Page 14 — Thursday, August 12, 2021 — The Hastings Banner
Longbow event at Charlton Park this weekend
Archery enthusiasts looking for a weekend
of fun and friendly competition are invited to
the annual Great Lakes Longbow Invitational
at Historic Charlton Park Aug. 13-15.
Hosted by the Michigan Longbow
Association, the event includes archery-
related activities for all ages and skill levels.
Activities will include tomahawk throwing
and breaking clays at the Ol’ Sagamore
Turkey Shoot, along with numerous
competitions and 3-D courses.
Another highlight is MLA story night,
where guests can hear archery experts around
the campfire. A coached children’s range with
bows and arrows provided is available
throughout the weekend for young archerslooking to begin their longbow adventure.
A nondenominational church service will
begin at 8 a.m. Sunday in the Carlton Center
Church.
Many traditional archery vendors will be
onsite selling custom-made items, and there
will be a trade blanket and barn raffle for
those looking to barter or pick up archery
odds and ends.
Demonstrations catered to the outdoor
enthusiast, including bow building and flint
knapping, will take place throughout the
event near the gas and steam barn.
Commemorative hats and T-shirts will be
on sale and discounted for MLA members. A
food vendor will be onsite serving ice cream,and Charlton Park’s beach and boat launch
also will be available to guests.
The MLA was formed in 1983 by a small
group of enthusiasts who wanted to promote
the use of the longbow and enjoy the
camaraderie of other traditional archers who
enjoy the sport.
Since then, hundreds of members across
the U.S. and abroad have joined the ranks of
the MLA, including many Barry County
residents. MLA membership is $20 and
includes unlimited shooting all weekend, a
subscription to the quarterly magazine
Sticktalk, and members-only discounts on
MLA merchandise at archery events
throughout the year.“Our goal as MLA members is simple:
Teach people about the longbow and archery
and promote an appreciation of the outdoors,”
John Buchin, MLA president, said. “There are
few activities as inclusive and unifying as
archery, and the longbow is a beacon for all of
the above. We love nothing more than sharing
it with folks.”
Due to the MLA’s mission and the
traditional nature of the event, adults are
required to shoot longbows only (no
compounds, recurves, or horse bows).
Children under 16 may shoot recurve bows,
and loaner equipment is available from
association members.
Event admission is $5 per person, age 16and up (not including shooting fees). Gate fee
and activities are free for children 15 and
under.
Fees for adult MLA membership and
shoots are payable at the event. Shooting
options range from $25 for the entire weekend
to $8 per round.
Charlton Park is between Hastings and
Nashville, at 2545 S. Charlton Park Road, just
north of M-79.
Additional event information can be found
at michiganlongbow.org/glli.Lira wins FireKeepers Symetra
golf event, ties BCCC course record
Will Kowalski
J-Ad News Service
Mexico City’s Fernanda Lira earned her
first professional golf victory last Sunday by a
huge six strokes at the eighth annual
FireKeepers Casino Hotel Championship – a
Symetra Tour: Road to the LPGA event – at
Battle Creek Country Club.
The University of Central Arkansas gradu-
ate closed things out during her final 18 holes
of the 54-hole tournament by tying a BCCC
course record. Lira carded rounds of 2-under-
par 70 and 7-under 65 during the first two
rounds of the 144-player event that was cut to
the top 50 and ties for the last round of com-
petition. And then, on Sunday, Aug. 8, Lira
posted a 10-under-par total of 62 for a final
score of 19-under 197 – with her 10th birdie
of the day coming on BCCC’s 18th hole via a
30-foot putt.
That birdie putt for the 62 tied her with
former PGA Tour pro Russ Cochran for low-
est 18-hole round ever at BCCC, with
Cochran’s coming during the 1990s during a
Post Cereals Charity Pro-Am event.
