SUBMITTED By JEANNIE ARKANSAS
CHEROKEE BOYS CLUB
One hundred and thirty-eight golfers took to the links on Thursday, Aug. 25 and Friday, Aug. 26 at Sequoyah National Golf Club to participate in the Sixth Annual Sequoyah Classic, a two-day fundraising golf tournament. Proceeds from the tournament are divided by three non-profit programs including the Cherokee Youth Center, the Bill Taylor Scholarship Endowment and the Cherokee Children’s Home.
The tournament participants were divided into six flights after the tournament based on their scores with first, second and third place winners in each flight.
Sixth Flight: 1st Place Darrell Lambert and Gary Johnson
2nd Place Matt Hollifield and Jason Taylor
3rd Place Philip Ellington and Adam Wachacha
Fifth Flight: 1st Place Jack Gloyne and Tommy Lambert
2nd Place Willard McCoy and Truman Taylor
3rd Place Tanner Morrison and John Taylor
Fourth Flight: 1st Place Ben Groenewold and Dondi Crowe
2nd Place Cameron Younce and Steven Weeks
3rd Place Christian Owle and Danny Owle
Third Flight: 1st Place Carr Crowe and Sam Crowe
2nd Place Tim Jessee and David Sluder
3rd Place Chuck Owle and Stephen Watty
Second Flight: 1st Place Jesse Welch and Mickey Welch
2nd Place John Edwards and Gabe Edwards
3rd Place Ralph Ketcher and Rod Fourkiller
First Flight: 1st Place T. T. Taylor and Michael Stamper
2nd Place Jim Owle and Boyd Owle
3rd Place Jack Davis and Dennis Junaluska
The winners of the First Flight were determined by a playoff round after the top two teams tied with a score of 124 for a two-day total.
Prizes were also awarded to 10 golfers for Closest to the Pin competition: Ed Thompson, Scott Massey, Gabe Edwards, Roy Greene, Christian Owle, Keith Banks, Jason Littlejohn, Mike Strand, T.T. Taylor, and Wendell Howard.
The tournament had over 36 sponsors including four Sequoyah level sponsors ($5,000 and over): Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, Harrah’s Casino, Nike and e.gads (Electric Gizmos and Display Systems). There were three Junaluska Sponsorships ($2,500 and over): Wells Fargo, Tribal Gaming Commission and an anonymous donor.
There were 18 Chief Leon Jones Sponsorships ($1,000 and over): Konami Gaming, VSR Industries, IGT, Lowry Oil Company, First Citizens Bank, Owle Construction, Deutsche Bank, Cuningham Group, Bally, WMS, Tri-State Pumps and Controls, Cherokee Enterprises, Cherokee Electrical, JCM Global, DigiDeal, Gary Platt Manufacturing, CIC Technologies, Inc. and Greenville Turf (John Deere).
Bill Taylor Sponsorships ($500 and over) included: Southern Health Partners, Brooks Engineering, Key Bank, GTECH G2, Cherokee Home Center, Padgett and Freeman Architects, AE, Granny’s Kitchen, Great Smoky Mountain Gifts, Steve Metcalf and Aaron T. Smith.
Financial reports are not complete at this time, however, over $54,000 has been pledged from tournament sponsors and over $6,000 was raised during the tournament.
Sequoyah Classic Golf Tournament staff related they would like to extend their appreciation to Nike, Landscapes Unlimited, Harrah’s, Calloway Golf and Sequoyah National Golf Club for assistance with prizes.
“Thanks also to CBC Printing for their assistance with signs and banners. Drink and snack donations were made by Harrah’s, Pepsi, Sysco Foods, EBCI and David Pruitt of Lance Foods. Other raffle prizes included artwork from Revina Keener, a Pendleton Blanket donated by Carmaleta Monteith and a gift card from Kosta’s Restaurant,” said tournament officials.
“Many thanks to the volunteers and staff who made this event possible. Special thanks to Robert ‘Birdie’ Saunooke, Ryan Ott, Larry Blythe, Cris Weatherford, Matt Hollifield, Rita Grasty, Jeannie Arkansas and the Sequoyah National Golf Club staff for their hard work and dedication to the tournament.”
