Local golfers to play at SONA Golf Championship

AnnMarie D’Hondt, from Courtland, and Tillsonburg’s Rick Buck will be competing in the 2025 Special Olympics North America Golf Championship, August 25-28 in Fayetteville, Pennsylvania. (Chris Abbott Photo)

Chris Abbott, Post Correspondent

Two local golfers will be competing at the 2025 Special Olympics North America (SONA) Golf Championship, August 25-28 in Fayetteville, Pennsylvania.

Level 5 golfers AnnMarie D’Hondt, from Courtland, and Rick Buck, from Tillsonburg, will experience the Penn National Golf Club in Fayetteville, a four-star, 36-hole course. More than 250 athletes, Unified partners and coaches from the United States and Canada are expected at the four-day event. Level 5 will be divided into multiple divisions.

“I just try to have fun” said Buck, who will be playing at his fifth SONA Golf Championship. His SONA resume includes tournaments in Wichita, Nashville and Seattle.

Second place last year, Buck said he should be a contender and is shooting for first this year.

“I need to get back up there again. Just hit the ball clean, try to stay out of the rough,” he nodded. “If you go to Florida and certain areas, the rough is just so different. Some different types of grass like Bermuda grass… Once you get used it, it’s not bad.”

“We’re veterans… this is my second SONA,” said D’Hondt, who competed at the 2024 championship in Wichita, Kansas. “Just want to have fun.”

“Having fun is the biggest thing,” Buck agreed.

D’Hondt said she has been practicing all summer, and would stick to that plan leading up to Fayetteville.

“Just keep practicing all the clubs - the driver… even the putter,” said D’Hondt, who uses Cobras.

“Never played the (Fayetteville) course, so we’re just going in blind,” she said, enjoying the challenge of new and different courses.

“It is what it is,” said Buck, comfortable and confident at SONA courses using his TaylorMade clubs.

“I’m so used to it by now. If we get a practice round, we get a practice round. If we don’t, we just work hard.

“We’re leaving two days early before the event, so we could… We rented a van, so we’ll be driving down this time, sharing it. It’s only a seven-eight hour drive. I’ve been through Fayetteville a bunch of times, but never golfed there.”

Roughly midway between Pittsburgh and Philadelphia, Fayetteville is a small town less than 3,000, about 29 km west of Gettysburg where the Special Olympics Ontario – Tillsonburg athletes and families will be staying during their SONA trip.

“It’s actually a ghost town,” D’Hondt smiled.

“(Gettysburg) is one of the most haunted places in the world,” said Buck.

The trip to Pennsylvania was partially made possible through Jerry and Ann D’Hondt organizing a fundraising Battery Blitz, and the contributions of local businesses and individuals that participated. Participants included: Napa Auto Care – Springford, Herc’s Truck Service, Otterville Motors, Jamie Horvath, Horvath Auto Parts, WM Dowds & Sons, Lockhart Odyssey, Stover Street Auto – Norwich, Richard Delaney, Burnett Trucking, DeGroote-Hill, M&J Tirecraft, Tillsonburg Tire, MyMotors Tillsonburg, Singers, Napa Autopro, and APC Auto Parts.