South Riding, VA – It was an amazing day at the 4th Annual Craig Blass Memorial Golf Tournament held on September 16th, 2006 at the South Riding Golf Club. Not only was money raised for the Blass Memorial Scholarship, a September 11th related fund, but there were 2 holes-in-one by the same foursome. To add to the odds of this occurrence, both were on prize holes.

At 1PM, 80 players and 8 volunteers converged on the South Riding Golf Course in Northern Virginia. The field was composed of a variety of participants, ranging in age from 22 to 65 and coming in from across the country. There were men and women, avid golfers and those who knew their participation was simply a donation to charity. But it was one foursome in particular who stole the show.

The team made up of Doug Dickey, son Ben Dickey, Brian Cosker and Joey Shapiro finished in 2nd place thanks to “Aces” on two of the course’s Par 3 holes. Playing hole #5, a 133 yard Par 3, Cosker smacked a beautiful shot across the lake separating him from the green. At first he was simply glad to have landed near the pin, but slowly the ball trickled closer and closer until finally dropping into the cup! This wasn’t your ordinary hole-in-one; this was a prize hole for which Cosker won two international business class plane tickets.

Such a play during a golf tournament would make it the talk of the town, but the team wasn’t quite finished. Not to be outdone by his fellow teammate, Shapiro waited until hole #16 to drive the ball 193 yards into the late afternoon sky. When it finally fell, it didn’t hit the green, it went straight into the hole. The two volunteer witnesses ran onto the green yelling, jumping and waving their arms in the air. Looking up at the tee box, the three other members of the team proceeded to tackle Shapiro in celebration. Two of the tee box volunteer witnesses joined in the fun. Why all the commotion? This hole-in-one was worth $20,000. In the span of 11 holes, the team won $30,000 in prizes.

Word quickly spread and by the time all players reached the reception, everyone was offering their congratulations. Never before had anyone taken part in a tournament that had two prize winning hole-in-one shots, let alone two from the same team! On this last Saturday of summer, while raising money for a memorial scholarship, amateur golf history was made.

About the Craig Blass Memorial Scholarship Fund

The Craig Blass Memorial Scholarship was founded at James Madison University in November of 2001 after Craig was lost while working at Cantor Fitzgerald in the World Trade Center. The fund honors his memory and keeps his spirit alive by awarding the scholarship each year to a JMU student who best embodies Craig’s drive, character, intelligence and campus involvement.

The Annual Craig Blass Memorial Golf Tournament is the major fundraiser for the scholarship and is held every September in Northern Virginia.

For more information, please contact Jason Sfaelos.