Closest-to-pin, at-large qualifiers advance to Saturday’s final
event
GILROY – “I just did it.”
Those were the words of 43-year-old Gilroy resident Glenn Scott after he put down $100 to participate in this weekend’s qualifying rounds for the $1 Million Dollar Golf Shootout Contest – hosted by Gavilan College.
Because of his donation, Scott is now one of 10 golfers who qualified to take one shot for $1 million at Eagle Ridge Golf Course on Saturday, June 14.
Eight of the qualifiers were golfers with closest to pin shots on a designated par three hole and two at-large invitations were given out to the person who gave the largest donation. Saturday’s closest-to-the-pin qualifier was Floyd Garcia, who came within three feet-two inches of the pin on the Valley Course at Coyote Creek. The at-large invitation went to Scott – who participated at the Gilroy Garlic County Golf Range.
“It’s for a good cause,” Garcia said. “That’s what it’s all about.”
The other three qualifiers for Saturday are Bill Galvin from the Tournament Course at Coyote Creek with a distance of seven feet-half inch, Dave Cox from Eagle Ridge with a distance of eight feet-four inches and Ale Rodriguez from Gilroy Garlic County Golf Range with a distance of six feet seven inches.
Rodriguez is the youngest qualifier in the shootout. He is a senior at Gilroy High School and was on the golf team there.
Bart Krogen is one competitive man. He golfed on the Valley Course at Coyote Creek on Saturday, but his shot wasn’t close enough to qualify. Determined to change that, Krogen came back out on Sunday and participated a second time.
For Krogen, the second time was a charm as his shot landed two feet-four inches from the pin on the same course. Gilroy Garlic County Golf Range employee Chris Jaszewski walked away with Sunday’s at-large invitation for his contribution of $65.
There is a tie between Wilfred Suntay and Eric Fydrych from the golf range. Both men landed 8.8 feet from the pin. Suntay and Fydrych are both invited to Eagle Ridge on Saturday for a playoff shot to advance to the final round. The rules for the shot will not change as each golfer will have one shot at the pin and the closest ball will advance.
The final two qualifiers are Donald Fisher from the tournament course at Coyote with a distance of 11 feet and John Anderson from Eagle Ridge with a distance of five feet-two inches.
All qualifiers are required to be at Eagle Ridge on Saturday at 6 p.m. The playoff shot will be hit at this time to determine who will go on. The distance for the playoff shot has not yet been determined.
After the playoff, a presentation will be given and then the final round will get underway. The distance for the final round is set at 165 yards. There will be prizes for the golfers who are closest to the pin for the final round. If all 10 golfers make a hole-in-one, then Gavilan will be awarding 10 people with $1 million dollars. If no one hits the shot, then the prizes will be awarded according to their distance.
Many of the golfers were more than happy to participate. Some participated even though they knew they couldn’t hit the green – but were happy to contribute. Others were excited to gain a free six pack of Coke and did not mind not qualifying – shouting “Soda!” as they saw their ball fall on the green.
“It’s going to the school,” said golfer Alex Kim when he put in $15 for himself and his parents.
Gavilan raised a total of $2,091 for the weekend. With the impending state budget cuts, the money will benefit all the student-athletes in one way or another.
“Basically we have $2,000 that we didn’t have,” Rams’ head football coach John Lango said.
According to Gavilan Athletic Director Ron Hannon, there are some things that need to be fixed or re-arranged for next year. He wants to put together a perfect event. With some adjusting, he thinks they can have that. Hannon thought that this event went well. To him, what matters is more people know about the college.
“I think overall it was a success,” Hannon said. “I think it was a positive way (to be) visually seen by members of the community.”
