Disc, Stick Golfers Tee Off for Charity

Golfers and disc golfers will have a unique opportunity to play together in the eighth annual Will’s Tourney on Monday, Feb. 22, at 11:30 a.m. at the Glen Annie Golf Club. A buffet dinner, raffle for a night’s stay at the Biltmore and dinner for two, and awards presentation will follow the tournament at 5:15 p.m. All proceeds from the event benefit the William Wiersma Endowment Scholarship Fund at Westmont. Sponsorship opportunities are still available. To register or for more information, please go to willstourney.com or contact Mary Pat Whitney, administrative assistant to the vice president for advancement, at (805) 565-6050. Green fees are $150, $115 for recent graduates (’07-’15) and $75 for current students.

Wiersma graduated from Westmont in 2006 after spending his senior year studying at Oxford University. He was killed in a car accident in October 2006 while returning from an Ultimate Frisbee tournament in Phoenix. The following year, the Wiersmas established a scholarship to honor the principles of collaboration for which Will stood.

“Now in its eighth year, Will’s Tourney is, as far as we know, the only simultaneous stick/disc golf tournament in the country,” says Tom Wiersma, Will’s dad. “The nature of the tournament embodies three of the things that Will appreciated most: collaboration, competition and fun.”

This is a conventional Best Ball/Best Disc Tournament. Traditional golfers and disc golfers will play their own game, keep track of their individual best scores on each hole and submit the best combined 18 scores at the end of the tournament.

The evening is filled with awards, raffle prizes and dinner at the Frog Bar and Grill overlooking the Goleta coastline. The event, which was held for the first six years at the Montecito Country Club, is officially sponsored by Westmont and organized annually by Will’s family, friends and the college.

“If you are unable to golf, please come for the dinner and raffle,” Whitney says. “The key is to collaborate to raise money for the William Wiersma Scholarship.”