The Kenai Golf Course, the only 18-hole golf course on the Kenai Peninsula, continues to improve dramatically with the great weather conditions over the past couple of weeks. The greens are coming on strong and the fairways and tee boxes are in excellent condition.

The cart path along hole No. 3 is almost complete, thanks to the hard work of Chris Kimball. Doug Haralson continues to keep our fairways cut and groomed. Thank you, Doug, for your attention to detail and for all your hard work. I would also like to thank you and your team for all the hard work you put into re-rating our course.

Charlie Waguespack is finally back and doing an excellent job on the rough. Dusty Culbreath and Willy Perkins continue to do great work in all areas. Thank you both for your dedication to the Kenai Golf Course.

Thanks also to Ron Goecke for all the extra things he does. His dedication and attention to detail is truly outstanding. Thank you also for helping out with all the Ladies’ Clinics. Many thanks to Dan Young for putting railings on all our viewing platforms and for building a new platform on hole No. 13. This platform is a great addition to our course.

This past couple of weeks have been extremely busy at the Kenai Golf Course. Thanks to all who continue to support our efforts. I have lots of tournament results to report.

The annual Red, White and Blue Tournament, under the direction of Rich Edwards, was a tremendous success. The first-place team, with a score of minus-11, was Rich Edwards and Tom Carver. Second place was won by Joe Deveaux and Greg Harrington with a minus-10.

Winning third place was the team of Aaron Cooper and Steve Fickes with a score of minus-9. The closest to the pin on No. 5 was won by Greg Harrington with a shot of 5 feet, 10.5 inches. Closest-to on No. 9 was won by Mark McComsey with a great shot of 3-10.5. Gordon Griffin won No. 10 with a shot of 10-.5. Mark McComsey won No. #14 with a shot of 10-9.

The annual Kenai Firefighters’ Association Tournament, under the leadership of Tommy Carver, was an excellent event. The team of Zach Pettit and Tommy Pettit, along with Heath Martin and Dave Matthews, finished first with a score of minus-8.

The second-place team at minus-5 included Gordon Griffin, Doug Jung, Craig Jung and Tommy Carver. The third-place team at minus-4 included Tim Bornowski, Matt Hopson, Keith Ackerman and Shawn Kay. Closest to the pin on No. 5 was Heath Martin. No. 9 was won by Tommy Pettit. No. 10 was won by Tommy Carver, and No. 14 was won by James Dye. Thanks to everyone who participated in this worthwhile event.

The July Kenai Golf Association event took place Sunday. First low net was won by Charlie Kahakauwila with a net score of 72. Second low net was won by Todd Eskelin with a net score of 73. A net score of 75 placed Keith Stasek at third low net.

Fourth low net was won by Kirk Hyman with a net of 76. Closest to the pin on No. 5 was won by Dave Litchfield with a shot of 22-7. No. 9 was won by Gordon Griffin with a shot of 37-6. No. 10 was won by Lara Griffin with a shot of 8-8.5. Dave Litchfield won No. 14 with a great shot of 1-9.

Skins were won by Todd Eskelin with three skins, and Gilbert Arellano and Chris Murray with one skin each. Low gross was won by Todd Eskelin with a gross score of 81. Congratulations, Todd!

Senior League July 1st: Bill Davis won low gross with a gross score of 38. Jim Legner won low net with a 33 net score. Closest to the pin on hole #5 was won by Demi Byram. During this event there was only 1 skin and that was won by John Dahlgren on hole #8.

Senior League, July 8 — There was a three-way tie for low gross between Craig Jung, Jim Legner and Dwight Kramer. Low net was won by Skip Dove with a net of 32. Closest to the pin on No. 5 was won by Jesse Wade. Jim Legner won a skin on No. 2 and Bill Davis won a skin on No. 7.

Ladies’ League, July 1 — Jessica Mahan and Marianne Hyman won first place. LaRae Paxton won the door prize.

Ladies’ League, July 3 — Mary Armstrong, Marlena McCown, Misty McCown and Irma Peterson won first place. Marlena McCown won closest to the pin on No. 5. Putting door prize was won by Lynda Dahlgren and Debbie Griffin.

Men’s Night, July 3 — The team of Brian, Don, Brandon and Derek was first with a score of minus-4. The team of Greg, Dusty, CJ and Tim finished second with a score of minus-2. The team of Aaron, Kevin, Doug and Steve finished third with a score of minus-1. Closest to the pin on No. 10 was won by Brandon Wold with a shot of 34-8. Closest to the pin on the second shot into No. 18 was won by Brian Wodarek with a shot of 24-10.

Atigun Cup Update following the July KGA tournament — In the gross division, Chris Murray leads with 69.5 points, followed by Gilbert Arellano at 65.5 points and Doug Jung with 60 points. Next are Todd Eskelin 41, Gordon Griffin 37, Ken Liedes 33, Greg Harrington 32, Chris Morin 23, Rene Alvarez 12 and Bob Sizemore 8.

In the Net Division, Steve Fickes leads with a total of 49.5 points, followed by Kirk Hyman with 47 points and Aaron Cooper at 46.5 points. Michael Houghton and Joe Deveaux each have 42.5 points, Chuck Rupenthal 41 and John Gibson 12.

The Atigun Cup is a season-long points race that includes eight tournaments through the season. At the end of the season there will be an Atigun Cup Playoff to determine the winners in each division. I would like to thank Bob Sizemore and Atigun for their support of this event.

The next Beginning Golfer Ladies’ Clinic starts Monday at 6 p.m. Call the clubhouse at 283-7500 to sign up. The next Junior Golfer Clinic is July 28 to 30, also 6 to 8 p.m.

Tournaments this week will be the Tesoro/United Way Tournament on Friday and the Stanley Ford – Brown Bear Tournament on Sunday.

We want to encourage more ladies to play in our Ladies’ Leagues. It’s a great way to meet other golfers, to learn the course and to have fun. It’s usually a nine-hole scramble with randomly drawn teams. Leagues are held Tuesday evenings at 6 p.m. and Thursday afternoons at 12:30 p.m.

As always, see you on the course!