By ALAN HOSKINS
Eight former champions are expected to be in the field for the 36th annual Wyandotte County Open Golf Tournament at Sunflower Hills Saturday and Sunday, Aug. 11-12.
Brad Ansley and Donna Reid will be defending the men’s and women’s championships they won last year. A 36-hole stroke play tournament, there will be six flights for men and two for women.
Other former men’s champions include Reece Nigh, the 2010 champion; J.R. Munson, a two-time winner with wins in 2005 and 2009; Denny McWilliams, the oldest champion at age 51 when he won in 1993; and the co-holders of the tournament record of 144, Bob Chatterton and Rich Laing.
Chatterton first set the record in 1985; Laing matched it in 1992 and is coming off winning the club championship this past month with a two-under par 70.
The women’s championship is expected to be a renewal of the tournament’s only four-time champions, Reid and Pat Seber-Bradley.
Reid is the first in either division to win three straight titles (1993-95) and ended Seber-Bradley’s bid for three straight championships last year. In addition to winning in 2009 and 2010, Seber-Bradley won in 1991 and 1997.
The oldest tournament of its kind in the Kansas City area, entries are still being accepted at Sunflower Hills (913-721-2727). The cost is $90 and includes on qualifying round.
Participants will be treated to a luncheon on Saturday courtesy of Farmland Foods and a post-tournament dinner Sunday provided by the Sunflower Hills Snack Shop.
