LYNN — The rain may have put a damper on the first round of the Gannon Golf Course Ladies Classic Saturday but the club was still excited to get the tournament started.
With downpours in the area, the tournament’s start was postponed from Saturday to Sunday. The event will wrap up next weekend.
Gannon Head Golf Professional David Sibley said the Ladies Classic, like most other club events, is a good way to bring members together in a competitive atmosphere.
“I think there is a camaraderie about it as well as a competitive part,” David Sibley said. “That goes for all of the events the members play, whether it be this or the other ones.
“We run a group of events for both the men and the women throughout the course of the year,” Sibley added. “It’s a great way to compete as an amateur player and a great way to spend some time with friends too.”
The Ladies Classic is a two-person best ball tournament that has been run at the course since at least 1995.
“This is one of a handful of events for the ladies here at the club,” Sibley said. “The event is a two person best ball. It’s an opportunity for two members of the club to play together in a team format. We score it as a two-day total of their best score.”
For the past two years the tournament has been won by the same team, Joyce Agganis and Colleen Richards. Agganis is looking forward to having a chance to win the tournament for a third consecutive year.
“I’m looking forward to trying to three-peat,” Agganis said. “The tournament brings camaraderie and a nice competition with the women. It’s a fun time and a great way to show the women’s capabilities. We’ve been doing it for a ton of years.”
Agganis is also glad to see a solid showing from the club’s female members continue into this year’s tournament.
“We have another big field, sometimes we have a small field but the last couple of years the women have really stepped up,” Agganis said. “To get 40, 42 women out of maybe 50 active women is a great thing. It’s a great competition for everyone to get involved in.
“We all enjoy it all,” Agganis added. “It’s a great thing, the men have their thing and we have our thing and on a ratio to see that many women is really great, it really is.”
In addition to the conclusion of the Ladies Classic, next weekend’s schedule at Gannon also includes the Ladies Member-Guest Tournament.
Sibley said the Member-Guest event, which tees off next Saturday, is another popular tournament at Gannon.
“We have the Member-Guest Tournament Saturday as well which is one of our larger events for the ladies,” Sibley said. “It’s a chance to highlight the club and for them to bring outside friends to see the facility. It’s always a chance to see a little bit of Lynn. It’s good for both the community and the club.”
Sibley and the Gannon crew have worked throughout the summer to organize successful tournaments. Sibley said organizing and running popular club events is a task the Gannon staff looks forward to.
“The schedules are done very far in advance so we try to set them up where they are spaced apart and we have the time to highlight and work on all the logistics,” Sibley said of the year’s tournaments. “And then it’s just preparing and getting everything in place.
“It’s what we do,” Sibley added. “A big part of the summer is to run our tournament schedules. It’s important for everyone here to make these the highlights of the season.”