Silo Ridge - Harlem Valley Times

7/24/2008 - Golf tournament honors student, athlete, friend

Amenia
Golf tournament honors student, athlete, friend
7/24/2008
By: Jennifer Barry, Staff Reporter

AMENIA - An at-capacity group of supportive friends and family teed off at the Thomas J. Berlinghoff Memorial Golf tournament on Monday at Silo Ridge in an effort to keep the memory of the young Webutuck soccer star alive.

The 2002 Webutuck High School graduate died at the young age of 23 after suffering from a brain aneurysm late in January; since that time his family and friends have rallied, creating the Thomas J. Berlinghoff Memorial Foundation to purchase a memorial scoreboard for the Webutuck soccer Field.

Because Berlinghoff was a talented athlete, playing at the varsity soccer level all four years of his high school career and serving as captain during his senior year, his friends and family also decided to create a memorial scholarship in his name for college-bound soccer players from the Webutuck community.

Over 132 golfers came out to the Silo Ridge Country Club on Monday to play in the name of the beloved late athlete.

"A lot of participants found out about this event by word of mouth," said mother Kathy Berlinghoff. "We had a mix of people who were friends of ours or who knew Tommy, but I think we also had a lot of people coming out because they were responding to the cause. "

Many local businesses also stepped up to support the event, sponsoring a hole on the green or a banquet table for the evening's buffet dinner.

"Some businesses were even shut down for the day because everyone was out on the green playing and supporting Tommy," said Kathy.

Friends of Thomas Berlinghoff could be found on the green throughout the day, and expressed their awe at the success of the event.

"When everyone began talking about this idea, some of us thought it was a pipe dream," said Matt Howard. "The fact that this is actually happening is pretty cool. If you look around, every hole on the green has a sponsor. "

"The amount of people who have come out for these events is a testament to the type of person Tommy was," said friend Tom Palinkas. "A few weeks ago I was talking to Kathy and she was worried because only about 50 people were registered. She thought they would have to cancel everything. But now you look around and this place is booked solid. We were on the radio the other day and had to tell people we were sold out for this year. It's really better than we could have imagined for a first event like this. "

"Overall, everything went absolutely amazingly," said Kathy. "It really seemed to have been a perfect day. "

After a series of days with record high temperatures and thunderstorms predicted for the day, the weather held out and all golfers were able to complete their rounds under fair skies.

"From what I heard, everyone had a great time; everyone was so generous and supportive," said Kathy. "I think we did remarkably well with this event and it has added to the money the boys (Tommy's friends) raised. We have enough to get the scoreboard finished, and when everything is said and done we have a great base for the scholarship, as well. "

According to Kathy, there is also an extensive interest in making the golf tournament an annual event.

"Everyone at Silo Ridge is really supportive and have been from the beginning," she said. "From the moment we had the idea, Rob (Caeners, general manager at Silo Ridge) told me to pick a date and he would make it happen. To have something going annually will replenish the fund for the scholarship and will make sure his memory goes forward, too. "

To continue to support the Thomas J. Berlinghoff Memorial Foundation and scholarship efforts or for more information on the foundation's efforts, contact Kathy Berlinghoff at 914-456-6216.