AMES, Iowa -- Special Olympics golfer Taneka Miller, 25, of Arcadia, Okla., and partner PGA Professional Steve Carson of Oklahoma City won the gold medal in the Level 2 nine-hole alternate-shot team competition as the three-day Special Olympics Golf National Invitational Tournament wrapped up.
Miller and Carson, who led from the outset, recorded a 47-41-46--134 total for a six-shot win. Special Olympics golfer Thomas Van Bebber, 16, of Springdale, Ark., and his grandfather and partner Bud Busken, shot 47-47-46--140 for the silver medal.
"I played pretty good today. I hit it straight. I made birdies," said Miller. "Steve is so nice and he is a good golfer. He's good at helping me a lot. [We shot] 41 and 47 and 46 and that's good. That's first place."
"Seeing the happiness on his [Van Bebber's] face over the simplest shot and, boy, when he makes a good shot, you'd think he won the Masters," said Busken. "That can happen 10 times during a round and that's what it is all about, seeing Thomas be happy."
The family teams who shared the top two spots in the Level 3 18-hole unified team competition during the first two rounds have developed a lasting friendship this week. Special Oympics golfer Jason Plante, 16, and his father, Robert Plante of Lafayette, Ind., recording an 81-79-83--243 for the gold medal by six shots over Special Olympics golfer Jesse Pease, 24, and his brother Jason Pease, 29, of Sioux City, Iowa, who shot 90-80-79--249 for second place and the silver medal.
"Today, we really just helped each other out because we both weren't having a great day, but we really worked it out together," said Jason Plante. "They may have beat us today, but overall in all the scores, we were able to win. It has been such a great honor to play in Nationals. This has been such a great experience for me and my golf game. I am going to take this all the way back to my high school golf team and try to be the best I can be."
"This is the first time I've ever done anything like this with Jesse," said Jason Pease, Jesse's older brother. "I just tried to make everything about him. To see him play as well as he did, I was just speechless. We tied our personal best today. It was just a phenomenal experience."
In Level 4 Nine-Hole Individual Stroke Play, Jake Alexopoulus, 17, of Manchester Center, Vt., shot 55-48-50--153 to share the gold medal and first place with Wesley Williams, 34, of Mystic, Conn., who shot a 56-46-51--153.
"Jake is my best friend, my son. We do everything together," said Jake's father, John Alexopoulus, who was on hand." We ski, we golf. He has the greatest attitude in the world and we've had a great week."
In Level 5 18-Hole Individual Stroke Play, Tim Braun, 32, of Highland Village, Texas, shot 90-87-97--274 to finish three shots ahead of silver medalist Nathan Cheverton, 28, of Knoxville, Tenn., who shot 89-98-90--277.
"We get to spend a lot time together playing golf and through golf our relationship is absolutely so much better, said Braun's father, Alan Braun, who taught his son to play golf several years ago. "As we have learned to play, a little competition between us has developed because we are fairly even in skills now. He has done fantastic this week and we are so proud of him."
Brian Drexler, 28, of Plantsville, Conn., finished with a total of 197 points in the Level 1 Individual Skills Competition to win the gold medal over William Tacy, 28, of West Hartford, Conn., who earned a total of 189 points for the silver medal.
This year's national tournament was staged at Ames Golf & Country Club and Coldwater Golf Links as part of the 2006 Special Olympics USA National Games. A total of 182 athletes from 41 states participated in five levels of golf competition.
The golf competition includes play in five different levels. In Level 1 (individual skills competition), golfers are tested in six skills that simulate play including: full swing tests with a wood and an iron, short game tests with pitch and chip shots, and putting a long putt and a short putt.
Level 2 features a nine-hole alternate shot format that teams a Special Olympics player with a non-Special Olympics player of more advanced skill and knowledge. Level 3 Unified Sports team play incorporates an 18-hole alternate-shot format that teams a Special Olympics player with a non-Special Olympics player of similar ability.
Level 4 features nine holes of individual stroke play, while Level 5 includes 18 holes of individual stroke play.
The 2006 Special Olympics Golf National Invitational Tournament is the seventh annual national golf competition for golfers with intellectual disabilities. The tournament, staged for the first year at a National Games event, returns for the second year to Ames G&CC and Coldwater GL. In the past six years of tournaments, Special Olympics golf has recorded three holes-in-one, record low scores and countless personal best scores by Special Olympics golfers.
Since The PGA of America first introduced golf to Special Olympics in 1988, the game has become an official Special Olympics sport with some 10,000 athletes competing in 17 countries. The first international introduction of Special Olympics golf came in 1991 when nearly 4,000 Special Olympics athletes participated in daily PGA golf clinics at their Summer World Games in Minneapolis.
While volunteers and PGA Professionals grew the program locally, Special Olympics prepared for its first exhibition golf tournament at the 1995 Special Olympics Summer World Games. The Summer World Games (Raleigh, N.C.) hosted the first official Special Olympics World Golf Tournament in 1999 and the annual Special Olympics Golf National Invitational Tournament began in 2000 (hosted by the Tennessee Section PGA in Murfreesboro & Smyrna, Tenn.).
