2nd annual Tim Molnes Scholarship Golf Tournament raises $20,000

By BRITTANY FHOLER 
Cove Leader-Press

Father’s Day weekend proved to be the perfect weekend for the 2nd annual Chief Tim Molnes Scholarship Golf Tournament held Saturday morning at the Hills of Cove Golf Course. 
Funds raised through the tournament, from sponsorships, raffles and entry fees, went towards the Chief Tim Molnes Scholarships, named in honor of the late Tim Molnes, former chief of police for Copperas Cove.
Molnes passed away in May 2016 after decades on the police force, having served as chief of police from July 1999 until the time of his death. Molnes had a passion for facilitating the growth and development of the youth of Copperas Cove, which was exemplified with the Law Enforcement Explorer Program. 
There were 18 teams of golfers this year, with four people per team and each participating player received a Cleveland Putter. 
Sponsors included Clear Creek Meadows, VFW Post #8577, BSP Engineers, Endeavor Real Estate Group and the City of Copperas Cove. There were five levels of sponsorship, with Platinum, Gold and Silver earning two team entriesinto the tournament, and Bronze, earning one team entry. 
The tournament started at 8:00 a.m. and ended around 12:30 p.m., after which lunch was provided. 
Davis Dewald, head golf pro and the new Recreation Superintendent of the Parks and Recreation Department, said that the tournament was good for the Hills of Cove Golf Course to have all of the players see the good condition of the city’s golf course. 
The idea for the tournament came about when CCPD Chief Eddie Wilson and Parks and Recreation Director Joe Brown were discussing different ideas on how to keep Molnes’ name and memory alive and attached to scholarships, Wilson said. 
“As we all know, Tim Molnes was a pillar of the community and we wanted to continue his legacy by naming a scholarship tournament after him,” Wilson said. 
The inaugural tournament raised $17,000 last year, Wilson said. 
In May, funds raised from that tournament allowed for six scholarships to be awarded to Copperas Cove graduates McKenna Miller, Stefani Vassar, Marcus Ortiz, Addison Cook, Noah Luna and Ariana Wilson. Four graduates each received a $1,000 scholarship and two received $500 scholarships, Wilson said. 
This year’s tournament raised approximately $20,000, Wilson added, and he hopes that will allow for at least six more scholarships next year, if not more. 
Plans for next year’s tournament include rallying as many sponsors as possible and keeping the sponsors they currently have, including the two corporate sponsors, Clear Creek Meadows and VFW Post #8577, Wilson said, with the goal including trying to get more members of the community to play.
“So we just want keep trying to grow it every year to really, like I said, keep Chief Molnes’ name going and at the same time do a lot of good for our kids,” Wilson said. 
Wilson said the tournament provided an opportunity for him to play golf with both of his daughters for the first time. Wilson played on one of the Clear Creek Meadows sponsored teams with his daughters, Alex Wilson, Kara Colston, and family friend Rex Kielman. 
“I’ve played with my oldest daughter with her and I’ve played with my youngest daughter, but this is the first time the three of us actually played together, so it was a really cool event,” Wilson said. “We knew we weren’t going to win or anything like that but it was just a lot of fun getting to play with my kids.”
Team Anderson won first place with the lowest score of 52, winning back their $100 per person entry fee. 
Second and third place winners were Team VFW 2 and Team Endeavor 1, with both teams winning a dozen golf balls for each player. 
Players also vied for the chance to play the million-dollar shootout, with the five people that won closest to the pins getting the opportunity to go to Hole 10 and having one shot to make a hole in one and earn $1 million. The five players that won closest to the pins during Saturday’s tournament were Jeff Stoddard, Derrick Gonzales, Keith Miller, Trish Stoddard and Billy Miller. 
Raffle prizes included several rounds of golf for two and four players at different golf courses in Central Texas, including Squaw Valley Golf Club in Glen Rose, Forest Creek Golf Club in Austin, any of the three golf courses in Sun City, Texas, the Golf Club at Star Ranch in Hutto, Hancock Park Municipal Golf Course in Lampasas and Cottonwood Creek Golf Course in Waco. 
Other prizes included gift cards to the Mexicano Grill & Bar #7 in Cove Terrace Shopping Center, a $50 gift card to Sam’s Club, an autographed picture of Robert Griffin III, an autographed football and basketball and several different types of golf clubs such as an Adams Wedge, a Golfmate Wedge, several Odyssey White Hot Putters, a Callaway X2 Driver and a TaylorMade M2 Driver. 

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Copperas Cove, TX 76522
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