Two, four-person teams bested the competition at the National Finals of the National Kidney Foundation (NKF) Konica Minolta Golf Classic, held January 18-20 at the legendary Pebble Beach Resorts in California.
In the Handicap Index Division, the winning foursome from Dallas, TX included David Martin, Marlen Vogt, Kelly O’Bannon, and Ty Miller. The first-place team shot rounds of 61-63-65 for a three-day total of 189 (-27 par) in the four-person scramble. They qualified for the National Finals by winning their local NKF Konica Minolta Golf Classic at Royal Oaks Country Club.
In the Gross Division, a team from the Phoenix tournament took top honors. Members included Mark Upchurch, Daniel Mezich, Richard Thompson, and Alex Wagner. They finished in first place with rounds of 58-57-57 for a three-day total of 172 (-44 par) in the event. The team qualified for the National Finals by winning their closest, local Golf Classic competition at Whirlwind Golf Club.
“Congratulations to the winning teams for their outstanding performance at the Pebble Beach Finals,” said NKF CEO and kidney transplant recipient Kevin Longino. “We thank all of the participating golfers from across the nation for their tireless efforts to raise awareness about kidney health and the prevention kidney disease, which helps us to expand the mission of the National Kidney Foundation.”
Both foursomes qualified for the National Finals via their top finishes in NKF Konica Minolta Golf Classic events during the 2018 season. In the National Finals, they faced off against nearly 200 other amateur golf teams from across the country and played the fabled fairways and signature holes of the Monterey Peninsula: Pebble Beach Golf Links, Spyglass Hill Golf Course and The Links at Spanish Bay.
The NKF Konica Minolta Golf Classic, a nationwide series of 30 golf tournaments held in major cities across the country, is The Premier Amateur Golf Event for Charity™, raising more than $3.5 million each year and exceeding $100 million to date. Each event also works to raise awareness about kidney health by prominently displaying an important kidney fact or figure on each of the 18 holes of their host golf course. NKF urges Golf Classic participants and the public to make an explicit commitment to “Heart Your Kidneys” by learning about the kidney’s vital functions and help elevate the kidneys to the status of other vital organs such as the heart.
The series showcases Konica Minolta as the national title sponsor. The national corporate partner is Insurance Auto Auctions / One Car One Difference. National Finals partners include Polycom and Michelob Ultra. National promotional partners are Global Golf Post, the Greg Norman Collection, Bridgestone Golf, and Kendra Scott.
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