More than 1,000 golfers will play in the Slavic. Here’s what to expect.
Growing in depth as in number, the 44th Annual Slavic Invitational golf tournament returns this weekend with arguably its strongest field in the four-decade history of the event.
About 520 two-man teams pre-registered to expand the 2018 Slavic in its popularity and strengthens its claim to being the largest 54-hole amateur golf tournament in the country.
Not only is it the largest, but this year’s edition offers a wealth of quality teams sure to challenge the tournament scoring record.
Josh Lampley and Colin Speirs will defend their 2017 championship, earned in a playoff victory over former champions and perennial favorites Nick Beale and George Byrd. A year ago, Byrd and the cross-handed swinging Beale torched Fallen Oak with a final round 7-under-par 65 to catch the front-running Lampley-Speirs duo. Lampley and Speirs promptly birdied the 18th to win the playoff and the title.
John Boothby and Ethan Smith also are looming in this year’s field, after finishing one shot out of the playoff a year ago. They lead a large contingent of at least 25 teams that are capable of winning the three-day event.
“This tournament has been around more than four decades and this is definitely the strongest field we’ve ever had,” said event co-chairman David Leckich. “It seems like we always have the same eight or ten teams competing for the title each year, but there are many more teams capable of winning this year.”
What began four decades ago as a small individual tournament for members of the Slavic Benevolent Association of east Biloxi has blossomed into a golf event that encompasses six of the Coast’s premier golf courses, marries championship-caliber golfers with weekend hackers, and brings them all together for sumptuous dinners in the Beau Rivage conference rooms on Friday and Saturday nights. The 1,000-plus golfers are flighted proportionately after the first two rounds and then compete for separate prize-winning positions within their own divisions in Sunday’s final 18 holes.
This year’s courses are Sunkist Country Club, Windance Country Club, Diamondhead Pine and Cardinal Courses, Grand Bear and Fallen Oak. Teams alternate between courses the first two days and are assigned flights and courses based on their 36-hole totals. The top two flights will have a shootout at Fallen Oak on Sunday afternoon.
The allure of the Slavic Invitational is that it rewards everyone who plays, regardless of whether they shoot ridiculously below par or obscenely above it, said Biloxi Mayor Andrew “FoFo” Gilich, the event’s longtime co-chairman
“Everybody comes to the Slavic to have a good time and no one goes home disappointed,” Gilich said. “They play golf at some of our best courses, they enjoy roast beef pistolettes and beverages on course each day, and they all come together for outstanding dinners inside the Beau on Friday and Saturday. It’s a winning combination each year.”
Competition begins 8 a.m. Friday. Tee and course assignments are available at www.slavicinvitational.com.