Thirty teams consisting of 150 amateur and professional contestants played in this year's annual Commander's Cup event at Hubbard Golf Course on Hill Air Force Base. Six of the professionals from the Nationwide Tour, who are on their way to Willow Creek Country Club to compete in this year's Utah Championship, also competed.
The winning team consisted of amateurs David Turner, Chris Riding, Jim Willis, Scott Reading and golf pro Guy Lester.
The day's events began with a instructional clinic led by Nationwide Tour pros Blake Adams, Martin Piller, John Kimbell, Kris Blanks, Brent SClBDelahoussaye, Josh Teater and Chad Collins. An eager crowd listened to the pros talk about subjects ranging from how not to cup your hands on the backswing to their favorite ice cream. The Nationwide Tour long drive champion, Blake Adams, even tried a ladies driver and to much of the dismay of the owner it went dead straight. Among the nuggets of wisdom shared was that timing and tempo are more important than overswing and overkill.
The tournament was played under ideal course and weather conditions. Nationwide Tour pro John Kimbell said that the course was set up perfectly for this type of event. The Hubbard Golf Course played out to be challenging with an emphasis on fun. There were many long drives landing on the fairway like an F-16 on the runway with a few others needing a bit more room, including scores of great shots, some bad shots, and a few "oh my gosh, how'd he do that" shots.
On his first trip to Utah, Martin Pillar from the Nationwide Tour took time to reflect on the military servicemen and women and said "I wouldn't even know where to begin to express gratitude. They're (service men and women) out there doing things that are giving me the opportunity to play golf." Citing what drives him he said that it is the competition and his religious beliefs that keep him going.
The scoring was a modified Vegas format with the tie-breaker being the low score on the 18th hole.
The final score based on the modified Vegas format was 114. Two teams held that score, inciting a tie breaker which was the score each team had on the 18th hole. The winning team had 6 on the 18th hole and the second place team scored a 7.
