By Christian Malone
VALDOSTA — Several teams shot in the 50s, and thousands of dollars were raised for the fight against cancer.
The 2007 Lowndes/Echols American Cancer Society Golf Championship was truly a success.
The Pinnacle Prime team shot a blistering 54 Friday afternoon, and won the American Cancer Society Golf Championship at Stone Creek Golf Club. Pinnacle Prime players Scott Taylor, Walt Gill, Will McDonald and Brandon Dampier shot 18-under-par to win the overall tournament, and their flight, by one stroke.
Colson Business Systems won Flight II with a 55, while Voight Sheet Metal and Valdosta Insurance tied for first in Flight III with matching scores of 62.
This was the 26th annual Lowndes/Echols American Cancer Society Golf Championship. The tournament was spread over three days to accommodate the 64 teams that competed, with teams choosing which day they want to play.
Lowndes County Sheriff Ashley Paulk, the tournament’s longtime host, was very pleased with how the tournament went.
“Everything went great,” Paulk said. “The golf was a lot of fun, but more importantly, we raised money for the American Cancer Society, and that is a great cause. They’re out there trying to find a cure for cancer, and one day, they will.”
The real winner, of course, was the American Cancer Society. All of the proceeds from the tournament will go to the ACS and its fight against cancer.
Though they hadn’t added up the money by Friday night, Paulk said he was hoping the tournament would raise $35,000 to 40,000 for the ACS.
“Not many families out there haven’t been touched by cancer in some way,” Paulk said. “It’s so great that this tournament has been as successful as it has been. Hopefully cancer will be cured one day, but until it is, we’re going to keep trying to raise money for cancer research.”
Paulk was overjoyed at all of support the tournament received.
“I can’t say enough about all of the people who helped make this tournament happen. When you say the word ‘cancer,’ people are very supportive and want to help,” Paulk said. “I thank everyone who participated, all the donations that were made, all of the volunteers. We have no cost for this event; all of the money we made is profit that we can give to the American Cancer Society.
“I can’t say enough about Stone Creek. Every year, they donate their course to us for three days. It’s hard to find a golf course that will do that. Stone Creek has been real supportive of this tournament.”
Three teams tied for second in Flight I. Prince Automotive (Andy Swann, Don Holley, John Clementi and Brian Priest), Georgia Power (Marshall Conner, Larry Taylor, Darrell Wilder and Jack Cain Jr.) and Reames Concrete (Trey Odom, Woody Gayle, Thompson Kurrie and Mike Killeen) all shot a 55. Georgia Power and Reames both played Friday, while the Prince team played Thursday.
Valdosta Tech Systems (David Tew, Rodney Gordon, Robbie Dixon and John Joye) finished fifth with a 56. Akins Petroleum (Keith Martin, Paul Day, Jeff Mowery, Gordon McElrath), Griffin Electric (Joe Griffin, Dean Boruff, Russ Collett and Byron Courson) and Love Lighting (Bill Love, Travis Pate, Eric Sommers and Whit Fackler) each shot a 57.
In Flight II, the Colson Business Systems team of Ken Collins, Josh Collins, Daniel Jacobs and Glen Jacobs) shot a 55 to win their flight. The Cass Burch team of Keith Phillips, Blake Williams, Scott Fletcher and Bill Wheeler took second with a 56. Morris Insurance (Chris LaMontagne, Jason Braswell, Matt Johnson and John Cain) was third, shooting a 57. South Georgia Pecan (Lee Altman, Dave Sweat, Alan Boyn and Jody Weathers) and CED/Thomas and Betts (Mac Montgomery, John Hiers, John Lindsey and Marrin Mobley) tied for fourth with a 58.
In Flight III, Voight Sheet Metal (Kenny Voight, Rusty Simpson, Doug Mason and Will Collier) tied Valdosta Insurance (Trey Sherwood, Kenny Voight, Andy Miller and Mike Delaney) for first place with a 62. Smith Northview (Chuck Roberts, Larry Jeter, Gilbert Kidd, Al Rawlings) was third with a 63. Lowndes Electric (Ashley Paulk, Kevin Herring, Ed Herring and Jim Hendricks) and Valdosta Lighting (Tom Odom, John Hansen, Lee Lefiles and Hamilton Tillman) tied for fourth at 65.
Mother Nature unleashed her fury on the Valdosta area Friday, but she waited until the last team was off the course to bring the downpour to Stone Creek. Rain fell on the last few players on the course, but every team finished its round Friday.
“The last team out there got wet, but that was about it,” Paulk said. “We were really blessed. We’ve been doing this 26 years, and I’ve only had one round rained out. The good Lord has looked out for us.”
The top teams from this tournament qualified for the ACS state championship in Pine Needles, S.C., in August.
