In a major fundraiser for the Martha’s Vineyard Boys & Girls Club and the Big Brothers Big Sisters of Cape Cod and the Islands, 115 golfers took part in the 21st annual Children’s Benefit Golf Tournament at Farm Neck on Sunday, June 7 and raised nearly $35,000.
With a score of 55.6, Jay Morton, Chris Belaney, Randy Tavilla, Henry Smith, and Mark Hess beat out 22 other teams to win. Coming in second, with a score of 55.7, was the team of Jim Kaplan, Bob Jaffe, Frank DiDomenico, Ralf Pirozzi, and Al Johnson. Taking third place were Howard Miller, Doug Sederholm, Frank Wezniak, Dee Lander, and Joe Grillo with a final score of 56.6.
Each team consisted of five players, some of which included sponsored golfers from the Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School golf team. Involving youth players in the tournament was the idea of the late Don McGrath, who served as event chairman for many years. He saw it as a way to show tournament patrons how much the youth they were supporting also enjoyed the game of golf. In honor of Don’s commitment to supporting Island kids, the A. Donald McGrath Youngest Golfer Award is now presented annually, this year to Nick Fiore.