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I started playing golf on my 10th birthday. Wearing sneakers and both of my Little Little baseball batting gloves, I fell in love with the game of golf the first time I smacked a tee shot right down the middle of the fairway. 

My dad was always a big golfer and enjoyed playing with his friends. They would go to these fun tournaments all across the state, and I’ll never forget the first time he invited me to come along. It was a weekend event in Ocean Shores and I realized that a lot of the players were longtime friends of his. These were the same people we’d go to the lake with on the Fourth of July every year. 

I came away from that trip with a very clear goal: I wanted to do this exact same thing with my friends when we got older. 

I started the Roughrider Invitational in the summer of 2001—one year after we graduated from high school. We had 8 players that first year and played in 2-person teams. From the beginning, I wanted to grow this tournament into something special. Something everyone would circle on the calendars each summer. Something that mattered for all the right reasons. 

In 2024, we hosted our 19th annual golf tournament at Bear Mountain Ranch in Chelan. The Roughrider is now one of my favorite days of the year—and I’m not alone in thinking this. 

How it All Began: The Crows

My dad’s friends were official enough with their golf tournaments that they actually a name for their group of players: the Crowfessional Golf Association, or the CGA. Better known as “the Crows,” this lovable group of Kitsap County faithful was all about good times, cold cocktails, great friendships, and maybe even some decent golf. 

Their stories are legendary, like the time Gordy chunked his playoff chip shot so badly that he had to ask where the ball went. Turns out he missed the ball completely and his grass divot had covered the ball right where it had started.

Even as a teenager, I was so inspired by what these classic rockers were doing that I wanted to be a part of something similar with my group of friends. 

The Fall City Roughriders 

Growing up in the Snoqualmie Valley, my friends and I all played sports together and spent a fair amount of time causing trouble around town (sorry, Mom). We called ourselves the “Roughriders.”

Our band broke up after graduation, but that’s normal. It’s also why my new golf tournament was such a big hit. This was our chance to reconnect each year no matter what. The first event we did was a blast, so we did it again. And again. And again. 

Almost 20 years later, the Roughrider Invitational has blossomed into a summer staple. My high school friends are still there, but now we have got friends of friends playing with us. Sooner than later, some of our own kids will join the roster. It’s consistent. It’s comforting. And I am so very, very proud of it. 

Maybe the best moment of my golf career was winning the 10th annual Roughrider Invitational at Snoqualmie Falls Golf Course in 2015. I hadn’t won the event yet after a few close finishes, and this was my home course so I really wanted to win. I had worked at Sno Falls in high school, washing golf carts and doing upkeep, so I knew the course in and out. I played brilliantly that day to capture my team’s first of back-to-back Roughrider titles.

Summers in Seattle are all about getting outside. I love this golf tournament because it’s the one day a year where we all get together again. Golf is great, but it’s the camaraderie that makes the Roughrider Invitational so special.

Thanks to everyone who has ever played in our tournament. Here’s to the next 20 years!