Big Finishes Seem to be the CEOpen Norm
by Dennis Boone
In its first five years of competition, Ingram’s Magazine’s CEOpen Executive Golf Tournament set a competitive standard for charity fund-raisers. The sixth installment was no mere raising of the bar; it was charity golfing on a whole new level.
How do you top a first-ever sudden-death playoff in the corporate division, as we saw in 2009? Against the odds, with sudden-death finales in both divisions this year: The foursome from Insulite Glass defeated the team sponsored by Meara, Welch & Browne in a two-hole Open Division thriller. And on the corporate side, Burns & McDonnell engineered a round of payback by defeating J.E. Dunn Construction Co. on Milburn Country Club’s same Hole No. 1, where last year’s division title was decided. In both divisions, tens of thousands of dollars hung in the balance.
“Playoffs,” said tournament co-chairman Eric Packel, repositioning himself after watching one finale to catch the other, “are a blast.” Pondering that for a moment, he added, for emphasis: “Playoffs are a blast.”
It was cut-throat competitive golf, the finest that Kansas City has to offer, and a fitting conclusion to a day that generated $87,500 for seven charities in the region, most of them the personal picks of those teams who earned the prize money. That pushed to $450,000 the six-year total of money donated to nearly 30 charities so far.
Amy Allison, executive director of the 2010 tournament’s designated primary beneficiary, the Down Syndrome Guild of Greater Kansas City, said those organizations would make good use of the added funding.
“The generous contributions from the CEOpen will make an amazing impact on our modest non-profit budget,” she said. That $20,000 donation, she said, “allows us to facilitate many vital programs and services already in place while considering some new programs we have had waiting in the wings.”
Sudden-Death Sensation
Randy Hunt, course manager at Milburn, said it was no surprise that Hole No. 2 might be the deciding factor in a playoff. Standing on the second tee, you can’t even see what you’re swinging at; the flag and pin roughly 600 yards distant are tucked behind huge trees that form a slight dogleg to the left. Before you get that far, though, it’s like looking down the barrel of an 1,800-foot shotgun.
“It’s a great golf hole,” Hunt said. “Not only does No. 2 place a premium on length, but a premium on accuracy. The tee shot is demanding, but the second shot is extremely demanding, because it requires placement on the proper side of the fairway to have a clear approach to the green.”
Every shot at the 6,785-yard course, Hunt said, presents a special challenge, but No. 2 has its own place in golfers’ lore. It can be a heart-breaker under the best of conditions. And as the evening sun sank behind the western ridge of trees ringing the second green on June 21, conditions were far from “best.”
“One final thing about that playoff,” Hunt said. “It was very hot, and was the end of a long day, the players were tired and physical condition comes into play, as well.”
That’s what made the conclusion so impressive: Despite the distance, despite the 8,000-square-foot monster of a green that awaited eight players in their seventh hour of golfing, balls were still lasering in on approach shots like hornets around a nest. Everybody was playing to win.
Then Insulite sealed the deal with a 3-under performance on Hole No. 2, with a big assist from Nick Bisogno’s tough putt of roughly 15 feet out.
Carpe Pecunia: Seize the Cash
Getting Bisogno on the course turned out to be a good thing for Beau Guyette, president of Insulite Glass, who sponsored the team.
A lot of the participants see the CEOpen in raw competitive terms; it’s an opportunity to see how they stack up against some of the best golfers in the region. For Guyette, it’s more personal. He put together this team with a special purpose in mind.
“We play for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation every year,” said Guyette, whose teams have now claimed three CEOpen championships to go with two runner-up finishes. “My daughter,” he said, “has CF.”
His 15-year-old is doing well, he said, but the chance to help improve the lives of others with CF compels him to be involved with the tournament every year. And why not? As he noted after his team was the first to report in with a 19-under-par 125, “We’ve got some sticks on this team.”
Given that 15-under was good enough to take last year’s top prize, a 125 seemed safe as Guyette and his crew relaxed to watch the other scores roll in. When the Meara team checked it, the Insulite foursome quickly restored their game faces.
“This was fun,” Guyette said of the sudden-death conclusion. “It even added to it.”
After yet another tie on the 350-yard No. 1 hole, the two teams squared off for No. 2. A hailstorm of tee shots, approaches and dead-eye putts later, there was nothing else to do but shake hands and look forward to a cold drink—and to the seventh edition of the CEOpen in 2011. 