June 9, 2011

BARNESVILLE, PA — The 2011 Carl Spackler Open will get underway tomorrow with its first of three tournament rounds. Approximately 60 golfers arrived early this morning for a practice round on the Mountain course at Mountain Valley Golf Course.

"The course is in great shape," says rookie Mike 'Sheiker' Long. "Everything is heating up with my golf swing and looking forward to a great tournament."

The Carl Spackler Open gopher mascot made its first ever appearance from the woods this morning. "There was some wrestling in the woods behind the 6th green," says senior member Mark Wray. "I thought maybe a sasquatch was living in the Mountain Valley forest. The entire experience shook me up."

"Are you kidding me," asked Mike Gibson. "You really cannot get your mind around a life-size gopher following me on the golf course until you spend several minutes with it. You keep asking yourself, 'Is there really a Carl Spackler Open mascot standing in the fairway with me?' This cannot be happening."

The gopher with caddy bib is expected to roam the course this week.

The 11-year old golf event will proceed with the Zavinski 100 at 2:10PM today. The traditional activity is named after the late Jim Zavinski, who passed away in the spring of 2005. The group will consume 100 beers in less than 100 seconds in his honor.

The Carl Spackler Open signed a record-high 95 golfers last January. The entire field of players will participate in the 2:15PM practice round on the Valley course this afternoon. The day will conclude with a clubhouse dinner and tournament player meeting.

The group will be bused to the Yuengling Brewery tomorrow morning for their 9:00AM tour the oldest brewery in America. The 54-hole golf tournament will kick off tomorrow starting at 11:00AM on the Valley course.

The second day, Friday, will conclude with a large clubhouse deck party with 1,000 locals and live music by Toolshed Jack. "The gopher mascot should steal the show this evening," says Captains Club member Pat Boland. "The entire evening should be very memorable."

The 2011 Carl Spackler Open is a 54-hole national golf tournament. The event has been played in Texas, Virginia, Indiana, Michigan, and North Carolina in the past 5 years. Scoring for the 11th tournament will begin today with practice round scores at 2:30PM. Fans can follow the practice round scores by hovering their mice on "RESULTS" and "Scores" and clicking "Practice Round".