Poe: Hinrich benefit a smashing success
By Barry Poe Journal sports writer | Posted: Wednesday, July 02, 2008
Kirk Hinrich, team captain of the Chicago Bulls, took a little break from his celebrity status on Monday, returning to his hometown to host the first "Kirk for Kids" golf benefit at Sioux City Country Club.
Hinrich, who led a West High basketball team coached by his father, Jim, to a Class 4A state championship in 1999 and later starred at the University of Kansas, just finished his fifth season with the Bulls. He completed the first year of a five-year $48.5 million contract extension.
The riches, however, haven't changed Hinrich in the slightest.
On Monday, as always, he was the same old Kirk, exchanging pleasantries with golfers before they teed off on No. 1 and even joining select foursomes on the hole.
Goodness knows how many autographs he signed, always taking time to visit with whomever requested his signature.
And, above everything else, Hinrich was finally able to give back to his beloved Sioux City. Those who adore him and have followed his every step on the basketball court, from the time he was lighting it up as a grade schooler to now, as one of the top guards in the National Basketball Association.
Proceeds from this wonderful event, which included a four-person golf scramble, dinner and auction, benefitted four local charities. All of the charities, by the way, are youth-oriented.
There were some impressive items up for auction, including autographed jerseys from Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Joe Namath and Paul Hornung, to name a few. A used pair of boxing shorts signed by former heavyweight champion Larry Holmes was another item that caught my eye.
Another of the featured items up for auction was a Chicago Bulls lower level luxury box.
Kirk even brought along his old buddy Nick Collison, whom he played alongside at the University of Kansas. Collison, who prepped at Iowa Falls, now plays forward for the Seattle SuperSonics. Former University of Iowa standout Jeff Horner challenged anyone to match his shotmaking on the par-3 13th hole.
It was a beautiful day for golf and the weather brought out the best in Bill Hornbeck. Bill's lived in South Sioux City for a number of years now, but he and I grew up playing pee wee baseball against each other and continued our athletic battles through high school at Woodbine and Logan, respectively.
That, of course, was several decades ago, but Bill certainly hasn't lost any of his athletic ability.
Playing the par-5, 517-yard fifth hole, Hornbeck holed out from 202 yards for a rare double eagle. His drive flew some 315 yards. Hornbeck said he's never had a hole-in-one, but that this was his second double eagle.
We were playing in the group behind, so I was surprised I didn't hear any hooting and hollering going on. Perhaps that's because we were searching for our ball off in the rough somewhere.
At any rate, congratulations go out to Bill, and also to former Bishop Heelan and Creighton University basketball star Nate Funk, who hammered the longest drive of the day. Rumor has it that Nate's drive measured 326 yards. The last person I saw hit one that far was John Daly when he played an exhibition at Dakota Dunes in the early 1990s.
Kudos to Sioux Cityan Todd Sapp for reaching the Final Eight of the Iowa Golf Association 2008 Match Play Championship.
Sapp lost to Ron Peterson of Des Moines 6 and 5 in a quarterfinal match at Lake Panorama Golf Course in Panora, Iowa, on Tuesday afternoon. Sapp, though, defeated Terry Cook of Johnston 3 and 2 on Tuesday morning, his third victory in a row after qualifying with a 77.
On Sunday, Sapp downed his first-round opponent Tyler Whiteley of Ames 6 and 4. He then beat Sam Zoske of Marshalltown 2 and 1.
Peterson, the IGA 2000 player of the year, will meet Mike Ketcham of Waukee, the 1985 player of the year, in one semifinal today. The other semifinal is a rematch of last year's championship match between Mike Oimoen of Clear Lake and J.D. Anderson of West Des Moines.
Anderson, of course, is a Pocahontas native who has won our own Interstate Amateur Championship each of the last four years.
East High graduate Cam Jacobs also qualified for the match play competition and took veteran Bill Manske of Algona to 20 holes before bowing in an opening-round match.
Speaking of extra holes, Jim Curell of Boone, another veteran linkster, made a hole in one on the 21st hole to defeat Jon Brown of Urbandale. Brown, you may remember, won the 2006 Iowa Amateur at Whispering Creek, which incidentally, was designed by Sapp.
Teams from Two Rivers Golf Club and Landsmeer Golf Club tied for eighth in the Nebraska PGA Section Club Car Pro Am at Firethorn Golf Club in Lincoln on Monday.
Bob Walker, Chad Edwards, Zach Mathers and Bill Mathers of Two Rivers shot 46-60--96 in the 1 net bastball on odd holes and 2 net on even holes. The Orange City foursome of Mike Fiddelke, Steve Kruger, Blake Bengard and Bob Brummel had an identical total.
Walker, incidentally, tied for fourth among pros with a 39-34--73. Troy Harder of Wayne Country Club also shot 73 with nines of 36 and 37. Mike Schuchart of Wilderness Ridge fired a 66 to top the pros list and also led his team to victory.
Journal sports writer Barry Poe can be reached at (712) 293-4205, or e-mail barrypoe@siouxcityjournal.com.
Hinrich, who led a West High basketball team coached by his father, Jim, to a Class 4A state championship in 1999 and later starred at the University of Kansas, just finished his fifth season with the Bulls. He completed the first year of a five-year $48.5 million contract extension.
