136 golfers finish Sedona Open despite monsoon2 min read

By
Jeff Bear
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By Jordan Reece/Larson Newspapers

Monsoon weather and wild javelinas couldn’t keep 136 golfers from finishing the Sedona Open, which was held Tuesday through Thursday, July 9 to 11, at the Oakcreek Country Club in the Village of Oak Creek.

Tournament officials were challenged by torrential downpours on the Saturday prior to the tournament, and then again on Wednesday afternoon in the middle of the tournament’s second round.

Curt Hudek, who is the executive director of the Southwest Section PGA said that 75 golfers were chased off the course by Wednesday’s summer showers.

“Seventy-five guys had at least nine holes left to play [Wednesday],” Hudek said. “So, they had to finish their rounds Thursday morning before we started the final round.

“We had to go behind them and change all the hole locations for the final round.”

Tournament director Mike Martino was also chased by a javelina that apparently was not a golf fan while out on the course Thursday morning.

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“I saw it running down the street and thought it strange that there was only one, because they usually run in packs,” Martino said. “I turned my back and started to walk away, but when I looked around it was charging right for me.”

Martino was saved by another official who herded the peccary off the course with a golf cart.

Doug Garwood, of Stevenson Ranch, Calif., earned the winner’s trophy, and pocketed the $4,000 winner’s check, after shooting a 13 under par 197 for the three round tournament — winning by four stokes over second place Alex Moore of Scottsdale, who finished with a 9 under par 201.

The masterful performance was all the more impressive considering it was Garwood’s first time playing the course.

“[My] first round was the first round; no practice round,” Garwood said.

For the full story, please see the Wednesday, July 3 issue of the Sedona Red Rock News.

Jeff Bear

Jeff Bear began his journalism career in 2003 as a graphic designer and sports reporter at the Weekly Register Call in Central City, Colorado. In 2007 he began working at the Canyon Courier in Evergreen, Colorado, as a graphic designer, but soon transferred into the editorial department where he worked as a copy editor and sport reporter under Editor Doug Bell. After a stint as a graphic designer at American Classifieds in 2009-10, Bear began working in 2011 as a copy editor at the Arizona Daily Sun, in Flagstaff. While at the Daily Sun, Bear was tapped by the late Randy Wilson to report on local sports including Northern Arizona University and Olympic medalists training in Flagstaff for the 2012 Olympics. In 2013 Bear began working at the Red Rock News in Sedona, Arizona, where he was an assistant editor and sports editor. Bear has two daughters, Angela and Jessica, with his wife Nina. He is a singer and guitarist, an avid cyclist and hiker, and enjoys camping with family and friends.

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Jeff Bear
Jeff Bear began his journalism career in 2003 as a graphic designer and sports reporter at the Weekly Register Call in Central City, Colorado. In 2007 he began working at the Canyon Courier in Evergreen, Colorado, as a graphic designer, but soon transferred into the editorial department where he worked as a copy editor and sport reporter under Editor Doug Bell. After a stint as a graphic designer at American Classifieds in 2009-10, Bear began working in 2011 as a copy editor at the Arizona Daily Sun, in Flagstaff. While at the Daily Sun, Bear was tapped by the late Randy Wilson to report on local sports including Northern Arizona University and Olympic medalists training in Flagstaff for the 2012 Olympics. In 2013 Bear began working at the Red Rock News in Sedona, Arizona, where he was an assistant editor and sports editor. Bear has two daughters, Angela and Jessica, with his wife Nina. He is a singer and guitarist, an avid cyclist and hiker, and enjoys camping with family and friends.