Lilac Invite still has a lot of spring in its 50 year-old step

If 50 is the new 30 then there’s good reason for the Lilac City Invitational Golf Tournament to have some new spring in its step.

Given a new lease on life in 2012 with its renewal at The Fairways Golf Course after a five-year hiatus, this year’s 51st edition takes place over four days, July 10-13.

The tournament was created in the early 1960s at Downriver Golf Course in Spokane by Joe Durgan, the course pro. The tournament went to the Fairways in 1986 when the Durgans were involved in the West Plains’ new course.

The Lilac is the only 72-hole tournament in the region and has been slowly growi...