Member/Guest Invitational participants
Member/Guest Invitational winners, left to right: Dan Condie, Dan Anderson, Don Sanders, Scott Thordarson, Todd Wells, Tony Wells, Marvin Soskil, Joseph Ed
Mick Borm
When Mother Nature throws you a 50 mph curveball, who is better to send to the plate than Scott “Thor” Thordarson, the Norse hammer-wielding god associated with lightning, thunder, and storms? More on Thor later…
Putting Contest
The SaddleBrooke Ranch Men’s Golf Association (SBRMGA) Member/Guest Invitational (MGI) began on Oct. 16 with morning practice rounds and culminated that day with a trip around Dan Carter’s diabolical 9-hole putting course. Our practice green was creatively littered with branches, rocks, ramps, doglegs, bunkers, and general mayhem. Jim Hayek prevailed with a sizzling score of 22 on the par 27 course to edge out Bill Oprish, David Box, Mike Oprish, and Mark Stein by one stroke.
Horse Race Results
Following the Day One Quota game, players were treated to a hearty lunch before heading back out to the highly anticipated alternate shot Horse Race. At the conclusion of each flight’s competition, the flight winners convened on hole number 9 to determine the overall winners. The Thordarson/Sanders pairing produced a double bogey to grab 4th place, and the Andy Bolland/Dave McKelvie team carded a bogey for 3rd place honors. Recording pars to tie the hole were the father/son teams of Rick and Christian Merritt and Mike and Chris Schuster.
A chip-off ensued and the Merritt/Merritt team prevailed to grab the top prize and the admiration of the large crowd in attendance.
Member Guest Invitational Quota Game
The SBR MGI Quota portion of the tournament kicked off on Oct. 17 with 56 teams participating in the 2-day event. In this portion of the event, it was all hands on deck as both players were required to count both balls in this challenging format.
Thursday’s mild temps encouraged optimism for all the 112 players on Day 1 of the 2-day Quota format. At the end of Day 1, only two teams shot their quotas: Dan Anderson and Dan Condie, who had the lowest team handicap in the field, were one over their quota (over is a good thing) and the other daunting duo of Scott Thordarson and Don Sanders, who were in the 4th flight, were three over their quota.
Day One flight winners
Player flight: Scott Thordarson/Don Sanders +3
Nicklaus flight: Dan Anderson/Dan Condie +1
Hogan flight: Dan Watson/Ross Blouin -1
Palmer flight: Mike Movius/Pat Mateer -5
On Friday, Oct. 18, the final day of the 3-day Member/Guest Invitational, the 56-team field was greeted by a freak windstorm with 40 mph winds and gusts up to 50 mph. Scott Thordarson and his partner, Don Sanders, calmly replied, “Hold my 7-iron” as they stood up to the elements and took the top prize in an incredibly competitive field.
Day Two flight winners
Player flight: Frank Sherfy/Steve Franck +1
Hogan flight: Bill Budo/Steve Lynch -2.5
NIcklaus flight: Mike Ohanian/Terry Edwards -4
Palmer flight: Tony Wells/Todd Wells -4
Combining the 2-day totals, the flight winners were crowned and celebrated as the Scott Thordarson/Don Sanders team was declared the overall winner of the 2024 MGA tournament.
Overall Quota Game winners
Player flight: Scott Thordarson/Don Sanders -2.5
Nicklaus flight: Dan Anderson/Dan Condie -11.5
Palmer flight: Tony Wells/Todd Wells -12
Hogan flight: Marvin Soskil/Joseph Ed -12.5
Besides the Welcome Barbecue and the Day 2 lunch, participants and their significant others were treated to a spectacular steak and salmon dinner at the conclusion of the event.
Tournament Director Jack Dyck and his tireless committee are to be thanked for a spectacular event. We would also like to thank our financial sponsors who are listed below and the 59 resident volunteers for their unyielding support and dedication to our event as without them, we would certainly have had no event.
We are already looking forward to next year’s event on Oct.15-17, 2025.
The SBR Member Guest Invitational Sponsors: A-1 Golf Cars (formerly Coyote), Arroyo Investment Group, Blease Financial Services, Catalina Family Dental, Harn Legacy Estate Planning, Golf Cars of Arizona, Morris Hall Estate Planning, Oro Ford, Robson Communities, SBR Men’s Golf Association, Team Platinum Realty One Group Integrity, Tucson Plumbing.