BUCKINGHAM — It”s Shootout week at Buckingham Golf and Country Club and that can mean only one thing … it”s almost here.
The 10th annual Pepsi Celebrity Quarterback Shootout is 24 hours away and counting. Lake County”s biggest one-day sporting event tee off 8:30 a.m. Saturday at Buckingham, where Hall-of-Famer Joe Montana leads an NFL star-studded cast of former players during nine-hole morning and afternoon flights. Each celebrity will be paired with four amateur golfers and the golf balls and autographs will be flying.
Montana is one of six quarterbacks in this year”s field, joining Kenny Stabler and Daryle Lamonica of Oakland Raiders fame, Craig Morton of the Denver Broncos, John Paye of the San Francisco 49ers and Dan Pastorini of the Houston Oilers.
Other big names in the field include future Hall-of-Famer Jerry Rice, who officially retired on Thursday from the NFL, Dwight Clark, Cliff Branch, Rod Martin, Russ Francis and Otis Sistrunk.
The Quarterback Shootout, the brainchild of Konocti Harbor Resort & Spa general manager Greg Bennett, began in 1997.
“I wasn”t sure we could do it one year and now here it is, the 10th year,” said Buckingham Director of Golf Mark Wotherspoon, whose course has served as tournament host all 10 years of the event. “I know a lot of people doubted we could pull it off, but Greg did.”
While tournament preparation at Buckingham began two weeks ago, the week leading up to the Shootout is the busy time for the staff at both Konocti Harbor Resort & Spa and Buckingham, which is a beehive of activity in the final days leading up to Saturday”s tee time.
Vendor”s stands, signs, bleachers (at the first and eighth tees) and the hospitality tent for players and tournament VIPs have popped up in abundance alongside Buckingham”s green fairways.
“Some of the best players who have ever played the game have played in this tournament,” Wotherspoon said. “Greg and I were counting up the number of Hall of Famers who have been here and it”s around 77.”
Past Hall of Fame members to visit Buckingham include Johnny Unitas, Bart Starr, Jim Brown and Dick Butkus. Montana, who didn”t attend the Super Bowl MVPs get-together at the last Super Bowl, is back at Buckingham for an eighth time.
“Montana and Stabler (another eight-time Shootout veteran), those are two guys who have really been the spokespersons for the Shootout. They”ve made it work.”
While he”s a die-hard Raiders fan, Wotherspoon said he has become friends with several of the 49ers, including Montana and Clark, who 25 seasons ago teamed up for the biggest play in the history of the San Francicso franchise — “The Catch” — that beat the Dallas Cowboys in the NFC Championship Game and sent the 49ers to the first of their five Super Bowl appearances and victories.
“Guys I really didn”t root for when they were playing, I”ve really gotten to know them and like them,” Wotherspoon said.
Ted Mattila, Buckingham”s PGA professional, is helping out with his third Shootout and said the event remains an incredible experience.
“I was blown away,” said Mattila, a Rams and Raiders fan. “Just to see those great players here is fantastic.”
Mattila met Stabler for the first time at a previous Shootout. When “The Snake” ran into Mattila again, he remembered Mattila from their initial meeting.
“He said, Hi, Ted,”” Mattila said. “I couldn”t believe he remembered my name.”
