R&M golf tourney features Southeast players

On what was the warmest and most humid day of the year so far, Muskeg Meadows Golf Course hosted it best-attended event of the year on June 23-24 during the R&M Engineering tournament.

The event featured an 18-hole, 2-person best-ball format on Saturday, and a 9-hole, 2-person best-ball tourney on Sunday.

Shannon Booker, the co-manager of Muskeg Meadows said the tournament is one of the biggest at the course and helps support the mission of R&M’s local office.

“This tournament is important to us because the R&M office in Wrangell opened recently,” Booker said. “It’s one of our largest tourneys of the year and the turnout is always great.”

Of the 41 participants in the tournament, 16 came from Ketchikan, with two players coming from Petersburg.

On Saturday, Wayne and Kathleen Harding took home a No. 1 spot with a net 42 score, while Jeff Carson and John Pool took 2nd place with a net 47 score. Locals Arnie and Kathy Sandness rounded out the top-3 with a net 51 final tally.

Sunday saw Pool, Carson, Adam Starr and Tor Jorgensen taking 1st place with a net 19 score, while Joel Peterman, Rodney Littleton, Joe Lewis and James Brooks took the No. 2 slot with a net 20 score. The Harding duo, along with Brian Smith and John Morse nailed down a 3rd place spot at net 20.

Chet Thompson made the straightest drive on Saturday with a 38-footer from the line, while he got closest to pin at 8 feet. On Sunday, Faye Kohrt won the straightest drive at 12-feet-4-inches, and Thompson switched places taking home the closest to the pin at 28-feet-9-inches.

Willie Herff, one of the Petersburg players, said the tournament was one of the best he has played in recently.

“It was a very cool tournament,” Herff said. “My game was nothing to brag about, but the course is wonderful and the management here is amazing. You get a camaraderie atmosphere here.”

The next event at Muskeg Meadows will be this weekend as the Ottesen’s Tournament kicks off on Saturday. Tee time is set for 10 a.m.