Scoot your hardware over, Dustin Johnson — your mother-in-law needs extra room in the family’s golf trophy case.
For the fourth time in nine years, Gretzky, the wife of hockey great Wayne Gretzky, took home the net title from the tournament at the stunning Coeur d’Alene Resort Golf Course in Idaho. The event benefits the Community Cancer Fund.
The course is famous for a floating green, which course architect Scott Miller built at the insistence of resort owner and developer Duane Hagadone. It’s all part of a par-71, 6,803-yard layout that opened in 1991 and ranks No. 2 in Idaho in Golfweek’s Best Courses You Can Play list for best public-access tracks.
No. 14 floating island green at Coeur D’Alene Resort in Idaho (Jason Lusk/Golfweek)
According to a story at the Coeur d’Alene Press, Gretzky beat out others like Vince Coleman, Jerome Bettis and Dustin Pedroia to take the crown, and the timing of the victory was noteworthy.
“This one touched home a lot,” Gretzky said. “Two days ago, my older brother Johnny had a big cancerous kidney taken out. And he’s going to fight the war and so it really hit home. A couple years ago when I was here, I had lost my sister, so it touches every family in the world.”
Gretzky won the two-day event with a Stableford score of 57 points, followed by former Spokane Chief and Coeur d’Alene Laker Tyler Johnson with 54.
“I’m here playing golf and having fun and my poor brother is in the hospital fighting cancer,” Gretzky said. “I did it for him this week.”
Janet’s husband — ‘The Great One’ Wayne Gretzky — finished with 39 points.
“We love Coeur d’Alene, Idaho and the people here,” Gretzky said. “We’ve got a home here at Gozzer Ranch and we love golfing with Dustin (Johnson) being our son-in-law, so the entire family loves golfing. Anything we can do to fight the war on cancer and make people aware we need to end this disease.”
Former Major League Baseball star Mark Mulder won the gross title.