As Doug Kreis, head PGA Pro at BCCC,
explained: “Yep, (Lira) and Russ Cochran are
now tied for the 18-hole course record, which
has stood for many years,” he said. “Funny
thing is, when Cochran shot his 62 and came
into the clubhouse that day, (former longtime
Hall of Fame BCCC head pro) Ron LaParl
said, ‘well Russ, congratulations. You now
own the left-handed course record here. But
I’m still the right-handed course record-hold-
er with a 63.’ And now (Lira) has the
right-handed course record. I’m sure Ron is
looking down on us all smiling up there
today.”
LaParl passed away at the age of 97 on July
12, 2015.
Now ... going back to Lira’s accomplish-
ment and tourney championship last Sunday,
she finished six shots ahead of four players:
Lilia Vu, Sophia Schubert, Isi Gabsa and
Daniela Iacobelli, all of whom were -13.
Following her round, during the awards
presentation ceremony, Lira received the
FireKeepers Casino Hotel Championship tro-
phy and a first-place check out of the total
purse of $175,000 for $26,250 – as well as an
extra $3,000 from The Potawatomi Cup Series
coffers.
Three Symetra Tour stops this season make
up The Potawatomi Cup Series: The previous-
ly-held Island Resort Championship in Harris;
the FireKeepers; and next weekend’s Four
Winds Invitational in South Bend, Ind.
The Potawatomi Cup champ at season’s
end receives an extra $30,000. The
Nottawaseppi Huron Band of the Potawatomi
runs FireKeepers Casino Hotel in Battle
Creek.
Presenting Lira with her prize money and
trophy last Sunday were FireKeepers CEO
and tournament director Kathy George, along
with Jamie Stuck, chairman of the tribe. The
presentations came after a ceremonial and
traditional drum performance and songcadence by Potawatomi members, off to the
side of BCCC’s 18th green.
By winning the FireKeepers Casino Hotel
crown, Lira moved up to No. 19 on the
Symetra Tour’s season money list at $37,617.
The top 10 money leaders at season’s end earn
LPGA Tour cards for 2022.
Still leading the 2021 money list is one of
Sunday’s four runner-ups, Vu, at $110,607.
George noted that FireKeepers again
enjoyed hosting this year’s tourney – which
included a gallery this year after no spectators
were allowed during the 2020 event due to the
COVID-19 pandemic; that she was thankful
for the tourney work done by over 200 volun-
teers and the BCCC staff that made the tour-
ney another success; that next year’s
FireKeepers event will take place in late July;
and that about $15,000 is headed to the South
Michigan Food Bank as recipient of this
year’s charity proceeds.
Said Champ Lira- About winning her first major pro cham-
pionship: “I came out with the goal of taking
it shot by shot and keep focus on my process.
That was my big goal – to not focus on the
things I can’t control, but focusing on what I
can control, and I did it pretty good.
“I kept rolling them, tried not to look at the
scorecard, and I did not look at the leader-
board until after I made my final putt. I felt
really good and proud of myself out there ...
and this championship means the world to
me.”- About tying the Battle Creek Country
Club course record of 62 in her final round:
“It’s not something I was thinking about
during my round, that’s for sure, but it sure
feels great to have accomplished that. It’s a
great course, I love it here, and I hope to be
back.”
Complete Results/Stats
For the tourney can be found at symetra-
tour.com.
Shipley Sisters Compete
Sisters Gabrielle and Sarah Joy Shipley
were once again the tournament’s event spon-
sor invitees – with Gabrielle, 27, having grad-
uated from Hastings High in 2012 and from
Grand Valley State University in 2016 (she
was NCAA Division II national champ as a
senior); and with Sarah, who graduated from
Delton Kellogg High in 2016, just finishing
up her fifth and final year at the University of
Kentucky (she was granted a fifth year of
eligibility due to the COVID-19 pandemic in
2020).
Gabrielle has been a professional for some
time, and does not play on the Symetra Tour
but does play on the Women’s All-Pro Tour
based out of Texas, Mississippi and Arkansas;
while Sarah has just turned pro. Both will be
heading to an LPGA qualifying school in a
couple weeks in California.
