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Painting a hole in one
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The weather was fair and the grass was green recently at Crystal Falls Golf Club near the Dawson-Cherokee county lines.

The second annual Monet Ladies Golf Classic Charity Tournament, which benefits scholarship and education programs from the Dawson County Arts Council, gathered 96 women golfers to Dawson County on Aug. 12 to participate in a good cause.

"We give scholarships to children who take art classes and theater classes. This is to fund that," said Jeanne Tompkins, president of the arts council. "Or if we have ladies that want art lessons but can't afford it. This goes toward that, as well."

Tournament directors Patti McDonald and Mary Evans were hard at work much in advance to gather golfers from across the state to participate in the charity tournament, according to Tompkins.

"Last year, Patti and Mary initially said they wanted to do something for the art center. They had an idea for a golf tournament, but it had to be classy," Tompkins said. "That was her big stipulation. So we sat down with Marcia [Chelf, director for the Bowen Center for the Arts], Patti and Mary and pitched the idea."

McDonald said she didn't give it a second thought when it came to raising money for art education.

"When Jeanne said they needed to raise money for the arts center, especially for the children's programs, I said I would be glad to do this," she said.

Last year, the tournament also saw 96 golfers apply. The same number was used this year as a hard cut-off count in order to keep the after-events and food manageable.

The tournament continues to draw a local crowd to show their support for Dawson County arts.

"A lot of my friends play here," local golfer Bette Holland said. "We got a group together to come out and play and support the Bowen Art Center."

One Dawson County resident took home a prize valued at $300 for sinking a hole-in- one during the tournament.

Judy Finke has been playing golf for more than 40 years but had never hit a hole-in-one prior the tournament.

"I didn't see the ball at first," she said. "I thought it had rolled off somewhere."

After Finke and her team searched for a bit, the ball was found to have indeed rolled "somewhere," straight into the cup.

"I found out and I screamed, so did everybody else," Finke said. "I was very excited. It was my first one."