THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, June 18, 1995 TAG: 9506180148
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C11 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JIM DUCIBELLA, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 82 lines
Blake Kiger was walking through the clubhouse of a St. Petersburg, Fla., country club in early January when he noticed that the United States Golf Association wanted four-generation golf families to briefly essay what the game means to them. The winner would receive an all-expenses-paid trip to the 1995 U.S. Open.
``Mom,'' he said, turning to 55-year-old Beth Kiger, ``you've just got to do this.''
He was right and she knew it.
So Kiger, who moved to Virginia Beach with husband John about a year ago from Georgia, penned a heartwarming story of how golf has been a focal point in an annual Christmas family reunion. Not the prize-winning story, unfortunately, but one well worth repeating.
If you didn't know better, you'd think everyone Beth Kiger ever met has some relationship with golf. Her father Roy Swicegood was an avid enthusiast until his death a couple of years ago.
Mother Mimi, now 82, continues the Christmas tradition in which the whole clan congregates at the Swicegood home in St. Pete, and partakes in the ``Greater Swicegood Open.''
``You can't be in this family and not play golf,'' Kiger said by phone last week, ``whether you're 82 or three months.''
That's right, three months. Blake and his wife had a baby girl last November. For Christmas, Beth and John gave Reagan her first set of clubs and a travel bag. The child cooed her approval and joined about 30 of her relatives on that course in St. Pete.
Blake, 27, a USGA member, played golf as a walk-on at Florida State. Brother Kipp, 30, also plays.
Beth's brother, Charles Swicegood, is a member of the Elon College Hall of Fame for his baseball exploits, but shoots in the low 70s - playing right or lefthanded.
And you may have noticed the name Brian Kiger in Sports Illustrated recently. He's the assistant pro at Congressional Country Club in Bethesda, Md., and helped set up a match between President Clinton and SI writer Rick Reilly. He's also Beth and John Kiger's nephew, the son of John's twin brother.
``Golf has woven itself into the very fabric of our family life, providing a tie that binds and bonds, transcending the boundaries of age, gender, politics and religion,'' Beth Kiger wrote. ``Golf is so much more than a game. It is a four-letter word - called life.''
By the way, the winning family was the Hornbecks, of Logan, Iowa, and Sioux City. Neb. Great-grandpa Garland Hornbeck, 90, plays nine holes daily. Son Bill Sr., 65 and legally blind since 1990, still plays and is a former two-time club champion. Son Bill, Jr., also is a club champion. His son, 13-year-old Tim, has fairway fever, too.
RIDING THE RAPPAHANNOCK: That's what a couple of Old Dominion University coaches are doing. First, basketball coach Jeff Capel signed 6-foot-10 forward Cal Bowdler to a scholarship, one of the primary reasons ODU's recruiting class is considered one of the nation's 25 best.
Golf coach Dr. Murray Rudisill hopes his Rappahannock recruit, Troy Thorne, can have a similar impact on his program. Judging from Thorne's credentials, that's a distinct possibility.
Thorne captured the State Class A championship last fall, finally capturing what had come so close to being his the previous two years. As a junior, Thorne took second, one stroke behind the winner. As a sophomore, he placed third.
Thorne has a habit of finishing near the top. He has taken second place in each of the last two State GA juniors tournaments.
Rudisill also dipped into the junior college ranks to get a second signee, Canadian-born Tim Vandolder, who at one time was the fifth-ranked player in Ontario.
Vandolder comes to ODU from Broward Community College in Ft. Lauderdale. He placed fifth in the junior college national championships, as Broward took 12th nationally. He captured the Florida State championship as a freshman and also competed in the U.S. Amateur at TPC Sawgrass in Jacksonville.
WORTHY HONOREES: For the second year in a row, the Stumpy Lake men's golf association has selected golfers who are exceptional students, leaders and athletes to receive $1,000 scholarships.
This year's winners: Ben Moore of Princess Anne, who will attend Baylor in the fall, and Charles Padrick of Churchland, who will attend Radford. by CNB