The SunBird Men’s Golf Association has scheduled a new event, the Cal MacPherson Match Play Challenge, which is a three-day tournament to be held on March 22, 23 and 24. The tournament is named in honor of Cal MacPherson who passed away in 2017. Cal was a left-handed swinging, long hitting and big slicing golfer. Many who played with Cal especially remember and enjoyed his long slicing drives over the pond and palms to a playable lie on hole 15. Cal was one of the original buyers of a share of the golf course when it was purchased by SunBird residents. He also held positions on the golf course board of directors and on the Men’s Club Executive Board. Cal also volunteered in maintenance activities on the golf course. Many will remember seeing Cal out on the course painting benches and signs. His contributions, both for and on the golf course, were many, and it is fitting that this tournament be named in his honor.
The format for this tournament will be match play modeled after the professional Ryder Cup and similar to SunBird’s popular Conley Cup, the USA versus Canadian event. There will be 24 players plus four alternates from the Men’s Club who will qualify by means of their points in the Net Player of the Year that was started this season. Points are earned each time a player participates in a selected number of Thursday regular Men’s Club tournaments and also for their finishing position in the events. The 24 qualifying players will be split into two 12-man teams who will compete against each other in the three-day match play event.
Both the Conley Cup and the MacPherson tournaments will be played on the same day, so if you enjoy match play golf, come on out and root for your favorite country and then your favorite golfers.