Columnist Peter Benton: Sponsor Appreciation winners announced

Peter Benton

Wednesday, July 2, 2003 | 8:40 a.m.

Peter Benton's golf column appears Wednesday.

John Creaney, director of golf at the Las Vegas Country Club, along with long-hitting "Cowboy" Coughlin, Rob Mantle and yours truly won last week's Sponsor Appreciation Day Tournament, an annual event staged by the Las Vegas Chapter, Southwest Section of the PGA.

This full field event was played under gorgeous weather conditions over the immaculately groomed Revere at Anthem Concord course. Format for the teams (one professional and three amateurs) was Shambles. This is where all players tee off, the best drive is then selected and all players play their own ball from that spot. Scoring over the par-72 layout was two best low net balls of foursome on each hole.

Creaney's team played what you could call perfect team golf, with everyone contributing, and as their score of 32-under 112 will attest, they could not have done too much wrong.

Southshore's Travis Long and his team of Ted Buban, Steve Arrington and Bob Mott finished just three strokes back at 115.

Mike Buss (Badlands) along with Harold Schweigert, Mark Evensvold and Kevin Marsh shared third place with the team led by John Herndon (Lake Las Vegas) and playing partners Scott Lewis, Rich Jones and Steve Abe, who shot 116.

The day's highlight was when Southshore Director of Golf Dale Akridge, with a brand-spanking-new set of clubs, stepped up to his first tee (the par-3, 152-yard, third hole) and blithely aced it with a splendidly struck 9-iron.

Naturally a great day was had by all, and on behalf of everyone who had the pleasure of playing: Sincere thanks to Jim Kirwan and the local PGA Chapter for a job particularly well done.

His tie for fourth the previous week was his fourth consecutive top-10 finish since his win at the Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf in late April.

In his 13 starts this year, laid-back Lietzke has wracked up $1,370,499 and with this latest win has taken over the money lead on the Champions Tour.

Johnson's 11-over, 80-75--155 over the par-72 Falls Golf Course at the Lakes Resort edged Sue DeFrancesco (Badlands), who came in second with rounds of 76-81--157. Sherry Jackson and Kim Bracton tied for third at 158.

Sherry Corsello (Sun City) and her 71-72--143 garnered low net honors, with Doe Emes (Spanish Trail) and Irene Frank (Sun City) sharing second at 148.

It was "been there, done that" for Johnson and Corsello as in the year 2000 they also won low gross and low net respectively.

Gary Knapp (ESPN) placed second at 136, with Mike Buss (Badlands) and Jason Edmiston (TPC Summerlin) tied for third with 140.