{"id":52223,"date":"2026-08-18T11:46:16","date_gmt":"2026-08-18T11:46:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/golf\/52223\/"},"modified":"2026-08-18T11:46:16","modified_gmt":"2026-08-18T11:46:16","slug":"memorial-tournament-honors-memory-and-hope","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/golf\/52223\/","title":{"rendered":"Memorial tournament honors memory and hope"},"content":{"rendered":"

Mark Wagner
Special to ICT<\/a><\/p>\n

Pepper Morse remembers his friend Chase \u201cRookie\u201d Cuny as a gifted Native golfer and softball player who was guaranteed to bring a laugh. One of a kind.<\/p>\n

\u201cAlways ready,\u201d Morse, Din\u00e9, told ICT.<\/p>\n

Now, after his accidental death in 2012 at 27, his memory lives on at the Rookie\u2019s Tough 2-Man Memorial Golf Tournament, a charity fundraiser for the Swinomish Boys and Girls Club and tribal programs at the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community on Fidalgo Island near Anacortes, Washington.<\/p>\n

More than 100 golfers are expected to turn out this year at the tribally owned Swinomish Golf Links<\/a> on Aug. 21-22 for the 5th annual tournament founded by Morse and Melissa Felix, who is Lummi with strong ties to Colville Tribes, to honor their friend.<\/p>\n

The tournament is a popular way for many Native golfers and friends to honor those who have gone before.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s grown quickly,\u201d Morse said, \u201cand is now a way to gather and compete for all of our loved ones who have continued their journey.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jimi Bobb, who runs the Native Golfers Association, attends each year with his uncle, Steve Edwards, who introduced him to golf.<\/p>\n

\u201cA great cause for a good friend,\u201d Bobb said in a recent interview.\u00a0 \u201cMy Uncle Steve got me into golf when I quit drinking, so we go each year. It\u2019s awesome.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Honoring a friend<\/p>\n

In addition to being an athlete, Cuny, Oglala Lakota, was also a bit of a daredevil, willing to take a leap \u2014 as others had \u2014 from the Rainbow Bridge into the Swinomish Channel, the waterway that runs between La Conner, Washington, and the Swinomish reservation.<\/p>\n

In August 2012, after a day of golfing and dinner with a friend who loved the thrill of the freefall into the channel, Cuny made the leap, but did not resurface. Divers found his body two days later.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen we got to 10 years since Chase did not come back up,\u201d Morse said, \u201cit seemed like a good time to mark his passing.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"Chase \u201cRookie\u201d Cuny, a gifted Native golfer and softball player, died in an accident in 2012. A memorial golf tournament in his honor at the tribally owned Swinomish Golf Links in Washington benefits the Swinomish Boys and Girls Club and tribal programs. Credit: Courtesy of H\u00f3zh\u00f3 Experiences<\/p>\n

As he prepared to put on the 2-Man Memorial for his friend this year, Morse recalled traveling with Cuny from Lummi to Aberdeen to Mesquite for softball tournaments and golf. Originally from Portland, Oregon, Cuny would visit family friends in Swinomish.<\/p>\n

Morse suspects he got his nickname, \u201cRookie,\u201d\u2019 at Native softball tournaments. He was a regular recruit for the Tulalip Renegades Softball Team.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe would golf at Avalon Links in Burlington,\u201d Morse recalls, \u201cthat was where the tribe had a membership in the years before purchasing Swinomish Golf Links.\u201d<\/p>\n

The 2-Man Memorial Tournament was first held in 2022 at Swinomish Golf Links, formerly the Similk Bay Golf Club, which was bought by the tribe in 2014.<\/p>\n

Bobb, who runs the Native Golfers Association, or NGA, also sponsors the NGA Championship tournament at the golf club in August. The NGA Championship<\/a> is in its eighth year, also hosted by Swinomish, and brings in Native golfers from around the country.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen the tribe purchased Swinomish 13 years ago,\u201d Bobb said, \u201cI worked there for 10 of those years.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"Jimi Bobb, left, who runs the Native Golfers Association, gathers with Swinomish Chairman Steven Edwards on the Swinomish Golf Links near Anacortes, Washington. The course is owned by the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community. Credit: Courtesy of H\u00f3zh\u00f3 Experiences<\/p>\n

He celebrates the tribe\u2019s support of the many Native tournaments and hopes the golf course will continue to get young people and women out onto the course, adding, \u201cthe tribe has helped out with improvements to the course and were able to get the gear the course needed for upkeep.\u201d<\/p>\n

Both Morse and Bobb worked alongside Superintendent Matt Atterberry, who has transformed the golf club, including newly designed holes and greens. Morse also notes the minimal use of watering systems.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Swinomish Experience has gotten much better since the tribe purchased the course,\u201d Morse said.<\/p>\n

Swinomish Indian Tribal Community runs seven enterprises, including the Swinomish Shellfish Company.<\/p>\n

Achieving H\u00f3zh\u00f3<\/p>\n

For Morse and Felix, the tournament is also the foundation of a business venture. They registered H\u00f3zh\u00f3 Experiences<\/a> as a limited liability corporation in 2025, named for the Navajo concept of harmony and balance.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The company will run golf tournaments and curate tours of the San Juan Islands and the Cascade Highway in Washington. This year\u2019s 2-Man Memorial is the first of three tournaments the business will run, all at Native-owned golf courses.<\/p>\n

