Week of Lima, Ohio
June 12, 2001

As many of you saw, my scores at the Lost Creek CC in Lima, OH were disappointing as my 73-76-77 finished last in the money. The week in Lima was very memorable though and Val and I most appreciated the grand hospitality extended to us for the whole week.

We arrived Monday after driving from Wisconsin to Ohio and were welcomed back for the second year by Kay and Gary Gearhart, our private housing hosts who live on the 12th fairway at the club. I was paired with them and good friends Dianna and Harold Breindenbach two years ago in the pro-am. They then invited me again to be their partners in 2000 as well as to stay at Gearharts in 2000. Due to their great arranging, we again got to have the 3rd annual Gearhart-Breidenbach-Ertl pro-am team on Thursday. We had our usual good shots and birdies and many laughs! Our 12-under-par was pretty good, but not the same as year 1 when we won the entire pro-am! But being with these four special friends was really enjoyable. They have grown children and young grandchildren, and now have extra time to enjoy life! Last year the four of them went with a group to Alaska for a tour/cruise, and this fall they will be off to Scotland for fun and golf. They spend some of the winter at a home in the Ft. Myers, Fla. area, and some time at a cottage snowmobiling in northern Mich. Wherever the four of them go, so goes the fun!

For the 2nd week in a row, my mom Carol came to spectate the event. Lost Creek is a great spectator course (like Corning) that is built on one piece of land with no houses within the course. Many beautiful, defining trees, and rolling hills, and one great par 3 #10, which is about 210 yards uphill. Unlike the Wisconsin tournament where we had six layers to battle the cold, Lima was beautiful with no rain, and 75-80 degrees each day. Mom and Kay, Gary, Harold and Dianna walked the first holes together, and then the 4 of them left to volunteer driving the carts for the last groups. How nice to have devoted fans who like me both when I'm GOOD and when I'm average. Thanks everyone.

Lima sure does a great job feeding the players and volunteers. For the pro-am event, they provided lunch and a great steak dinner. Angela Buzminski and Michelle Fuller both broke the tournament scoring record with their 11-under-par finishes and they went to a playoff which Angela won on the first extra hole. Then came the final feeding, the chicken barbeque for hundreds of volunteers and players who came to help the winner celebrate. One very memorable week!

Val and I experienced one new thing Thursday morning. We visited Harold's trotters who house in the barns at the fairgrounds across the street. It was great to see his horses and to each sit in the sulky. We watched his prize 2-year old Sunny Illiad trot around the track (clockwise for practice only), and Val got a great photo of it as they went by. We also saw his new 3 month old, and two more one-year olds. It should be a fun year for him, as one of their horses won on Friday night in another city. What an interesting world, and one that we will watch a bit more closely.

Enjoy watching the men's US Open, and we will be in hot Decatur, IL this week.

Thanks again for reading, and keep the e-mails coming!

Sue E.

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