Less than 1/10th of 1% of charity golf tournaments last 25 consecutive years. There are many reasons and factors that come into play for such a small percentage. We all live such busy lives and there is SO much competition for our short and precious time on God's green earth. My respect for the individuals who make the effort to support our wonderful and worthy cause, could not be greater. I would like to recognize some of you with the risk of forgetting or omitting some from years gone by.

Brian Coffey, a great friend, would be one that comes to mind that helped on the innovation and design of both the Seattle and Las Vegas course. He helped in many aspects but the 'secret gates' he created on the Las Vegas course was of pure genius. Mick McCoy, a Las Vegas neighbor, graciously brought his Beatles Band over to play for the party for many years. He helped with the speakers, lighting and entertainment and took so much pressure off me to get the party to run smoothly and efficiently. A massive talented musician that always made time for the Lakeshore. Leon Wiley of Keg World would also come immediately to mind. Leon has had many years where he might be the most popular man in Vegas. If we got low on suds he was at your beckon call within 30 minutes. He has been with the Lakeshore all 21 years in Las Vegas. And there is Bobby 'Buddha' Harris, the reliable and valuable barbecuer of brats and burgers. Always available from early morning until the golfing was done. We almost missed him this year because he was blessed with a glorious granddaughter on September 27th, one day before the Lakeshore, but thankfully he reported for duty as usual. Mike Ryan donated brats and food for the cause for many years. Thank you Mike. Then there is Carolyn and Oscar Goodman; on my goodness! What an asset to have them as neighbors. When Carolyn gives up the reins this November it will be 26 years, (Oscar from 1998-2010; and Carolyn 2010-2024), of having Goodman's as the greatest Mayors in Las Vegas History! They aren't aware of it but I throw their names out all the time when I want to get things done in the neighborhood. For example, my favorite line is: "the Mayors said it was ok to do it". lol It almost always works. Anyway, they have attended many of the Lakeshore parties after the golf and are a real treasure to the event and Las Vegas. Videos created by Kevin West, Jason Harney, Jed Francese and Nick Onassis have been professionally done and have been instrumental and constructive in educating some non-attendees to the event. I also am very thankful to the articles written by Brian Hurlburt and Fairway Jay that included many compliments.   Mike Mullally is another. He is a center of influence who has promoted the event and course so proficiently that many have come to try it out. Great friend Rob Mullaney is another, who has played the course with me a few thousand times and helped with suggestions to improve the event and course throughout the years. Rick Jewett, who other than myself and Big Time 'Mountain Landis' Tom, has played in the most Lakeshores from the beginning. A special shoutout to some of the girls who have volunteered and helped out signing in the players and organizing the tee times. They have been/are: Minddie Lloyd, Theresa Franklin, Lynaae Gaglione, and Patti Boudier. Kurt Goldberg's motor home as a hospitality stop and a crash pad, has been with us the last 2 years and might turn out to be a long lasting tradition. The same can be said for the generosity of Stevie Montesano with his bagels and coffee cake donation. Truly are delicious. Main landscapers and superintendents Oak Creek, Deke Jones, Caesar and Lalo were contributory in getting the course in shape for a Major. Jon Winegrad sponsoring the Lakeshore in the Seattle days. Todd Coons gets a very special mention. He is a computer expert who has aided immeasurably with the website and also with the shirts and hats over the years. Brent Beckley, a large contributor and supporter in the Seattle days from the start. Than a very special thank you to nephew Jack Haynes, Roberta Jones, Guido and Abby Serletic all from Florida, that help out so much the organizing and preparation and clean up every year.  Mark Tom also with his fantastic chef wife Ya, who cooks some of the best meals you can eat each year.  GG Rachel Raquiron and Linda Gutierrez's colossal assistance in helping and attending to baby Zara the last few years doing tournament month. And of course my family. Son Scott Tom, who is now the largest donater to the event in the 25 year history. I love you son.  Also my beautiful wife Michelle. You won't find a more selfless, kind, loving woman anywhere. Everyone is welcome in our home because of her and she discovers the best in everyone. The Lakeshore would not have made it to 25 years if Michelle was not involved. Thank you so much Michelle. Like I said, I am sorry if I have forgotten you but I can't write a book here. There have been so many who have contributed and it has been a pleasure to know you all. 

