May 21
|JANE HULSE | SPECIAL TO THE TIMES
A golfer scored a hole in one in June at the Channel Islands Lions Club Annual Charity Golf Tournament and won a free trip, but a legal brouhaha has
erupted over who will pay for it.
The Lions Club has been sued by a Port Hueneme travel agency that fronted the money for the trip. The golfer contends that he has yet to receive all of his
winnings. And the company that provided insurance to cover such prize money can't be located.
The travel agency, The Travel Mart, won its case against the Lions Club in Small Claims Court in Ventura. But the club has appealed the decision, and the
case will go to trial in Superior Court on Tuesday.
"It's a mess all the way around," said Elani Scholler, wife of Charles Scholler, the North Hollywood retiree who hit the winning hole in one.
She said her husband was promised a cruise trip to Mexico or $7,500 in travel expenses. He opted for the $7,500 and took a trip to Germany, using $2,300 of
the winnings.
"He promised me a trip to Greece," Elani Scholler said. "It's not fair."
The controversy began on June 21 when the club held a golf tournament at Mountain View Golf Course in Santa Paula. The Lions Club offered prizes for holes
in one on three different holes, including $10,000 for one hole, a Ford Explorer truck for another and a cruise to Mexico for the third.
The club bought insurance from Sports Guarantees Unlimited of Cathedral City to cover any lucky shots. The coverage was arranged by Coast General Insurance
Brokers of Oxnard. Margaret Bird, owner of The Travel Mart, sponsored the 16th hole--where the prize was the cruise--and she helped pay for the insurance
premium.
Bird said she advanced Scholler's travel expenses to Germany, anticipating that Sports Guarantees would reimburse her and cover the $7,500 in winnings.
"The company told me the check was in the mail," she said.
But Sports Guarantees refused to cover the winnings because the Lions Club had allowed 126 players to participate in the tournament when the coverage
called for no more than 120, said David Schenk of Coast General.
