I feel honoured and privileged to be your Champion Golfer of the Year. Over the last twelve months I’ve been reminiscing about my 3 championships and the 6 years of rich history of this tournament and all the historic shots…

Amrit’s eagle chip-in on the 18th hole of day 1 to put himself into contention.

3-time champion Maclean’s eagle hole-out on the first hole of the 2018 tournament that put the ‘Tiger’ effect onto the entire field.

My hole-in-one at Eagle’s Nest.

D’s famous hole-in-one lip out on #2 and dropping his famous clutch bombs all over the course.

Paul worked his way out of the bottom group with the low 9 of the tournament and left his demons behind on #18.

Jeff’s long waited inaugural Classic appearance.

Yuda showing what he is capable of with a day 2 charge earning himself a bed after his first Classic ever.

Peter Lin might have the most talked about shot in Classic history… getting it up and down from way right in the death forest on #3.

David, who is looking to establish a signature shot this weekend, always regales us with his storytelling on the dock.

Jesse birdieing the Eagle’s Nest and going on to shoot a historic 38 followed by a disappointing 52 running away with the Tornado grudge match while showing the rest of the field what he is capable of.

…Most of us love golf. Daniel loves golf so much that his family and friends filed a missing persons report when he missed a 2pm tee time.

But Ben doesn’t love golf. In fact, some people say he hates golf. His most famous shot is when Yuda went left on #6. Ben shanked his tee ball on 7 through the shrubs and caught Yuda square in the knee, earning Yuda the Purple Cross Award for the wounded.

But Ben loves this tournament. What does that mean? How is it that Ben is one of the cornerstones of this event? That got me thinking:

“What is this tournament really about?”

It’s more than golf. More than the immaculate course and the ocean views. It’s about more than the beers. This tournament is about an unbreakable bond, it’s about the comradery, the friendship and family, the emotion, the smiles and the tears.

We are a family. Our family extends beyond those that come to this great event. This year, sadly we lost an integral member of our extended family. Yuder exemplified what it means to be a true champion. Always treating people the right way, he had a smile on his face and a positive outlook on life. It is our honour to ensure that his legend lives on and that we never forget that smile. And with that, I would like to call upon the Fathers to stand with me and invite the rest to stand.

On behalf of the Fathers, I would like to present the Yuder Memorial Award. This award is for the person who demonstrates Yuder’s fine qualities on and off the course. We would love to give Yuda the honour of selecting and presenting this years winner at the awards ceremony on Sunday.

Thank you all, let’s have a great tournament!

– Stuart Macdonald