Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Huskies freshman Williams wins Thompson golf

Celebs, athletes bring luster to 33rd benefit


Enjoying Friday night’s Danny Thompson Memorial auction dinner at the Sun Valley Inn Limelight Room are, from left, Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Don Felder, local resident Elizabeth Bridgeman and Gus “The Wizard” Williams. Back in 1979, 6-2, 175-pound native New Yorker Williams led the Seattle Sonics to the 1979 NBA Championship with a 28.6 ppg average in the Finals. The USC product averaged 17.1 ppg in 12 NBA seasons. Thirty-one years ago, Williams was among a group of NBA stars visiting Elkhorn for Nike who played an exhibition softball game at Ketchum’s Atkinson Park. Photo by David N. Seelig

Four-time Idaho state high school golf champion Chris Williams of Moscow High School is headed to the powerful University of Washington golf team as a freshman in fall.

But first, Williams made a stop at last weekend's Danny Thompson Memorial golf tournament where he emerged as the Men's Gross champion with scores of 68-70 for 138.

Last November, Washington men's golf coach Matt Thurmond announced Williams as one of three golfers in the Huskies recruiting class who signed Letters of Intent.

Washington's Huskies went on to post one of the most successful seasons in school history, reaching the quarterfinals of match play during the 2009 NCAA Championships led by first-team All-American Nick Taylor. All five golfers who led the Huskies last season return.

At Sun Valley and Elkhorn golf courses during last weekend's Thompson, Williams dazzled the field of 160 golfers with his shot-making ability.

As his new coach Thurmond said, "Chris really knows how to play golf. When he plays, he wins....He seems to have a knack for getting the ball in the hole and finding a way to score and come out on top. He'll do great things in college."

Williams played in a foursome with Buck Levy, Bruce Qvale and Ross Williams.

Here are Thompson results:

INDIVIDUAL

Men's Gross: Chris Williams 68-70 for 138. Men's Net: Chris Philbrick 63-68 for 131.

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Women's Gross: Cheryl Colman 77-74 for 151. Women's Net: Gail Nelles of La Jolla Country Club 78-69 for 147.

TEAM

First place—Chris Badgley, Merrill Jones, Brett Nilsson and Bob Rusbuldt 120-121 for 241.

Second place—David Brady, John Gibson, Chris Philbrick and Tom Tate 124-124 for 248.

Third place—George Golleher, Robert Miller, Chris Peace and Bobby Rowland 131-120 for 251.

Fourth place—Dave Hill, Bruce Michel, Robert Michel and Robin Michel 130-121 for 251.

Fifth place—Bob Colman, Brad Corbett, Bill McComas and Robert Turner 126-125 for 251.

The tournament format was four-man two-best ball over two days and 36 holes. There were 40 foursomes.

SPECIAL AWARDS

At Sun Valley—Long drive: Kyle Washington, Cheryl Colman, Bruce Braden and Dayna Baird. Closest to the pin: Jim Donofrio, Cheryl Colman, Frank Furbish and Gay Simplot.

At Elkhorn—Long drive: John Neumann, Dayna Baird, Steve Dominguez and Lynn Ellis. Closest to the pin: Mike Winkler, Harry Rinker and Marta Bhathal.




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