Many of the Pacific Northwest’s top female golfers converged to The Dalles Country Club for two days of golf play during the 42nd annual Sasquatch.
When the final scores were tallied, the duo of Sue Rende and Dixie Schanno scored the tournament’s overall net championship, and Naomi Moss and Dolly Wilkins were tops in the overall gross division.
Rende and Schanno carded a 59 on the front-nine, but finished strong on the back-nine with a 53.
In her 15 years as a participant, Schanno had entered play as a two-time winner with her former partners, Cathie Kortge, Sharon Austin and Tut Waters.
This was her first victory with her sister-in law, Rende.
Schanno said she had not been on the links as consistently as she would have liked, so winning her championship against a talented field left her thankful and excited.
“Everybody is happy when they are playing well and their golf game is working, which is a rare occasion sometimes,” Schanno said. “I haven’t been playing as much. My golf game is fickle and if you don’t practice and play a lot, two or three times a week, it is not as good as it should be. I came in limping a little bit, but I had a great partner, who pulled me through, so it felt great to get this win.”
Moss and Wilkins had a 122 net score, but with the help of an Eagle on the second hole Sunday by Wilkins, they picked up gross honors with their 154, besting Laura Hess and Anne Bialous by three strokes.
Wilkins had signed up to play in the Sasquatch event, off and on, for the past two decades, so she called this past Saturday and Sunday her comeback performance.
She said it a blessing to put two consistent days of golf, led by her short game, together on a tough course.
“I thank God. That’s what it is. It is a God-given gift and a joy and I thoroughly enjoyed the blessing of being here and having the freedom to play,” Wilkins said. “I am thankful just to be out here and be a part of this great event. It is always a joy to play with this group of ladies.”
Hess and Bialous notched a 129 net score and added a gross of 157 to secure a gross flight title, Jill Durow and Mindy McHale added a 128 net and a 176 gross to earn a net flight championship.
In the opening four-team tournament held Saturday, Rende, Schanno, Gladys Caddy and Jean Arends had a 110 to win by 11 strokes over Durow, McHale, Patty Prideaux and Susan Gutzler (121).
The foursome of Hess, Bialous, Stephanie Adams and Karen Springer won the Sunday four-person best ball tournament with a 118 on the scorecards to defeat Prideaux, Gutzler, Rende and Schanno by one stroke (119).
The tournament originally started in May of 1975, as the group of Sue Rinehart, Lou Westphal, Wilda Lipson, Dora Bailey, Elaine Coate, Helen Wrenn and Betty West got together and came up with a four-person best-ball tournament.
There have been 22 recorded Bigfoot sightings in Wasco County since 1965, so it was natural for the event to be called the Sasquatch Tournament, the biggest in the Northwest.
The group has a spaghetti dinner, where they are served by their husbands, they share brownie (West) and Lemon Dream bar (Rinehart) recipes and laugh and reminisce about the great times had in the past.
“The main thing is being here with friends,” Schanno said. “This is a two-member best-ball, so it is a chance to spend three days, with the practice round and two days of play, so you get the chance to spend time with some great ladies and family. We connect with friends who come from far away to play in this and make great memories. It is always a fun time.”
In the B flight, Arens and Caddy scored a net of 119 to win the net flight championship, and the team of Marylee Webber and Pat Edmunson carded a combined 172 to claim a gross flight crown.
Judy Harris and Carol Mitchell had a 142 net and a 212 gross score, Adams and Springer totaled a 119 net and a 189 gross for their solid finish.
Gutzler and Prideaux added a 124 net and a 188 gross, Lesa Bunten and Vicki Edmundson had a 132 net and a 187 gross and Debbie Kelly and Bev Tuttle combined for a 135 net score and a 185 gross.
Hess and Mitchell were two golfers to get their shots closest to the line, Webber and Bunten won awards for having shots closest to the water, Hess won for placing her shot closest to the Sasquatch and Hess, Schanno and Vicki Edmundson each won “Ball in the Circle” awards.
Of the money raised, 10 percent was donated to the Junior Golf Association.
Tuttle, one of the committee members along with Schanno, Caddy, Bialous and Durow, announced a community celebration music festival from 5-9 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 27, at the golf course.
Bands Three Trade, Ken Olson and Jeff Carrell and the Sugardaddys will be on hand playing music, there will be food served and a no-host bar.
For more information or to join, call 541-296-5252.
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