BERLIN- A team from Sunset Marina captured the Chamber Cup
and bragging rights for the next year in and around the resort area after
winning the 20th Annual Greater Ocean City Chamber of Commerce Golf
Tournament last week.
The event was held at the Glen Riddle Golf Club for the
first time ever and was deemed a huge success by those who participated.
Roughly 30 teams participated in the annual tournament, one of the highlights
of the spring golf tournament season in the area, and were treated to near
perfect weather on a beautiful new course at Glen Riddle.
The tournament has been held in April for years, but
Chamber officials moved the event back to mid-May for the first time ever this
year. They were rewarded with clear skies and blustery but warm conditions.
“The tournament was a great success,” said Chamber spokesman Todd Ferrante. “It
was nice to have it in May this year because the weather was so much nicer.
Typically, we have it in April, which can be a little dicey in terms of the
weather.”
Another first for the tournament this year was donating a
part of the proceeds to local charities. Children’s House by the Sea and
Worcester Gold were the recipients this year, although Ferrante said the charitable
contributions will likely be spread around to other local organizations in the
future.
The Chamber Cup Tournament was hosted by, of course, the
Chamber of Commerce, with Coastal Style and Kendall Home Furnishings as the
silver sponsors. Other major sponsors included the Bonfire Restaurant, the
Candy Kitchen, the Clarion, and Lankford-Sysco. Sherwood of Salisbury also
donated a Jeep for the Hole-in-One contest. Dozens of Chamber members too
numerous to mention sponsored holes and donated items for the live and silent
auctions, which contributed to the success of the charitable donations raised
by the tournament.
“This was the first year we donated some of the proceeds
to local charities and it was a great success,” said Ferrante. “We hope to
continue to grow and expand the tournament in the future with even more donated
to local charities.”
While the event was all about having fun and raising money
for the local charities, the action on the course was no less important or less
competitive. Holding the Chamber Cup for a full year is a great honor for the
participating teams and, to that end, winning the event was equally important.
For the record, the team from Sunset Marina, with Scott
Lennox, Jim Krall, Brian Tucker and Luke Blume, won the Chamber Cup and will
hand on to the trophy for the next year. Earning first-place, low net was the
team from Mercantile Bank, which included Doug Cook, Ken Tyler, Tim King and
Steve Pappas.
Second-place, low gross went to the team from Ocean Lanes,
while third-place, low gross went to Engineering and Technical Consultants.
Second-place, low net went to the team from Oasis Car Wash, while third-place,
low net went to Eastern Shore Gas. Charles Coulkin was the winner of the
longest drive competition while John Anderson won the closest-to-the-pin
contest. Joe Shuffleton won the putting contest.
Following the long day on the course, the participants
were treated to an awards banquet at the Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse at Glen
Riddle. Ferrante praised the golf course and the banquet hosted by Ruth’s
Chris. “Everything was just great,” he said. “We hope to be back there for the
next two years or more.”