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Pro-Am notebook

Published 8/3/2009 in Pro-Am

Hall of Fame Inductee - At the closing awards ceremony, Kent Colvin of High Plains Pizza, announced the tournament was starting a Hall of Fame and its first inductee is Bob Whippo, the longtime Pro-Am volunteer who played a pivotal role for more than 25 years as its chief financial officer and also worked behind the scenes with the host professionals on pairings, scoring, player payouts and, as Colvin reminded the audience, the porta-johns on the golf course.

Whippo died in November of Stage IV renal cell cancer after a more than five-year battle. His two children - Aubrey and Lucas - and his widow Jill, were on hand for the check presentation to winner Ryan Vermeer. Aubrey and Lucas both are alumni of the Newborn Intensive Care Unit at St. Catherine Hospital.

"He'd be so happy about everything that happened," Aubrey said of her father. "He was so involved and he just loved it so much."

Lucas said that Bob enjoyed every aspect of the tournament.

"If he wasn't playing golf he was pushing numbers and this allowed him to be involved in both," he said. "I think we both remember being kicked out of the camper (the tournament headquarters) because he couldn't be bothered. It was funny to see him concentrate so hard, but that's why he did a good job."

Lucas is a senior at Washburn University majoring in music education while Aubrey is a junior at the University of Kansas majoring in communication and business.

Pro-Am No. 30 - Tyler Woodrow, from Wichita, and Colvin played in their 30th consecutive Pro-Am. Woodrow began playing in 1980 when he lived and owned a sporting goods business in Liberal.

"That first year, the amateurs had to qualify to play the final day with the pros," Woodrow recalled. "There was the time when the A player had to tee off from the same tee as the Pro and that was not very good for the A player."

Woodrow said through the years the tournament committee had tweaked many aspects of the tournament, but it remained committed to the amateur component of the competition.

"The charity makes everything worthwhile," Woodrow said. "I can't believe it's been 30, but we've certainly had a lot of good times. I remember playing with both Matt Seitz (1982 at Dodge City) and Mickey Piersall (1980 at Liberal) in the Pro-Am. Haven't played with a winner since."

Woodrow has been providing the winning crystal awards for the Pro-Am since those early years and still enjoys coming to the tournament.

"It's a gathering, a sort of reunion and it's nice to come back and see old friends," Woodrow said. "It's a great deal for St. Catherine and for the people who play."

Home Turf: With his win Sunday, Ryan Vermeer, from Lawrence, became the third consecutive Kansan to win the Pro-Am. He follows Jesse Schulte, from Hutchinson and Gary Woodland from Topeka. Bruce Vaughan, from Hutchinson has won three times (1987-1990-2005), while Bryan Norton, from Salina, won in 1986, Rod Nuckolls of Wichita in 1981 and Seitz of Hutchinson in 1982.

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