Crooked Stick had lots of local connections Sunday

A trip to Crooked Stick Golf Club in Carmel on Sunday for the final round of the U.S. Senior Open was enjoyable.

Not only for the golf, but because my daughter Rachael and I saw so many familiar faces doing the same.

The crowd was estimated at 40,000 for the final round, and it was amazing how many people we knew and stopped and chatted with for a few minutes.

* We ran into Linton Mayor Tom Jones and his wife Patti and their friends Donnie and Teresa Sloan on the par 3 No. 3 hole within the first 30 minutes.

* Former Linton-Stockton High School and Franklin College standout golfer Tim Fish said he was a volunteer working for NBC Sports during its telecast hours.

* John and Karen Collisson of rural Linton were volunteers for the event. We met Karen and her daughter Samantha on No. 7. Karen was one of the volunteers near the green who raised their arms asking for quiet when the players putted. John was a scorer for the group featuring Larry Mize, and we saw him on No. 15 later in the day.

* We saw former Linton-Stockton Superintendent Doug Rose -- now the superintendent at Vincennes -- on No. 9 as we watched Fred Funk and Greg Norman hit their approach shots. But we didn't get a chance to speak with him.

* We saw one of Rachael's Ball State University teammates on No. 12. She was a volunteer working for NBC Sports.

* We ran into former collegiate golfer Katie Tewell, who played at Franklin College. We've known her for a while, and was told she's dating someone with local ties and his grandmother lives just down the road from us. Katie was with her boyfriend at Crooked Stick, and we met him -- Zach Brinker. It really is a small world!

Funk, by the way, won easily. His 20-under par was six strokes better than Joey Sindelar.

The lack of drama allowed Rachael and I to slip out two holes early and beat the traffic.

Think Pink!

Rachael has played in the Susan G. Komen Think Pink golf scramble at the Vincennes Elks Country Club the past two years. It's an event to raise money for the Vincennes Good Samaritan breast cancer facility.

It truly is an outstanding event.

I was asked to participate this year, and I'm glad I did. My wife Deb doesn't play golf, so she spent time riding around with our two groups.

A field of 216 golfers -- 36 teams of six players each -- took part on Saturday. It was announced by the Elks pro to be the largest scramble ever in Vincennes.

There's more than golf, though. There's a silent auction with some great items (a home plate with Pete Rose's signature went way too high for me, but I really wanted it!), a 50-50 drawing, a ball drop, a Ta-Ta Town on No. 6 featuring many items to purchase, and there was a dinner after the event. There were also lots and lots of sponsors who donated money.

Organizer Georgiann Leonard announced after the event that more than $75,000 was raised. That's outstanding!

This all started with a simple idea to help breast cancer research and victims. Wouldn't it be great if an event like the one in Vincennes could be started in Greene County.