PVCC to host annual Leavitt golf tourney, auction

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An Old Town Canoe package and an overnight package at the Samoset Resort in Rockport are among the items that will be up for bid during the auction portion of Monday’s Bud and Barbara Leavitt Memorial Golf Tournament at Penobscot Valley Country Club in Orono.

The canoe package includes a 16-foot Katahdin canoe, a 57-inch Sugar Island paddle, and more.

Twenty-five teams already have signed up to play in the Leavitt Memorial, named for former Bangor Daily News executive sports editor Bud Leavitt and his wife, Barbara. The tournament, with Unicel as the major sponsor, is a fundraiser for the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston.

Both Leavitts died of cancer, Barbara in 1990 and Bud in 1994. The Jimmy Fund, the fund-raising part of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, was a particular favorite of Barbara’s.

This year’s goal is to raise $25,000, according to Ryann Tash of the tournament committee, and the turnout is ahead of last year, she said.

“We’re happy [with the response],” she said. There is still room for five more teams, she pointed out, and preregistration is not necessary.

“They can just show up at the club at 9:30 [a.m.],” said Tash. Play begins with a shotgun start at 11:30 a.m. The cost is $125 per player, which includes the golf, a cart, a reception and awards ceremony after the golf, then the auction, followed by dinner.

The tournament is a four-player selected-shot scramble with each person, for instance, teeing off on a hole, The team then selects the best lie, and they all play from there. Play continues that way until the hole is completed.

Other auction items include a University of Maine men’s hockey team jersey signed by members of last year’s NCAA runner-up team, a signed UM hockey alumni photo, and a Wayne Gretzky framed photo.

The auction is open to the public and will start about 5:30 p.m.

In addition, there are also a number of raffle items, including two UM men’s hockey ticket packages. One is four tickets to the Maine-Boston College game on Nov. 5, and the other is four tickets for the Oct. 8 Maine-North Dakota game.

Gov. John Baldacci is scheduled to play, and UM men’s hockey coach Tim Whitehead will be running one of the contest holes so he can meet each of the golfers as they come around, said Tash.

Austin Kelly honored

The Bangor City Council has authorized a plaque to be placed at Bangor Municipal Golf Course to honor former head pro Austin Kelly.

The council’s Government Operations Committee approved the honor June 29 and sent it on to the full council for final approval. The council passed the measure on July 12.

Kelly was the first pro at Bangor Muni, which opened in July 1964. He actually started work in 1963 while the course was still under construction.

He helped bring the U.S. Amateur Public Links championship to Bangor in 1978, providing the golf course with national recognition.

Kelly retired in 1995.

“It’s nice to get the recognition, but it’s not necessary,” said Kelly, who added that he hadn’t been told of the honor.

“The city was very good to me, and I think I was good to the city,” he said. “I had a tremendous feeling for the taxpayers of the city.”

First GBO winner dies

Ed Wiatr of New York Mills, N.Y., winner of the first Greater Bangor Open in 1967, died Monday at age 79.

Wiatr’s son, Ed Jr., sent an e-mail announcing his father’s passing because Wiatr always enjoyed his trips to play in the GBO and he thought the members of the GBO tournament committee and Bangor Muni staff members would want to know of his passing.

“He was an awfully nice guy,” said Brian Enman, head pro at Bangor Municipal Golf Course.

Until a couple of years ago, Wiatr returned almost every year to Bangor.

According to Enman, Wiatr and a friend would have a side bet on their rounds at the tournament.

“They would play for who was going to pay for dinner,” said Enman, who added that Wiatr was particularly fond of lobster.

Wiatr turned pro in 1943, but then joined the Army. He remained a pro for the rest of his life, but he also worked for the U.S. Postal Service for 35 years and served as village treasurer for 37 years.

He still holds the course record of 59 at Twin Ponds Golf Course in New York Mills.

Dave Barber can be reached at 990-8170, 1-800-310-8600, or by e-mail at dbarber@bangordailynews.net.