The riches, however, haven't changed Hinrich in the slightest.
On Monday, as always, he was the same old Kirk, exchanging pleasantries with golfers before they teed off on No. 1 and even joining select foursomes on the hole.
Goodness knows how many autographs he signed, always taking time to visit with whomever requested his signature.
And, above everything else, Hinrich was finally able to give back to his beloved Sioux City. Those who adore him and have followed his every step on the basketball court, from the time he was lighting it up as a grade schooler to now, as one of the top guards in the National Basketball Association.
Proceeds from this wonderful event, which included a four-person golf scramble, dinner and auction, benefitted four local charities. All of the charities, by the way, are youth-oriented.
There were some impressive items up for auction, including autographed jerseys from Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Joe Namath and Paul Hornung, to name a few. A used pair of boxing shorts signed by former heavyweight champion Larry Holmes was another item that caught my eye.
Another of the featured items up for auction was a Chicago Bulls lower level luxury box.
Kirk even brought along his old buddy Nick Collison, whom he played alongside at the University of Kansas. Collison, who prepped at Iowa Falls, now plays forward for the Seattle SuperSonics. Former University of Iowa standout Jeff Horner challenged anyone to match his shotmaking on the par-3 13th hole.
It was a beautiful day for golf and the weather brought out the best in Bill Hornbeck. Bill's lived in South Sioux City for a number of years now, but he and I grew up playing pee wee baseball against each other and continued our athletic battles through high school at Woodbine and Logan, respectively.
That, of course, was several decades ago, but Bill certainly hasn't lost any of his athletic ability.
Playing the par-5, 517-yard fifth hole, Hornbeck holed out from 202 yards for a rare double eagle. His drive flew some 315 yards. Hornbeck said he's never had a hole-in-one, but that this was his second double eagle.
We were playing in the group behind, so I was surprised I didn't hear any hooting and hollering going on. Perhaps that's because we were searching for our ball off in the rough somewhere.
At any rate, congratulations go out to Bill, and also to former Bishop Heelan and Creighton University basketball star Nate Funk, who hammered the longest drive of the day. Rumor has it that Nate's drive measured 326 yards. The last person I saw hit one that far was John Daly when he played an exhibition at Dakota Dunes in the early 1990s.
Kudos to Sioux Cityan Todd Sapp for reaching the Final Eight of the Iowa Golf Association 2008 Match Play Championship.
Sapp lost to Ron Peterson of Des Moines 6 and 5 in a quarterfinal match at Lake Panorama Golf Course in Panora, Iowa, on Tuesday afternoon. Sapp, though, defeated Terry Cook of Johnston 3 and 2 on Tuesday morning, his third victory in a row after qualifying with a 77.
On Sunday, Sapp downed his first-round opponent Tyler Whiteley of Ames 6 and 4. He then beat Sam Zoske of Marshalltown 2 and 1.
Peterson, the IGA 2000 player of the year, will meet Mike Ketcham of Waukee, the 1985 player of the year, in one semifinal today. The other semifinal is a rematch of last year's championship match between Mike Oimoen of Clear Lake and J.D. Anderson of West Des Moines.
Anderson, of course, is a Pocahontas native who has won our own Interstate Amateur Championship each of the last four years.
East High graduate Cam Jacobs also qualified for the match play competition and took veteran Bill Manske of Algona to 20 holes before bowing in an opening-round match.
Speaking of extra holes, Jim Curell of Boone, another veteran linkster, made a hole in one on the 21st hole to defeat Jon Brown of Urbandale. Brown, you may remember, won the 2006 Iowa Amateur at Whispering Creek, which incidentally, was designed by Sapp.
Teams from Two Rivers Golf Club and Landsmeer Golf Club tied for eighth in the Nebraska PGA Section Club Car Pro Am at Firethorn Golf Club in Lincoln on Monday.
Bob Walker, Chad Edwards, Zach Mathers and Bill Mathers of Two Rivers shot 46-60--96 in the 1 net bastball on odd holes and 2 net on even holes. The Orange City foursome of Mike Fiddelke, Steve Kruger, Blake Bengard and Bob Brummel had an identical total.
Walker, incidentally, tied for fourth among pros with a 39-34--73. Troy Harder of Wayne Country Club also shot 73 with nines of 36 and 37. Mike Schuchart of Wilderness Ridge fired a 66 to top the pros list and also led his team to victory.
Journal sports writer Barry Poe can be reached at (712) 293-4205, or e-mail barrypoe@siouxcityjournal.com.
Story Comments
Read More and Post Comments 3 comment(s)
Please note: The following are comments from readers. In no way do they represent the views of The Sioux City Journal or Lee Enterprises. We will not edit or alter your comments, but we do reserve the right to not post or to remove comments that violate our code of conduct. No comment may contain potentially libelous statements; obscene, explicit or racist language; personal attacks, insults or threats. Terms of Service
Right On wrote on Jul 2, 2008 9:28 PM:
dawn wrote on Jul 2, 2008 4:53 PM:
cmj wrote on Jul 2, 2008 10:39 AM: