SOU soccer player Allyson Ward, left, poses with the low-net winning team of Travis Christian, Mike Ritchey, Ryan Beugli, Tom Walker and Craig Funsten.
ASHLAND -- The 23rd annual Lithia/Raider Club Golf Shootout set a another record this week by bringing in over $253,000 to the student-athletes of Southern Oregon University.
Held at Medford's Rogue Valley Country Club, the event featured dinner and team auction Mondaynight, followed by two sold out flights of golf Tuesday. The tournament feature 54 fivesomes that braved rainy conditions that caused the morning round to be be shortened by three holes.
This year a record 13 national companies stepped up to the plate to served as Major Tournament Sponsors. Those companies included Lithia Auto Stores, US Bank, Cars.com, The Warranty Group, Enterprise, TD Auto Finance, ADP, Dealer.com, Autotrader.com, Chase, TrueCar, Exxon/Mobil 1, and Eleads. Each company paid $10,000 to sponsor the event.
This year's tournament beat last year's record of $223,000 and over the last four years has brought in almost $827,000 for scholarships and SOU Athletics.
Tom Walker, Craig Funsten, Ryan Beugli, Travis Christian and Mike Ritchey won the low net title for the second straight year.
Next year's golf tournament is set for Sept. 15-16 at the Rogue Valley Country Club.
Tuesday's Winners:
Low Gross
1st Place (54)
Tom Winmill
Rick Stenchomb
Dave Minnitti
Mitch Barats
Gary Small
2nd Place (55)
Tim Trower
Bob Hunter
DL Richardson
Monte Mendenhall
Kim Fritts
3rd Place (60)
Greg Stacknick
Larry Delwiche
Pat Watson
Amir Rizkalla
Greg Jones
Low Net
1st Place (45.5)
Tom Walker
Craig Funsten
Ryan Beugli
Travis Christian
Mike Ritchey
2nd Place (47.2)
Sabrina Rokovitz
Nick Crouch
Ben Long
Eric Wood
Ken Erlan
3rd Place (49.0)
Dave Carson
Tim Allard
Tim Devens
Hugh Hathcock
Sid DeBoer
Women's Low Net
1st Place (58.6)
Karen DeBoer
Nancy Tait
Janice Marvin
Casey Seltzer
Maureen Becker
Longest Drive - Men
Ben Long
Longest Drive - Women
Kelly Beck
Longest Putt
Marv Hackwell
Closest To The Line
Ross Rampy
Hole In One/Closest to the Pin
Kevin Hull
Closest Second Shot - Men
Jamie Cooper
Closest Second Shot - Women
Kim Fritts