Gene Crothers Golf Tournament returns for fourth year

DAYTON—The 4th Annual Gene Crothers Memorial Golf Tournament will be teeing off in Dayton on June 25. Since 2019, the tournament has helped raise money to install an underground irrigation system at the Touchet Valley Golf Course.

The Touchet Valley Golf and Recreation (TVGR) has raised more than $250,000 from tournament proceeds, donations, and grant awards, said TVGR Treasurer Sean Thurston. The irrigation project was split into three phases, fundraising and planning, irrigation reservoir construction, and underground sprinkler system installation.

The project is now in phase three, and organizers have broken it into two parts.

First is installing underground sprinklers, pipes, wires, connections, and controls on property owned by TVGR, most of the golf course.

Next will be the installation of the underground irrigation system on property owned by Columbia County. The county had promised TVGR up to $10,000 for the project, but that money was redirected by the county during the pandemic. Sean Thurston, TVGR treasurer, said that the organization is in discussions with county commissioners to recommit the funds, but an agreement has not been reached.

Inland Cellular presents this year’s tournament, but there is still time to sponsor one or more holes, with four sponsorship tiers ranging between $125 and $1,000. Prize donations are welcome, as well. For donation information, contact Thurston at (509) 844-1193.

The field is limited to 27 teams, with Men’s, Ladies’, and ‘Jack and Jill’ flights. Registration for the event closes on Wednesday, June 22, and forms are available at Chicken Bill’s Café & BBQ, located at the golf course on 209 N. Pine Street in Dayton.

The $100 entry fee per two-person team includes entry fees, Friday evening’s social hour at 5 p.m., hors d’oeuvres, and lunch on Saturday.

Chicken Bill’s will be open on Saturday at 7 a.m., offering a breakfast buffet for purchase. Registration begins at 8 a.m., and a shotgun start will kick off the tournament at 9 a.m.