2005 Tournament Information
I will admit that it is a daunting task to follow up on our 2004 venues. Both Aptos and particularly Pasatiempo provided us with quite a backdrop for our events this year, and both courses lived very admirably up to their pre-tournament hype. The work on a proper follow up was actually going on well before our 2004 events were even held. After careful consideration and a little bit of luck, we have secured two more wonderful courses for next year. Please believe me when I tell you, that these two courses are more than adequate, and next years attendees are in for a real treat.
The 10th Annual Blue and Gold Cup will be held on Friday, July 29th at the Tijeras Creek Golf Club in Rancho Santa Margarita, California. Tournament regulars will remember Tijeras Creek well, for it has been the site of two past CBI’s, in 1993 and again in 1997. It is a very well laid out course, very well maintained, with excellent facilities. The first tee time will be at 11:00 a.m. Our 1993 event at Tijeras was won by Frank Gleason, Bill Schack, Eldon Forcey and Raymond Boncato. They torched the course with a winning score of 63, nine under par. The second place foursome was comprised of Remo Canessa, Dan Sicotte, Brian Dougherty and Willie Ross (no comment). They shot a strong 66. The following years write up had this to say about the winning foursome. "Favorites they were not. Sober they were not. History will eventually show that in 1993 a group of rag-tag Bruin Alumni were able to use a combination of golfing skills, good fortune and fermented beverages to blast their way through the pack and record a stunning nine under par tournament record victory. Was it the golfing Gods? Was it the alignment of the stars? Was it numerous lucky putts? We will never know because team captain Frank Gleason was too incoherent to talk to the press afterwards in the interview room."
In 1997, the group of Ken Jones, Jim Gross, Sean Chalmers and Tom Dekker did them one better, recording another tournament record of ten under par. Their six straight birdies to lead off the back nine is another record that still stands to this day. Ben Wright had this to say the following year. "The Ken Jones led foursomes defamatory assault on the once-proud Tijeras Creek back nine should be publicly congratulated with one hand. The other should be used to privately scold the handicapping and set-up committees for allowing such an incredible run to occur. It should neither be tolerated, nor repeated." Jim Retzlaff recorded his highest CBI finish, leading his group consisting of Chuck Santoro, Don Zaremba and (coincidentally?) Eldon Forcey to a strong second place finish with an eight under 64. On most days, it would have been a winner.
I am very proud to announce that the 18th Annual Clark Brothers Invitational will be held at the recently opened Arroyo Trabuco Golf Club in Mission Viejo, California on Saturday, July 30th. I am very happy to have our tournament visit this wonderful course. This is another course that boasts top-notch facilities, and I know all of you will be more than happy with the entire experience. Designed by Tom Lehman and Casey O’Callaghan, the course winds through the native hills, and borders Trabuco Creek, which is just downstream from another creek, Tijeras, that winds through our Friday venue and is located just a few miles to the north. No two holes are the same, and I would encourage all of you to visit their web-site at www.arroyotrabuco.com to see more pictures of this fine golf course.
I hope all of you are able to join us in 2005. It will be a very strong follow up to 2004. We are planning a fun party on Friday night at the Clark residence in Laguna Niguel, along with some other surprises. We will also be having an awards dinner following the CBI at Arroyo Trabuco. Plan on good weather, good golf, and good friends! See you there!!
