Perhaps it was those delicious sliders that were grilled up at Finley Golf Course this past weekend.
Or it could have been the countless hours it took for volunteers to clean up the debris that lined the greens after Hurricane Michael rolled through, just days before the start of the tournament, that made the event so memorable.
Or maybe it was simply the tradition, the 43 years of golf being played at the annual Ruth’s Chris Tar Heel Invitational, that warmed the heart of Jan Mann.
“Behind the scenes we couldn’t have asked for anything nicer,” said Mann, the ninth-year head coach of the North Carolina women’s golf team. Mann was beaming, both relieved and proud from the success of another Tar Heel Invitational. “Between the sliders and the gifts for the kids and the coaches dinner, it’s an amazing event.”
This year's Ruth’s Chris sponsored event held a hurricane relief drive in the wake of Hurricane Florence, collecting donations throughout the tournament. Ironically, the team wondered if they would even play this weekend due to storms.
“Thursday night we had that terrible storm that knocked trees down and debris everywhere,” Mann said.
Piece by piece, volunteers rushed to clean up the field in time for Friday’s noon shotgun start.
“They did a tremendous job ... the teams couldn’t believe the condition of the course, how good it was,” Mann said.
Despite the blue skies and pristine course for Friday’s first round of the invitational, North Carolina finished the day in 10th place out of the 18 teams participating.
