More than a good round of golf has lured 82-year-old Mary McLeod of Perry back to Emporia year after year to participate in the Early Bird golf tournament at the Emporia Country Club.
“I like the food,” McLeod said. “They’ve got a good setup here.”
McLeod, playing in the Early Bird tournament for the 15th time, was just one of 64 women who competed in the two-day event Wednesday and Thursday.
Perhaps it was the dinner Wednesday night, but McLeod and her playing partner, Ireta Werner, fared pretty well for themselves.
The duo finished second in the “Bird Race” competition, where teammates take alternating shots through six holes.
But, McLeod said, the tournament is about more than winning.
“I really enjoy the program here,” said McLeod, who has been playing golf since she was 25. “The event is a lot of fun, the ladies here are great and I thoroughly enjoy it.”
As has become the norm, the tournament, which was moved from early May to late May because of the recent wet weather, featured women from all across region, including Oklahoma and Colorado. Several were playing despite being well over 80 years old.
“We also would have had another woman who is well into her 70s or 80s and on oxygen who comes to play every year with her daughter,” said Myrna Taunton, the tournament’s director, “however, the change in date would not allow her daughter to attend, so she had to withdraw.
“If that isn’t dedication — or addiction — to the game, I don’t know what is!”
The winners of the individual flights, which consisted of teams of two, were: Penny Hickman, Council Grove, and Stacey Clodfelter, Emporia, took first in the Beautiful Bluebirds flight; Jane Heinen, Meriden, and Pearl Raugewitz, Ozawkie, took first in the Charming Cardinals flight; Jackie Wall, Emporia, and Rhonda Donovan took first in the Wonderful Wrens flight; and Pam Goodeyon, Grand Lake, Olka., and Anne Ranz, Chanute, took first in the Bird Race event.
Special hole prizes went to Jan Peak of Emporia for the straightest drive, Connie Anderson of Topeka for the longest putt and Jackie Wall of Emporia for the closest to the flag.
It was the 20th year of the Early Bird tournament.