Donny Kirkland
PERSONAL – Donny was born and raised in Poulsbo, WA but now lives in San Antonio, TX with his wife of 12 years, Teresa, and their boys Finley (9) and Cassius (7). Donny has been golfing recreationally since he was a child and has always been a better than average athlete. He works as an aerospace mechanic for Boeing and has been doing so for 13 years.
TIE TO THE MONTEMAR – As I think of my own history with Donny, I can’t help but think that guys like him are the exact reason why I’m driven to make this tournament something special and consistent. I don’t think there’s a person in this group who I’ve known longer, not even Patrick, and I actually lived with his family for about 6 months as a child.
I first met Donny shortly after my family moved to Poulsbo. We were both drafted onto the Neilsen’s Appliance baseball team. I was an 11 and he was 10. We went to the same elementary school, but me being much older, we didn’t hang out much but I believe he played on my little brother’s basketball team.
My family’s first stay in Poulsbo didn’t last long, and a few months after that baseball season we hit the road again and moved to Southern California. Long story very short, 5 months later my parents realized that California wasn’t the place for us. Instead of having me wait for them to make the transition back to Poulsbo, they contact some people and I ended up moving back to Poulsbo and living with Donny’s family.
His dad Bill had taken over our Neilsen’s Appliance baseball team and we were all pumped to get the season started. Donny and I used to fuck around quite a bit though, and one day, we fucked around a little too much. His grandpa lived next door and had a moped. Donny and I decided it’d be a great idea to build a jump and see how high we could make that moped fly. Bad idea. We had some pretty good ones but kept going faster and faster and then we decided we could go higher if only one of us was on the moped. I volunteered, flew high through the sky, and when I landed the moped broke in half. So did my leg.
A surgery and a few days in the hospital the next few months weren’t spent on crutches and not playing baseball. I continued to live with the Kirklands though and have many wonderful memories of Donny and his family. Problem is, in the nearly 30 years since high school, I could probably count the times I’ve seen Donny on one hand. Another unfortunate example of life’s heading different ways. I’m excited to have Donny on board for this tournament so I get an excuse to see him at least once per year.
ADDITIONAL CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE MONTEMAR – Donny got his older brother, Bill, to join the tournament and is working on another of our great buddies, Jon Foster, to get on board if we have the space.
WHAT NEEDS TO HAPPEN – Donny’s always been a better than average athlete but his 15 handicap suggests he’s still far from elite when it comes to the game of golf. That’s okay though because this scoring model can do some strange things. He’ll definitely need some luck on his side, both on the course and in the draft.
ODDS TO WIN – 103-1
FUN FACT – Donny has been the life of the party since he was a kid and I suspect that probably hasn’t changed. Can’t wait to see the guy!
MONTEMARS PLAYED – 1ST
MONTEMAR ROUNDS PLAYED – 0
LIFETIME POINT TOTAL - 0
JACKETS WON – 0
TOP 3 FINISHES – 0
TOP 5 FINISHES – 0
TOP 10 FINISHES – 0
RECORDS – 0
TOURNAMENT HANDICAP -
INVITED BY – Oliver Kenyon
PLAYERS INVITED - 1 – Bill Kirkland
PRIZES DONATED – Haven’t asked the question yet but I could see Donny coming up with something cool.
