30 years, probably more than that, but we don’t remember,” Birnie said. “It is really very important, it’s our most important fundraiser that we have. We rely on that to keep the doors open and allow the Chamber to function. And what’s great, the community’s supported it so well and they have for years and years. It’s been a lot of fun. First United Bank has donated a bunch of food and they’re out there in the heat flipping burgers. We’ve just had really great sponsorship and great volunteers. And the course has been great this year, too. It’s been renovated, it looks awesome.”
On the course, the morning session was won by Team Puckett, consisting of Brett Puckett, Billy Brown, Anthony Clark and Chance Roth. They won the scramble-style tournament with a 53, while Creek County (Newt Stephens, Glen Musser, Jared Whitehouse and Aaron Jarvis) finished second with a 54 and the City of Sapulpa (Mike Russell, Mike Reed, James Vickrey and Josh Wood) was third with a 55.
“We had long drives, I think we hit the ball long ways,” Brett Puckett said. “We had four or five eagles, we made a lot of long putts, made a couple of 30-foot putts, so we had a really good round. The course was in beautiful shape.”
For the players, yes, part of it is to have fun and play golf, but they are also very cognizant of what they’re supporting with their entry fee.
“We’re just happy to support the Chamber and be a part of the community and enjoy the great day out,” Puckett said.
For each session, additional prizes were also handed out for the longest drive, closest to the pin on select holes, and select opportunities for holes in one.
In the afternoon session, Carletti Dentistry 2, consisting of Jennifer Snow, Jon Young, Alex Shibley and Brody Moses won the proceedings by four strokes with a 53. Moses also won the individual longest drive award. Carletti Dentistry 1 (Phil Kennedy, Mark Bradley, Craig Adams, Brian Bingman) was runner-up with a 57 and Bennett Steel (Bobby Campbell, Crandall Holmes, Daniel Pitcock, Brian Williams) placed third with a 58.
“We had two eagles and two pars and we all played Sapulpa High School golf, so we grew up on this golf course, so we kind of know it pretty good,” Snow said. “Carletti Dentistry sponsored us and we wanted to represent. Support the community, support the town, we love doing that. It’s a fun time, a great time.”
Steve Tucker Memorial supports Sapulpa High School
The second tournament of the weekend, on Saturday, the 16th Annual Steve Tucker Memorial Tournament, was a fundraiser for the Sapulpa High School golf program and that, too, drew an impressive turnout.
There were 26 teams of four people each competing, and in addition to the same prizes awarded, the Hole in One Booster Club also raised money with a silent auction for some impressive items as well as a 50/50 raffle. They also sold some Sapulpa golf gear during the tournament to raise funds.
“It’s our big fundraiser of the year that we do to help support both the boys and girls junior high and high school golf teams,” said Sapulpa High School golf coach Andy Tuttle. “We pay for balls, we pay for all their meals, lunches, overnight stays when we go on trips and stuff like that, so this is pretty important. We have 104 golfers signed up, it’s about the second-biggest tournament they host out here, behind the Chamber. We kind of try to do them back-to-back, that way they get it out of the way. We always try to do it the same time as them.”
Played in honor of Tuttle’s predecessor, longtime Sapulpa golf coach Steve Tucker, the tournament has been a regular occurrence ever since Tucker passed away due to cancer.
“I’ve been here 20 years and I played here at Sapulpa and he was the coach when I was here,” Tuttle said of the Steve Tucker Memorial. “I’ve always known him my whole life, growing up here, and his family and so forth. And when he passed away, I started hosting a tournament in his honor.”
On the course, a lot of the four-person scramble teams put up impressive scores, with Team Genzer pulling out the victory with a 52. Consisting of Frank Genzer, Derrick Walters, Kreg Callery and Shane Pack, the group endured a mid-round rainstorm but had fun and was happy to support the high school golf program.
“We had a great time, it was a fun day,” said Genzer, whose wife Charity has a daughter that plays on the Sapulpa JV squad. “The rainstorm rolled in, it was kind of refreshing. We had a good time. We got a bunch of teams out here to raise some money. It’s all for a good cause. We’re all born and raised here, so we’re doing everything that we can do to raise some money for the program. It was a really good turnout. There were a lot of good teams and they really showed up this year.”
Team Frazier placed a close second with a 53, while Team Perez and Team Zuniga posted a 54 to tie for third and Team Green shot a 55.
