It was a relaxed atmosphere at Highland Golf Course as golfers filled the links to partake in the second iteration of the Take a Hack Against ALS Tournament on Saturday.

The charity golf tournament featured 18 holes of golf in a scramble format and a silent auction with the proceeds going to the ALS Association.

Tournament organizers estimate $15,000 was raised in the search for a cure, topping their goal of $14,000.

Two teams tied for the lowest score with the Highlands Golf Course Team and Pacific Dave Seafood both shooting 23 under par (four players per team).

Darrin King, who represented the Highland team, said he’s always excited to help support tournament chairman Harry Carthum with his charitable efforts.

“It’s always good coming out to these things that are for good causes. Harry Carthum ran it and we play in his tournaments and he plays in our tournaments,” he said. “We help support each other, and Grays Harbor is great for supporting good causes like this.”

Carthum has a personal connection to the cause of the tournament with his son having been diagnosed with ALS in 1995.

Carthum estimates that there are seven Harbor residents suffering from the disease and noted that one local patient lost the fight to Lou Gehrig’s disease earlier this month.

He said spreading awareness about the disease is just as important as raising funds to find the cure.

“The main thing is we get the word out so everybody can be sensitized to the notion that it’s happening and it’s happening here.”

Not everyone who participated was personally touched by ALS, but Carthum said he’s not surprised people came out to support the cause regardless.

“Almost everyone here is from the Harbor and the Harbor is good at responding to needs,” he said. “You just have to be able to tell the story and people will understand how important it is.”

In addition to the golf, the silent auction was also a popular attraction at the event. The tournament sold raffle tickets and gave away more than 10 prizes to attendees.

Holly Duffy helped organize the auction and said it was rewarding to see her work pay off in the end.

“It was cool. It was cool to see how many people came out and how much money we made and it’s a pretty cool cause, so I feel good about that,” she said.

Highland Golf Course pro Ronnie Espedal enjoys seeing his course play host to a charitable cause and hopes to continue to bring the Take a Hack Against ALS Tournament in the future.

Espedal said the atmosphere on the course is part of what makes the event so enjoyable.

“These scramble fundraisers are fun. People come with the right attitude,” he said. “They spend money, they donate to the cause. It’s not about winning championships, it’s just about raising money and camaraderie.”