I realize I can be curt or blunt at times during the weeks up to the event but it is truly the way I believe I have to be to get it done.... striving for excellence. Arranging the tee times is like herding cats. It seems like everyone has a certain time and playing partners they desire. As I remind them, Augusta would never let you do this and they would never invite you. Unfortunately I cannot delegate this chore to anyone else without creating chaos. Every year I do not set tee times any closer than 72 hours before the event and I do not etch the names on the board until I get a verbal or written commitment (their 'WORD') that they are IN! The other 4 Majors do not have this complication or dilemma.... And the Lakeshore is a far less time commitment than the all-day Masters and it is for seriously or terminally ill children. In fact we often do not even warrant a reason. There will indeed be a 26th Lakeshore next year but I envision the Committee changing dramatically the criteria on who gets invited. Conclusion: If you give your word to commit ....PLAY THE EVENT!

I am extremely pleased to report that on the 25th anniversary we set a record of donations that amounted to over $20,000. The main beneficiary will be the Summerlin Children's Hospital and we will work with 'Child Life Specialists'. They are specialists that are trained to help children cope with the stress and uncertainty of illness, disability and hospitalization. Charity is 100% why we play the most unique golf event in the country and it is why it has gone on for 25 consecutive years! 

The 2024 Lakeshore Open.....A Calamity of Errors

The weather was a factor in the 25th Lakeshore Open. It was unusually warm and sultry and it led to extra fast fairways and greens. The beauty of the Lakeshore course is you never know what is going to happen each year. You literally have a somewhat different challenge each and every hole. 101 golfers signed up and 91 teed off starting at 7:57am. Included were 18 rookies. In the first round there were a number of shocking developements. The cutline came in a plus 17. Missing the cut was none other than last year's Royal Blue Jacket winner Van Thomas at 20 over par. I am not sure if that has ever happened before. The Committee has been unsuccessful at getting an interview with Van thus far. Other notables missing the cut were pre tournament favorites: Mike Ryan 19; Kyle Rogers 18; Big Time Tom 18; 2007 winner Karl Mitchell 23; Scott Diel 22; Mike Mullally 27; John Sieberg 20; Judge Paul Gaudet 24;. Other distinguished well known guests that missed were; Johnathan Wendel (Fatal1ty gamer) 21; Ricky Jewett 23; Jack Haynes 27; Christian Wallace R 18;Jeff Rasmussen R 27; Murray Hickman JR 22; Steve 'the bounce' Daoud 29; Kurt Goldberg 27; Paul 'aced #3' Mickley 33; Fred Weiss 24; Todd Coons 28; Chuck Bergez 24; Drew 'Large Father' Ellis 42; Brian Schmid 34; and 2 walk offs, "please remember there is no shame to walk off the most difficult course in the world", Chris 'bongos' Hammett and Fairway Jay. There were many, many others who strayed far away from the cutline.

The Chairman set the pace in the early rounds with a well sculptured 5 over par. It held up as the lead until afternoon round by PGA and golf instructor Brandon Bauman came in at even par. Only 3 other players were single digit all at plus 9; 4 time winner Rob Mullaney, Frank Frisbee and Marcus Mullins. Lurking a little farther back were shotmakers Thomas Buonomo and James Fuetz at +10. Then there were 4 at +11, Preston Harris R; teaching pro Kim Dolan; PGA pro Erik Matthewson and stunning first time player Dominic Masteroni. Dominic received special permission from the Committee to play with zero practice rounds. Amazing performance but he got destroyed from the back tees, like all green rooks. The stage and brutal course was all set for yet another fantastic finish. 24 players made the cut because there were 6 players tied at plus 17 (Louis Aceves, 2 time winner Dr. Harry Schroeder, Madman Brando Smith, Bryce Huesch R, John Zajonc, and 2022 winner Carl Gaglione. Others who made the cut were; Chris Emanuel and Bo Crawford at 13, Mark 'IU balls' Tom and Ben 'the 18th pole won't give' Davis at 14, Jake 'I need an ace on #18' Peterson 15, and Coach Larry Keever 16. Larry is the oldest player to ever make the cut at any of the 5 Majors.

