For the third time in four years, Abbotsford's Kyle Gerard was the closest competitor to tasting a million dollars.
Gerard's one shot for $1 million dollars was 33 feet away from the pin at the Abbotsford Rotary's million dollar hole-in-one contest's final day at Fraserglen Golf Course on Sunday.
He beat out Bradley Wahler (41 feet) and David Yaromich (51 feet) to earn the top spot. The closest female was Nancy Parker, who hit a shot that landed 82 feet away from the hole.
Sunday marked the culmination of an event that began on May 28 and saw a field of hundreds whittle down to 12 qualifiers a day. Sunday saw the 12 qualifiers from each day battle it out to determine a top 10. Those 10 golfer swung away for a chance at $100,000, with the top three getting a shot at a million.
Shirley Wilson of the Rotary Club of Abbotsford said it was another strong year for the event, which was raising money for the Starfish Pack Program managed through the Abbotsford Food Bank, and various yet-to-be-announced local charities.
"The issues contributing to hungry children are complex and difficult to address," Wilson said.
"They are not restricted to ‘poor’ communities. A community can easily become overwhelmed trying to find solutions. Our event provides funding for this very important need in our community."
Wilson said attendance was down early due to poor weather, but it picked up.
The final dollar amount will be released during a special presentation to the Abbotsford Food Bank later this summer. Additional grants will also be announced at that time.
Wilson said it's down a little from 2015, but up from 2014.
"I think it went really well this year," she said. "It's great to see people who come out regularly to support the Rotary Club of Abbotsford, and we were excited to see Kyle out there again."
She said the next big event for the Rotary Club of Abbotsford is President's Night on Sept. 27. New president Sara Lawson will begin her term following that night.
The Rotary Club of Abbotsford has raised $600, 000 through this event since 1998, supporting a variety of large scale projects including Abbotsford Hospice, Holmberg House, and Abbotsford Regional Hospital and Cancer Centre, and several small capital projects such as a very large soup kettle for the Salvation Army.
She added that regular Rotary Club of Abbotsford meetings occur on Tuesday at noon at the Phoenix Ballroom, and anyone is invited to attend.
For complete results from the event, visit rotarymillion.com.
The following golfers landed an ACE (hole in one) during the week of qualifying:
Kyle Gerard (2), Jeremy Young, David Hopaluk, Pierre Croten, Gordie Lamb, Jim Stewart, Lee Corfe and Gary Steinhauer
Overall winners of the event are:
Ladies finals – Nancy Parker, Michelle Holmberg, Debbie Sands
Open event – Kyle Gerard, Bradly Wahler, and David Yarowich, Nancy Parker