Dustin Burgan follows a tee shot during the 2021 Sweet Sassy Golf Classic. InkFreeNews photos by Mike Deak

By Mike Deak
InkFreeNews

WARSAW – It’s a who’s who for Tippecanoe Valley in physical form, but the spiritual sentiment of the Sweet Sassy Golf Classic hasn’t changed. It’s about the loved ones we’ve lost and about helping those in need.

A memorial on the Rozella Ford grounds shined for those to which the Sweet Sassy honors.

The sixth annual golf outing, held Saturday at Rozella Ford Golf Club, continued to celebrate the life and works of Scott Bibler, to which the event was commemorated for in 2016, but has since spread out to take care of so many others. The outing itself saw 60 teams participate, with plenty wanting to get into the action that couldn’t fit as the player lists were filled within two days of going live in July. Over 70 sign and site sponsors helped continue the tradition on Saturday, which saw full morning and afternoon flights.

Per event coordinators Leslie Brouyette and Stephanie Bibler, the 2021 edition was expected to rake in close to or over $25,000, which will spread out to several worthy causes in and around the Valley community.

“We had no idea where this would take us,” Brouyette said. “We had 60 teams locked in two days after we opened sign-ups. And we could probably have expanded it if we wanted to go to two days. It’s a long enough day, we couldn’t do this two days. But the response has been tremendous.”

Centered around the golf at the well-kept and lush Rozella course, there were also opportunities to get involved with a Splash For Cash chipping contest for specific charity donations, hole contests and vendors on site also helping to generate more revenue for funds like Bibs Billfold and Boomerang Backpacks.

The Sweet Sassy Golf Classic saw 60 team partake, a full house for the event that had been filled for almost two months.

“This continues to be in Scott’s honor,” Brouyette said. “He was such a big personality and a caring heart. He was a good guy. Everyone was his friend, they were all his best friend. That’s just the way he was. So there’s no reason not to continue this if we can keep it going.”

Brouyette noted the overwhelming show of support for the event is just a continued bond the Valley community has carried, both in celebration and in grief. But the ability to also generate support from Warsaw and Rochester, traditionally billed as athletic rivals, shows a greater good for the overall cause.

“Tippecanoe Valley has dealt with so much over the years, but we’re not the only ones, and we are responding to that,” Brouyette said. “Maybe in a bigger city, some of these bad things get overlooked. But in communities like ours, we feel them all. That’s probably why events like this are so big, our people respond, and we rally around each other. It’s a special community, and reason enough to keep making this event better.”

For more information on the Sweet Sassy Golf Classic and how to get involved in 2022, visit the event web site.

The Splash For Cash contest had golfers chipping downhill for a chance at some big bucks.