Slavic Invitational will draw hundreds of golfers to the Coast this weekend
The 45th edition Slavic Invitational will take place across the Mississippi Gulf Coast Sept. 20-22 when more than 550 two-man teams compete on six of the Coast’s top golf courses.
Players will warm up with a practice round on Thursday Sept. 19 and then rush headlong into the 54-hole shootout Friday-Sunday.
Tournament courses this year include Fallen Oak, Grand Bear, Sunkist, Windance and the Diamondhead Pine and Cardinal courses.
“The size of our out-of-town guests continues to expand each year and the size of the record setting tournament makes for a significant tourism event,” said Biloxi Mayor FoFo Gilich, who has helped manage the event since its inception in the early 1970s. Since inception, the Slavic only missed one year in 2005 when Hurricane Katrina devastated the Coast.
Serious golfers will chase the championship trophy currently held tightly by Josh Lampley and Colin Spiers, who won in 2017 and again in a rain-shortened final round in 2018. Most of last year’s 1,050 players were able to finish all 54 holes, but the championship final at Fallen Oak was reduced to six holes due to thunderstorms.
At the other end of the golfing spectrum are the mainstream players who will comfortably compete in respective flights based on their scoring totals after the first two rounds. The top teams in each flight will receive gift certificates of equal value to those in the championship flight.
“The Slavic is designed for golfers of all skill levels, especially the unskilled,” joked Gilich. “You don’t have to win the championship to enjoy yourself and come out a winner.”
This story was originally published September 17, 2019 at 12:59 PM.