26th annual Castaneda Chaos golf tournament raises money for Kings Wrestling Club

Kings Wrestling Club will get the benefit when the 26th annual Castaneda Chaos Golf Tournament tees off at Desert Hills Golf Course this Saturday, with every $100 entry helping turn a morning round in Yuma into youth-sports support. The event has lasted long enough to become part of the local calendar, and its staying power comes from a simple formula: competition, lunch, prizes and a cause that still pulls in families and supporters year after year.

The tournament is scheduled for 7 a.m. at Desert Hills Golf Course, 1245 W. Desert Hills Drive. Players will compete for first-, second- and third-place prizes, along with nearest-to-the-pin and longest-drive honors, and lunch will be provided. Those details give the fundraiser more than a scorecard feel. They help make the tournament a community gathering, not just a day on the links.

Desert Hills adds to that appeal. The course describes itself as a par-72 championship layout that has hosted professional events, including stops by the Ben Hogan, Nike and Sunbelt Senior tours. It also says its first tee time is sunrise, or 6 a.m., whichever is later, a schedule that fits a tournament built to get underway before Yuma’s summer heat settles in.

The Castaneda Chaos name has deep roots in Yuma golf and wrestling circles. Public references show the event had already reached its 13th annual tournament by 2013 at Cocopah Bend RV & Golf Resort, and by 2018 it had grown into the 18th annual edition, then promoted as a fundraiser for Cibola High School Raider Wrestling. The switch to Kings Wrestling Club this year shows the tournament’s mission has remained centered on supporting local wrestlers even as the program name has evolved.

That continuity matters in a county where sports fundraisers often do more than cover a one-day event. Desert Hills hosted the Yuma Child Burn Survivors Golf Tournament earlier this year and drew 212 participants, a reminder that local golf outings have become a reliable way to raise money for families and programs with concrete needs. For the Castaneda family and the wrestlers who benefit, this weekend’s tournament is another sign that Yuma still shows up when a community cause needs backing.