I’ve played in this thing as long as anyone alive, and even I don’t recall exactly when it started, but I’m pretty sure I didn’t play in the first one. My first was, I believe, 1987, which is also the year I became a regular at the Eddy. Dennis Earl Yancy, “The Governor,” was born July 18, 1943, and this tournament started in the mid-1980s as his birthday tournament, which is why it was always in the hottest part of the year and usually led to massive consumption of alcoholic beverages. Because of the heat, you see.
One of Dennis’ closest friends was JT, at the time a beertender at the Deep Eddy Cabaret, ancient local watering hole and home to a host of regular miscreants and vagabonds. JT decided to have a golf tournament down the street at Lions Municipal Golf Course (“Muny”) for Dennis’ birthday, I’m going to assume his 40th, which would have been in 1983. It was just known as “Dennis’s Birthday Golf Tournament” and it was by default somewhat hosted by the Deep Eddy. The Eddy has always had a symbiotic relationship with Muny, golfers finishing their rounds on a scorching afternoon (or even mid-morning) routinely stop in to quaff a cold one, and the Eddy has always been legendary for being dark, cool, and for years, smoky.
At first the tournament had various different names; every year JT would come up with something timely and clever. One of the first ones I remember hearing about in the mid-80s was the “Natalie Wood Memorial Open” since the famous actress had not so long previous met her untimely demise under some shady circumstances.
The earliest ones that I recall were stroke play (yeesh) and slow, but we went to the scramble format around 1990. 1990 was also the year the tournament earned its name: The Dennis Yancy Governor’s Cup Classic. Dennis ran for governor of Texas that year. You may be forgiven if you don’t remember him, his opponents included better known politicians such as Ann Richards and Clayton Williams. Dennis was an “official write-in candidate,” as one needed to earn enough petition signatures to even be a write-in candidate.
For you youngsters, he did not win. But a sobriquet was born and forever more Dennis Yancy was known, at least around the Deep Eddy and Lions Municipal Golf Course, as “The Governor.”
Lord help the non-tournament players who were unfortunate enough to tee off after the Governor’s Cup on those hot Saturday afternoons; we were slow. Aiding and abetting our pace were our own personal “beer girls” so beer and ice were ever just a shout away. (The course enforces the proscription of off-premise alcohol these days.) We changed to format to a scramble (select-shot) soon after which sped up the pace…a little.
Dennis, J.T. and Mickey (Hickman-George, owner of the Deep Eddy for many years) are all gone now but the spirit and tradition live on. New owner Will is happy to help out, and post-tournament festivities haven’t changed much in thirty years. Early finishers hang around the 18th green to mingle, quaff a few more, and razz (or cheer) subsequent groups approach. Folks then retire to the Eddy for a post-round buffet and the awarding of various prizes and of course the eponymous trophy to the winners.
Here’s a cold one to all those who’ve passed!