By NICK YAMASHITA
The Progress
Golfers teed off on Saturday morning, June. 12, driving for the local heroes of the Mesquite Police and Fire Departments at the fourth annual Best of the Best First Responders Golf Tournament at the Conestoga Golf Course in Mesquite.
“It was unbelievable!” said tournament council leader Kenny Huff at the end of the event. “It was the best year yet!”
Huff said everyone who participated had fun and was in the true spirit of the event’s charitable cause.
“We’ve had some people that have stepped up with donations that I never expected,” he added.
He mentioned that one person even showed up with a $1,500 donation check at registration, even though he did not intend to compete in the tournament. The donor simply wanted to donate towards the fundraising for first responders.
The winning and third-place teams donated portions of their winnings back to the cause, and a couple more side contest winners donated a portion of their winnings to the cause.
The tournament results had the closest finish in tournament history as the top team won by only one stroke. The second and third-place teams came down to handicap ratings to decide who finished on top.
The event started with the presentation of the colors by the Mesquite Police and Fire Honor Guard.
Once the ceremony was finished the teams headed out onto the course. Fourteen teams teed off a little after 7:00 a.m. with beautiful weather and temperatures in the low 80’s.
The last of the teams finished their play a little after noon before temperatures hit 100 degrees with the presentation of the prizes and announcement of the winners immediately following.
The awards ceremony saw the handing out of the winnings with $6,000 in one hundred dollar bills, $2,500 in fifty dollar bills and $1,500 in twenty dollar bills to the 1st, 2nd and 3rd place teams.
The winning team was sponsored by Eagles Landing, composed of four golfers from Utah Tech University and one student-athlete from Crimson Cliffs High School out of St. George, Utah. The following were the on the team: Spencer Wallace, Ashton Smith, Maverick Rhodes, Brock Nielson and Triston Gardner.
The winning team’s final score was 54 nearly claiming victory by one. The second place team, with a score of 55, included Scott Lee, Mike Sweet, Haden Christensen, Brody Adams and Ali Mulhal.
The third place team consisted of Jacob Hebdon, Taylor Yardley, Austin Rigby, Hyrum Grenny and Taylor Garner. Their score was 56.
First place donated back $3,000 (50%) and third place handed back $500 of their winnings.
“It was fun and a lot of good people out here,” said winning team member Ashton Smith. “It’s just a win-win for everybody.”
Other winners included the men’s “closest to the pin” which went to Ryan Bolton who was a little over four feet away, winning a 55” TLC TV. The women’s “closest to the pin” was Chantelle Kimball who won a $200 Visa gift card. The “longest drive” went to Brock Nielson, who also claimed a $200 Visa gift card.
The 50/50 raffle winner was Ryan Bolton who claimed $630 but gave back $200 for the cause.
Other winners received such prizes as $100 off at Grease Monkey, statue art, golfballs, putters and more.
“These people came to play good and give back to the community,” Huff said. “They all have heart and it couldn’t have gone any better.”
The date for next year’s tournament was announced as June 21, 2025, and the teams will be reduced to 4-player teams.
The total amount raised for the Mesquite Police and Fire Departments will be announced later during the summer at a Mesquite City Council meeting when they give each department their checks.
