Tulsa Open – 11 March 2006
by Mike Swatek

It looks like the Tulsa Open may have been the largest 1-day open rated tournament in Oklahoma history! 49 Okies and 7 players from out of state participated in the Tulsa Open on 11 March. The prize purse was $1120, plus four triple weight tournament combo sets as door prizes worth a total of $200. Also, Ryan Farell won a 529 College Savings Scholarship of $250 sponsored by American Bank of Oklahoma, Oklahoma Liquid Resources Inc. and Ruh Oil Company with support of OCA/OSCO.

Chuck Unruh put on a very well-run tournament as organizer. Tournament Directors Charles Unruh and Mike Swatek processed the 56 door registrations and had the tournament started within a few minutes of the scheduled starting time.

A 3-way tie with 2.5 points was the result in the top section for B Class and higher. Chuck Unruh took home the A+ Class cash prize while Blake Tanner and John Madsen, both from Arkansas, split the B Class prizes.

With a perfect 3-0 performance in the C Class section, Jim Gray took home the top prize. Also sharing in the C Class prizes were Steve Anderson with a 2.5/3 score and with 2 points Chris Talbot of Missouri and Paul Petrits of Texas. 

The 14-player D Class section also ended in a tie with perfect 3 point scores earned by Ryan Farell and Rachell Farell. Splitting the 3rd and 4th place cash prizes were Chris Buynak, Dave Scroggins and Becky Huang, all with 2 points.

22 players competed in the E Class and Under section, including four unrated players. Again, there was a perfect 3-0 score tie in the E Class and Under with Brad Bembenek and Phillip Bingamon sharing the top two prizes. The Unrated players also ended in a tie with Pete Ferris and Rick Hockmeyer earning 2.5 points for the top spot. Also sharing in the E Class cash prizes with 2 points each were Robert Phy, Billy Bowden and Jim Bedenbaugh.

As you'll see in the photo gallery on the OCA website, a great time was had by all.