AVE MARIA — Family and friends paid tribute to the life of Justin Campos at the eighth annual Justin Campos Memorial Golf Tournament on Sept. 24. Forty-four golfers, which comprised 11 teams, played in the tournament at Panther Run Golf Club in Ave Maria, a few miles from the Immokalee Reservation where Campos lived. It was organized by Campos’ father Jimmy Wayne Holdiness.

“Everybody has had deaths in their lives,” Holdiness said. “When you lose a kid, happy places are few and far between. The golf course was always our happy place.”

Campos, who was Holdiness’s first born child, was killed in prison in 2013 at age 28.

“He got into some trouble, but he was a good boy,” Holdiness said. “We used to play golf together from Miami to Pebble Beach. I loved him more than anything, more than anybody.”

The tournament is always a family endeavor. Holdiness’s step-daughter Priscilla Caseres, who was a lifelong friend of Campos, and his wife Brenda Holdiness help out every year. For this year’s tournament, Brenda Holdiness woke up at 4 a.m. to make 200 breakfast tacos for the golfers. Participants in the tournament included tribal members and some of Campos’s friends from his days at Immokalee High School.

Chairman Marcellus W. Osceola Jr. has supported the memorial tournament since before he became chairman. He and Holdiness worked and played ball together in their youth.

“I support the tournament in memory of a tribal member,” Chairman Osceola said. “It’s his family’s wish to keep his memory alive.”

Winners were announced at a post-tournament luncheon. The first place winner was the foursome of Chairman Osceola, Bill Osceola, Fred Schreffler and Ben Schreffler with a score of 18-under par. The foursome of Holdiness, Chris Jensen, Raul Nunez Jr. and Daniel Anez finished runner-up at 17-under par.