If there is any course in the world where you can make up 17 strokes in 18 holes it is the Lakeshore. Both Louis Aceves and Carl Gaglione started the championship round by 'acing' the first hole to go 15 over. They were off and running like a scared fawn. Carl played a masterful front 9 at even par, that also included an ace par on #4, but he ran into a catastrophe on holes 10 and 11. He carded an unbelievable 12 on 10 and 8 on 11. He was done. His 12 on 10 took 10 minutes to play out and count. Out of the hunt. Zane Thomas was coasting along at even par on the back as he approached #7. He belted his tee ball onto the number 8th green which is a big mistake. Ended up with a good triple 6 if there is such a thing but then bogeyed 8 and doubled #9. Zane played the back 9 magnificently until the 18th. He successfully negotiated his tee ball into the rough but then hit the second shot OB. Carded a double bogey to enter the clubhouse at 20 over par. His 8 over on the back 18 would stand out as the best score for the championship round. Rookie Preston Harris doubled #1, parred #2 and then hit his tee ball on #3 directly jammed into the back of the Eisenhower tree. He smelled around messing with the tree and the quick green and carded a triple 6. But then he showed why the Committee had so much faith that he would be in the mix to possibly win the Royal Blue Jacket. The next 10 holes he was only 2 over par. A triple at the dog run 15th hurt but he went to the 17th only 19 over par. He missed a one foot par putt on 17 and hit a beautiful tee ball only 3 feet from the pole on 18. He failed on his birdie attempt and ended up at 20 over the same as Zane, tied for the lead in the clubhouse. 

So the last group to tee off in the championship round were Brandon Bauman at even par, Philip Tom at plus 5 and Rob Mullaney plus 9. Nothing happened significant until the brutal fourth hole. Rob hit 2 tee balls OB and Brandon hit one OB. Phil stepped to the box for what will be remembered a long time in Lakeshore lore. His tee hit the brick in front of the bermuda landing area and went straight up in the air some 20 feet. The ball bounced on the driveway and went directly left towards OB. It then struck a newly acquired bench and ricocheted precisely right towards the number one tee box and came to rest safely in the grass. An unimaginable, inconceivable, implausible astonishing great break for the 8 time champion. Of course Phil got up and down for the par. Both Rob and Brandon scored quad bogey 7s. The race was on. 

When Phil hit his tee ball stiff to the 7th pin for birdie, it appeared that he once again had the tournament in control as he had done many years and times before. He had erased Brandon’s 5 stroke lead to take a 5 stroke lead for himself. He was 7 over and Brandon was now 12 over. The 8th hole was playing as fast as it ever has. The Toyota truck’s left front tire had been utilized on 3 different occasions in the last 2 weeks to quicken the fairway and green. The enclosed video revealed the secret on why the 8th green stimps 21 towards the ocean.  It auspiciously succeeded in causing the Chairman to hit it out on both rounds Saturday. Phil hit a great tee ball half way down the fairway and then just tapped it gently. It went right to left in a slow crawl and would not listen to Phil’s plea to stop. It traveled about a half inch too far and then slowly went down the slanted drive to an asphalt and cement grave. Phil appeared visibly and totally stunned that he made the mistake again. He tallied a triple and Brandon parred so the lead was down to 2. When Brandon birdied 9 and Phil parred they went into the clubhouse towards the 10 tee box one shot apart. 

