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The 53rd annual Reliance Bank Classic at Park Hills, the area's oldest best-ball tournament, is being played out this weekend in Altoona.
At the end of Saturday's play, each flight will be reduced from an original count of 16 teams, down to the final four (with additional groups competing in the 'beaten-eights'). Sunday-morning rounds will feature semifinal action, with the finals set to begin early Sunday afternoon.
Being a match play event, the Park Hills' tournament has witnessed some exciting finishes, and last year's finale in the championship flight certainly didn't disappoint. Coming into the 18th hole, the team of Anthony DeGol and Trent Karlik were one-down, before DeGol hit his second shot onto the green on the long, par-5 finishing hole.
There aren't many golfers who can even come close to reaching this 590-yard hole in two-shots, especially considering the uphill slope golfers encounter on their approach shot. Last July, I was fortunate to be there to watch DeGol calmly pull out a 4-iron and hit the prettiest long iron shot you'll ever see -- to just a few feet from the hole. For me, it was 'the shot of the year' as far as local golf goes.
DeGol's stellar shot tied the match and allowed his team to eventually beat two-time defending champions Dan Brown and Patrick Rohrbaugh on the second playoff hole.
The public is welcome to come out and watch some of this year's exciting competition as the championship finals are set for Sunday afternoon.
Shaking hands
This week's PGA event is the Memorial Tournament held at Muirfield Village in Dublin, Ohio. The Memorial, hosted by Jack Nicklaus, is consistently ranked as one of the touring pros' favorites and carries a prestige that is 'just a notch' below golf's four major championships.
A highlight for the winner each year at the Memorial has always been a warm greeting and hearty handshake from Nicklaus himself, directly behind the 18th green as soon as play has ended.
At the beginning of this week, there was some question as to whether that tradition would continue due to the numerous COVID-19 recommendations currently in place. Nicklaus, who is inside the PGA Tour's "bubble" this week (which means he's been tested and is negative for COVID-19) quickly put any questions to bed.
"I'm going to shake their hand," he said. "I'm going to walk right out there and shake their hand. If they don't want to, that's fine. I'll give them a fist bump or an elbow bump, but I'm not going to give them COVID-19. I wouldn't want to put anybody in that position. I wouldn't do that, and if I was in danger of doing that, I wouldn't shake their hands. Incidentally, I like shaking their hand, too. I think it's a great tradition, but it's as much fun for me as I hope it is for them."
I've mentioned it before, but Nicklaus has been my all-time golfing hero since I was a kid. He's also a straight-shooter who doesn't pull any punches -- one of the many qualities I admire in him.
Family time
Over the past few years, it seems that more and more local golfers are competing -- and contending -- in state-wide golf tournaments.
Next week's Pennsylvania Parent-Child Championship is a perfect example as three father/son duos will be competing for the title at the Bedford Springs Resort on Monday and Tuesday.
Greg and Andrew Ferguson, Artie and Derek Fink, and Jesse and Cory Reighard will be among the 53 teams from across the state looking to capture the winning trophy as the state's best father-son team.
Ken Love is a Blair County resident who covers golf for the Altoona Mirror.