\"\"Chase \u201cRookie\u201d Cuny, a gifted Native golfer and softball player, died in an accident in 2012. A memorial golf tournament in his honor at the tribally owned Swinomish Golf Links in Washington benefits the Swinomish Boys and Girls Club and tribal programs. Credit: Courtesy of H\u00f3zh\u00f3 Experiences<\/p>\n

\u201cWe will make experiences based on a client\u2019s needs,\u201d Morse said. \u201cThe trip on the North Cascades Highway is amazing, and It\u2019s something my dad instilled in me planning our trip to Winthrop one year. We can grow old, but memories last forever.\u201d<\/p>\n

Felix comes to the enterprise with 10 years experience in business, including more than 10 years creating and running a wholesale seafood business that served the interests of local tribal fishermen, including members of her own family.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was just so amazed at his passion,\u201d Felix said of her new business partner. \u201cI am more business-minded. I like logistics. He just took off, got the website up and going, worked diligently on pulling some things together. I was at first taken aback and amazed at his 100 percent passion for H\u00f3zh\u00f3.\u201d<\/p>\n

A history with golf<\/p>\n

Golf appears to be the common thread for Felix and Morse.<\/p>\n

Felix laughs recounting her days playing golf at Lake Roosevelt in Coulee Dam, Washington, a high school that did not have a girl\u2019s team. \u201cI made the varsity,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

She grew up as part of Lummi Nation and the Colville Tribe from eastern Washington. Her father, Martin John, was a tournament player who was once mentioned in Golf Digest.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll of his adult life he played,\u201d Felix told ICT. \u201cWe traveled with him. Mostly I remember the feasts, when they fed the golfers. And he liked to tell numerous golf stories, but the one he told again and again was how, when he first started playing, he got mentioned in Golf Digest, as the most-improved golfer in the year.\u201d<\/p>\n

At the time there were not as many Native tournaments as there are today, but Felix recalls traveling to the Treaty Days Tournament at Apple Tree Resort, one of the Yakama Nation\u2019s annual events. Her father played every year.<\/p>\n

Morse and Felix met while both worked at Swinomish Golf Links. As a way to get to know each three, Melissa hit a perfect shot to the green, but her two male partners missed it.other, Felix set up a day playing a round at the nearby Loomis Trail. At hole #12, a long-par\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s when I knew she\u2019s the one,\u201d Morse laughed.<\/p>\n

Partnering now in both life and business, in remembrance and hope, the two have co-founded H\u00f3zh\u00f3 Experiences.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Looking ahead<\/p>\n

The 2-Man Memorial is tapping a growing interest in golf among Native communities.<\/p>\n

A golf course requires the most land of any sport, land that is the combined efforts of Mother Nature and the artistry of human hands. The only uniform aspect of the sport is the size of the cup, a 4.5-inch opening in the earth that is the site of the joys and sorrows \u2014 frustrations and aspirations \u2014 of the some-odd 46 million golfers in the country.<\/p>\n

Native golf took a turn in the 1970s and 1980s when the revenues from gaming allowed tribes to develop golf facilities, and many tribes have hired the game\u2019s best architects.<\/p>\n

The Mescalero Apache Tribe developed the Inn of the Mountain Gods in 1975 with a championship golf course. Today, the celebration of land and design, recreation and economy on Native land continues to grow, as more than 70 tribes, bands and nations have gotten into the game, stretching across the country from Hawai\u2019i and California to the East Coast.<\/p>\n

H\u00f3zh\u00f3 Experiences works closely with several Native-owned courses in Washington to promote its efforts. Another all-Native stroke play event is set for Oct. 3-4 \u2014 the Qawqs Classic at Salish Cliffs, which ranks among the Top-15 courses in the state of Washington.<\/p>\n

Morse cites golf as an aid in his recovery.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have an addictive personality,\u201d he said. \u201cI got into some dark times. When I was coming out of that, in 2021, golf was that safe place for me, a place where I could have an outlet. I started working at Swinomish and began again from there.\u201d<\/p>\n

He strongly believes in the benefits of golf, noting the physicality of the game, of being outside and walking. He also enjoyed the social aspects, the camaraderie.<\/p>\n

\u201cSometimes playing by ourselves is cathartic as well,\u201d he said. \u201cBut the biggest benefit is being out in nature as an easy way to be in touch.\u201d<\/p>\n

His Native heritage is most alive for him in the connection to the earth. Starting H\u00f3zh\u00f3 Experiences has been a part of that.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a humbling experience,\u201d he said. \u201cOne of faith. A lot of things these days I have been not quite sure what is on the other side of the door.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tRelated<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Mark WagnerSpecial to ICT Pepper Morse remembers his friend Chase \u201cRookie\u201d Cuny as a gifted Native golfer and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":52224,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[44,13986,1418,20048,11637],"class_list":["post-52223","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-memorial-tournament","tag-golf","tag-ict-must-read","tag-memorial-tournament","tag-swinomish","tag-washington"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/golf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52223","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/golf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/golf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/golf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/golf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=52223"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/golf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52223\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/golf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/52224"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/golf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=52223"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/golf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=52223"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/golf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=52223"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}