Brandon picked up another shot with a bogey on 10 to tie the lead at 12 over.  The 11 hole still possesses an ‘eyeball’ green that is SO torturous. Both players propitiously positioned their tee balls in the left rough. Phil was first to play and hit his second shot to the right side off the green, which is NOW the new valley of sin. It took him 5 more shots to hole out for a quad 7…..ugh. Brandon cozied his second shot to perfection bottom left of green and made the putt for par to propel him to a 4 shot advantage. Both birded 12 and then we ran into a controversy that will be discussed for years. Brandon stepped up to the wrong tee box on 13. Neither Rob or Phil uttered a word which they later would argue is to ‘protect the field’. Humm….Brandon slapped it down the fairway and was immediately informed of his mistake. He was visibly upset. Reluctantly he moved over to the correct championship tee now hitting 3. You could cut the tension with a knife on the rather secluded 13th teeing area. This error happens many times in practice rounds but I do not believe it has happened in the championship 18 in Lakeshore history. Granted it is severely punishing but what should be the proper decision if this is not how it is handled? What if Brandon had hole out from the wrong tee.? The championship tees are roughly 10 shots more difficult as you will notice every year. Does anyone know the rules of golf if this happens in the other 4 Majors? Brandon notched a double 5 but so did the Chairman so it was still a 4 shot separation. Mentally Phil’s double after a good drive was his undoing for the jacket. He never recovered. While this was happening both Preston and Zane were finishing up their rounds at 20 over. 

As Brandon neared the 18th tee box he had an 8 shot lead on Preston and Zane at 12 over par. All he needed was a 10 or better to win his first Royal Blue Jacket but 18 is the most difficult par 3 in the country. Averages over 8 shots per player every year.  His first tee ball hit short in the high rough and mysteriously trickled left out of bounds. His next tee ball was struck too high and too right and it hit the Eisenhower tree of #3 and bounded astray into the shrubs out of bounds again. Possibly Brandon was striking the sphere too quickly without much thought. Hitting 5 from the tee, he launched it right over the fence in a precarious position close to the fence.  His 6th shot barely managed to cross under the fence. Brandon came through the gate and contemplated his predicament. He was truly bothered. Finally he took a balanced stance and then clipped a right to left chip that hit in the rough and skirted and clattered left out of bounds once again. The groans from the galleries were now audible to folks blocks away. Could this be yet again, another Jean van de Velde moment at the Lakeshore Golf and Country where the jacket could be plucked from the jaws of victory?  Brandon took a deep breath. He was now lying 8 and had to get down in 2 to win. A painful hush hovered over the crowd. The ninth mash still left him some 3 feet short of the post. The 10th was center cut for a 10 and a plus 19 over the back 18 and a one shot victory. Congratulations Brandon for your entrance into a very exclusive club.

Amazingly this similar scenario played out in 2017. Dr. Schroeder played the front 18 in even par and then butchered the back 18 by 19 shots to win by one stroke.  Shooting 19 over in the championship round and winning a Major will never happen again….maybe?

Name.                        1st.  2nd. Tot

Brandon Bauman   E    19    19

Zane Thomas             12    8    20

Preston Harris R   11    9    20

Frank Frisbee   9    13    22

Philip Tom                  5    18    23

Kim Dolan                 11    13    24

Louis Aceves   17    11    28

Harry Schroeder   17    12    29

Rob Mullaney   9    21    30

Bryce Huesch   17    13    30

Marcus Mullins           9    21    30

James Fuetz   10    21    31

Chris Emanuel          13    18    31

Benjamin Davis          14    18    32

Dominic Masteroni R 11    24    35

Jake Peterson   15    23    38

Mark Tom                  14    27    41

John Zajonc               17    24    41

Carl Gaglione   17    24    41

Larry Keever              16    28    44

Erik Matthewson   11    35    46

Thomas Bunomo   10    37    47

Bo Crawford              13    34    47

Brandon Smith           17    40    57

Your imagination creates your reality. The sanctuary of the Lakeshore grounds manifests the childhood fun we all experienced, even if it was only tangentory at a glance. It exists in all of us. We just to need to set it free once again to rediscover the magical realm. This is the end of the first 25 year chapter. We can make a serious dent into the next chapter if we 'do not let the old man or woman in'. If we can improve or benefit  even just one child's viability, let alone a multitude, it's all worth it. Giving back is certainly a gigantic piece of the puzzle to a spiritual and life contentment. -CHAIRMAN GOLF'S 5TH MAJOR, THE LAKESHORE OPEN CHARITY GOLF TOURNAMENT COMMITTEE