Rancho Mirage honors Cougars of the Dessert

Colfax High grad Hal (Babe Lyons) who has been playing golf for 76 years, reports this year’s annual edition of the Cougar Desert Golf Classic received recognition from the Mayor Richard Kite of the city of Rancho Mirage, California, who declared a Cougar Booster Weekend in conjunction with the tournament and luncheon. Guest speaker for the 24th edition of the luncheon was WSU Athletic Director Bill Moos.

The 19th edition of the golf tournament was at the Rancho Mirage Country Club. The event with a dinner and auction raises funds for scholarships for needy students at WSU.

Lyons has been promoting the event for eight years.

The president of Cougar Boosters in the Desert is R. James Cook who this year was named co-winner of the Wolf Prize for his research in plant pathology and soil microbiology while at WSU. Dr. Cook, 74, will receive the $50,000 award in May in front of the Israel’s Knesset. The Wolf Foundation, founded by Ricardo Wolf, is based in Israel.