It's been six years since the
local office of Mobil Oil Co. decided its budget could no longer support
the company's semi-annual golf tournaments.
"They decided they
were no longer going to hold the tournaments, and we decided that was
unacceptable," said Mark Watkins, who had organized and played host to the
Mobil tournaments for several years along with friend Joe Wendeborn.
So rather than fight the company, the two men decided to court
their own corporate sponsors and play anyway. In 1996, they formed the
Wendeborn Watkins Web tournament, with the goal of reuniting buddies and
colleagues via the Internet once a year for a day on the links.
As
the WWWeb golf tournament, as it is known, makes its sixth annual stop at
Irving's Twin Wells Golf Course on May 26, swapping stories and clubhouse
chit-chat will be just as important as driving and putting.
"We're
in it just to get everybody together and have a good time," said Watkins,
adding the tournament includes players from a variety of skill levels. "We
try to downplay the importance of being a good player. It's very
informal."
Originally just for former players and Mobil employees,
Watkins and Wendeborn decided to allow friends and friends of friends to
play in 1998. As a result, the nonprofit event has since tripled in size,
forcing the two Ws to cap the registration at 36 teams last year.
They still charge a modest $50 per player, most of which goes
toward green fees and the remainder into the prize kitty. And they always
give returning players priority when signing up.
About 80 percent
of the players still know each other, Watkins said, and half of the
players are either former or current employees of what is now Las
Colinas-based Exxon Mobil Corp.
"It definitely gives it a lot more
competitive spirit, because you're taking your friends' money instead of
someone else's money," Watkins said. "As long as they keep asking us,
we'll keep hosting."
Watkins said he and Wendeborn hope to take
the tournament to a charity level starting next year, when they would open
it up to more players.
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