Tiburon Golf Club will host the sixth annual “Fore the Four” Golf Tournament on June 13. Established in 2020, one year after a tragic accident that took the lives of four teen Gretna High School girls, the tournament aims to remember the friends and the impact they had in the community and raise awareness about problems of underage drinking and driving. Funds raised by the event go to the 4the4 memorial non-profit organization.
Addisyn Pfeifer, Abby Barth, Kloe Odermatt and Alex Minardi, all 15 and 16 years old, were killed on June 17, 2019, when the car they were in went off the road near 180th Street and Platteview Road and caught fire. A fifth girl, Roan Brandon, was the only survivor.
Tiburon Golf Club has been the host site of the tournament since it started. Located north of Interstate 80 and west of South 168th Street, the club is convenient for everyone in the community and has a small tie to the foundation and tournament. Kloe Odermatt played golf there during her freshman year.
“It truly is a blessing to be able to be a part of this community for the four girls that lost their lives,” said Becky Dickerson, director of Special Events at Tiburon. “We are honored at Tiburon to be able to bring this event to light for people to remember the girls.”
The first year the tournament was created, COVID-19 was wreaking havoc all across the country. Because of this, no one knew how the tournament was going to work or how many people were going to show up. Even with all the challenges going on in the world, though, the Gretna community still came together to show their support for these girls and their families.
“When we started this tournament, we weren’t sure how successful it would be. It started off as a way to support yearly scholarships and has turned into so much more,” Tonja Minardi, Alex Minardi’s mother, wrote in an email interview. “The first year, we were not only able to pay for the scholarships, but also the butterfly statue that is at Gretna High School.”
As time has gone on, the For the Four Foundation has evolved and has also started to raise money for other foundations around the metro area, support different school activities and give back to the community.
“One of the foundations we support is Youth for Christ, which is so dear to my heart, in more ways than just the golf tournament, because the people involved with Youth for Christ also did Kloe’s funeral. That’s an even closer connection, where we want to give back to other organizations,” said Julie Odermatt, Kloe Odermatt’s mother, said.
Even though this day every year is still somber for these families, it is now filled with comfort, support and fun thanks to everyone who comes out.
“It (the golf tournament) has really turned into something where people can come have fun and share their stories about the girls and look back at the past,” Dylan Minard, Alex Minardi’s brother, wrote.
Since the golf tournament has been around for the past six years, it has built a name for itself and for the community. Still, some people have never heard of the golf tournament, and, because of this, a new teaching opportunity is given to the moms who run the whole day.
“We have what’s called the ‘Mom Hole,’ so all us moms are at the hole. This last year we had a golf foursome that didn’t even know what For the Four was,” Odermatt said. “A group of men liked to play golf, so they came. And we got to share with them what For the Four means. And so even people that don’t know, coming and being able to share is really amazing.”
As time goes on, some things have changed about the tournament, but one thing never will: their mission.
“I think the golf tournament is to not just raise awareness on how drinking at a young age and drinking and driving is bad, but also the mission is to give back to the community that helped all the families in our time of need,” Tonja Minardi said. “The golf tournament just started as a way to keep the girls’ memories and spirits alive and to help out seniors who need our help, and over the years, that has stayed the same.”