Gabrielle shot 70-76-69 for an 8-under 208
total and tied for 13th place, earning $2, - a year after she played in the tourney’s final
threesome and finished tied for fourth at
9-under, earning $8,375.
Sarah shot 74-72 in the first two rounds
(with Round 1 interrupted by rain) and did not
make the cut for Sunday’s final round – a year
after she did make the final-round cut, finish-
ing 70th at 7-over and not earning money due
to her then-amateur status as a collegiate play-
er.
Following are comments made by both
Gabrielle and Sarah Joy at tournament’s end: - Said Gabrielle about her performance in
the tourney, and about her future:
“It’s nice playing in this tournament, espe-
cially now that I’m on the road about all year
long, and it’s really nice having my sister play
in this tournament, and I really enjoy that they
keep on bringing me back to play here
because it’s easy on the family to come out
here and watch us. I play a long way from
home during the summers, I caddy in Tampa
in the winters, so it was nice to be back
around home again this week.
“I was happy with my round today, but on
the back nine I think my putter just got a little
dry. Still, I held it together and I kept grind-
ing, because the moment you start playing
defensive is when you don’t play well at all.
“So overall, this tournament was really
good for me. I’ve played pretty well this sum-
mer, having some ups and downs, but I feel
like my mental process is something I’ve got
figured out, and I’m staying positive and I’m
having a peaceful mind out there. And all that
will be very important, too, out at Q school.” - Said Sarah Joy about her performance in
the tourney, and about her future: “This sum-
mer I’ve been playing in state opens as a
professional, trying to make some money, and
then I played in this tournament, and then in a
couple weeks I’ll fly out to California for the
LPGA Q school and play there again with
Gabrielle.
“And playing with my sister here again in
this tournament this year – and with our par-
ents Todd and Laurie and other family mem-
bers and friends out here watching us play – it
was really nice, for sure. And I played pretty
well here except for the first two holes, as I
was 1-under for the last 34 holes.
“So, I’m happy for the way Gabby played
this weekend, I was happy with the way I
finished out my last 34 holes here, it was nice
coming back to Battle Creek Country Club
again ... and now I’m just hoping that myself
and my sister continue to keep on playing
great golf and we’ll see what the golf future
holds for us.”
NOW ENROLLING
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Gabrielle Shipley hits her approach
shot to the 18th green last Sunday at
BCCC. (Shopper News photo by Will
Kowalski)
Sisters Sarah Joy (left) and Gabrielle Shipley both played in the FireKeepers Casino
Hotel Championship at Battle Creek Country Club, and both are headed to an LPGA
qualifying school tournament in California in two weeks. Sarah Joy, a graduate of
Delton Kellogg High, just finished her collegiate career at the University of Kentucky.Fernanda Lira picks up her first-place check of $26,250 from FireKeepers CEO
Kathy George, left, and Jamie Stuck, president of the Potawatomi tribe, last Sunday at
Battle Creek Country Club. (Shopper News photo by Will Kowalski)TK football
plans corn hole
tournament at
Heritage Days
In addition to opening the 2021 fall season
with the first practice of the year Monday,
Aug. 9, the Thornapple Kellogg High School
football program is prepping for a Corn Hole
Tournament Fundraiser Heritage Days week-
end in Middleville.
The corn hole tournament will begin at
7:30 p.m., Friday Aug. 20 at the community
pavilion downtown Middleville. The cost to
participate is $20 per two-person team. Play is
open to anyone high school age and older.
The first place team wins $300. There is a
$150 prize for second place and a $50 for
third. A mystery prize will go to a randomly
selected team in the bracket.
All prizes have been donated by local busi-
nesses, so 100 percent of entry funds will
benefit the TK High School football program.
Registration for the tournament can be
done at the Jason Parks Agency in downtown
Middleville.