The 2023 golf tournament season is beginning, and traditional tournaments were played at both the Philipsburg Elks Country Club and at Nittany Country Club. There was also a hole-in-one at Skytop and upcoming events at other clubs, such as the 26th annual Coaches vs. Cancer Tournament at Penn State on June 2.
Here’s a brief look at what’s happening:
Annual W. Carl Lupton Memorial held
AJ Czap and Zach Czap captured the men’s championship, and Barb Belko and Maureen Tocimak took the women’s trophy in the annual W. Carl Lupton Memorial Tournament held at the Philipsburg Elks Club on May 27, 28 and 29.
The tournament, named for the long-time member and patron of the club, is a team best-ball competition that includes a championship flight and seven other flights.
The team of Czap and Czap won a total of three matches over the weekend and then held off the team of Nate Lucas and Bob Mitchell, 3-2, in the final on Monday afternoon.
Pat Brown and Jim Dixon finished in third place, and Brad Brown and Matt Johnson came in fourth.
In the women’s championship, Belko and Tocimak won a sudden-death playoff on the first hole against Jody Czap and Cathy Miller to take the title.
Other flight winners included Randy Way and Jerry White in first flight, Brandon Maines and Paul Neidrick in second, Dave Belko and Nick Wasilko in third, Tom Dunsmore and Jeff Martell in fourth, Todd Reifer and Tim Ronan in fifth, Michael Czap and Oliver Harpster in sixth, and Jody Czap and Cathy Jo Miller in seventh.
Everyone thought the tournament was another great success, well attended, and played in almost perfect weather.
BJ Wetzler Tournament winners announced
The 15th annual BJ Wetzler Tournament was held at the Nittany Country Club over the May 20 weekend.
The tournament is named for Bellefonte star athlete BJ Wetzler and was broken into two flights — the Reese Flight and the Richards Flight.
The first-place winners in the Reese Flight were Mike Taylor, Mark Johnson, Brad Fiitchman and Tom Crist, while Dave Myers, Greg Knight, Bill Sieg and Ron Benton took the honors in the Richards Flight.
Staci Redman, Ricky Redman, Skip Reichert and Eric Pettina were second in the Reese, while Tim Martz and Mike Cain took third.
In the Richards Flight, Buzz McCartney, Sam McCartney, Matte McCartney and Tom McCartney were second, and Jonathan Runkle, Rich Witmer, Mike Habovick and Jason Thomas were third.
There were also prizes for closest to the pin, longest putt and longest drive in each flight.
The club also held a Memorial Day Tournament, with MJ Boldin, Troy Krout, Ed Welch and Terry Glunt taking first place and Jeff Burris, Dave Smith, Dave Benner and Mike Taylor coming in second.
Skytop Mountain Golf
At Skytop Mountain Golf Club, Shirley Hendrick scored her first-ever hole-in-one on the par-3 sixth hole at the club.
Hendrick used a pitching wedge from the ladies’ tee on the 70-yard hole.
She was playing with Nancy Lippincott and Chris Hillebrand. Nice job! Also, Skytop will hold its annual Parent/Child Scramble Tournament on June 16.
Also, Skytop will hold its annual Parent/Child Scramble Tournament on June 16 at 5 p.m. The tournament is a two-person scramble over nine holes and features parent-and-child teams. There is an entry fee, and reservations can be made by calling the club.
Mountain View Country Club
Upcoming events at Mountain View:
June 3, Women’s Member-Member Tournament
June 17-18, Men’s Ringer Tournament
June 26, Mountain View Pro-Am
Penn State Blue/White Courses
June 2 is the 26th annual Penn State Coaches vs. Cancer Golf Tournament.
The tournament will be the first hosted by new Penn State basketball head coach Mike Rhoades.
