The Metro area got its golf fix for the summer with the Greater Cedar Rapids Open competition at Hunters Ridge last weekend and the Zach Johnson Foundation Classic at Elmcrest on Monday, plus the gala dinner and auction for Zach's event that was held Sunday night at the Cedar Rapids Marriott.

Both golf events were remarkable.

The winner of the 14th Greater Cedar Rapids Open was a young man from southwestern Wisconsin by the name of Garrett Jones. A Badger grad, he has competed in the Cedar Rapids tournament for five years, but he never had three better days of golf than this year.

He won the tournament prize of $20,000 by shooting 54 holes at Hunters Ridge in 19-under par and finishing the final 36 holes with two rounds of 65 and 65. He has, of course, the ambition of making the PGA tournament stretch, and all of us who talked to him and saw him play believe continued hard work will bring that to pass.

For the second consecutive year, the Zach Johnson affair was again outstanding, perfectly run by his foundation and hosted by Larry Gladson and his staff at Elmcrest. A lot of money was raised, more than $750,000 for the foundation's Kids on Course program.

Elmcrest has hosted exhibitions by Ken Venturi and Gene Sarazen during its proud history. But now two years in a row, Zach and friends have brought major champions to Cedar Rapids that would never have been possible otherwise.

The money side of the picture, of course, is important, and the friends of the gala contributed handsomely on Sunday night at the auction. For instance, what would a week be worth attending the Masters with three of your friends and having lodging for a week near the golf course?

Also, experiencing the Green Jacket ceremony, Amen Corner and the blooming magnolias and, as an addition, being able to carry Zach Johnson's bag on the day of the par-3 tournament.

All of that added up to a winning bid of $25,000.

Or, how much would four tickets to the Ryder Cub at Medina in Chicago be worth, plus a signed flag of all of the participants? What would be the winning bid on that? This time, it was $6,700. And Zach's agent had to put in an extra effort to get hold of the ducats.

Those are just examples of what can be done in less than 36 hours to entertain patrons and raise money for a wonderful cause. Again, congratulations to all of the people involved and we wish the "Z-Man" well when his name is added to the roster for the Ryder Cup.