Ohio Tournaments Donate Millions to Charity
The Memorial Tournament announced that the 2017 PGA Tour event raised $2,250,000 for charitable organizations in central Ohio, including a record-setting $1,875,000 for Nationwide Children’s Hospital through an alliance with the Nicklaus Children’s Health Care Foundation. Since its first playing in 1976, the Memorial has eclipsed $29 million in donations to central Ohio charities, with more than $18.5 million going to Nationwide Children’s Hospital.
The Web.com Tour stop in Columbus, the Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship held in August generated an additional $2,116,065 for central Ohio charities. The 2017 event set the mark for the largest single-season charitable donation in its 11-year history.
Since the first Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship in 2007, the tournament has generated over $9.3 million in support of the hospital’s pediatric cancer program.
Tournament officials also announced a new three-year extension of the agreement between the Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship and the PGA TOUR that will insure the tournament will continue as a Web.com Tour Finals event through 2021. Additionally, a three-year agreement with The Ohio State University Golf Club was announced, confirming the Scarlet Course will continue to host the tournament.
NOGA Golf News
For the seventh time in eight years, Brian Smith was crowned 2018 Northern Ohio Golf Association’s Player of the Year, and Jim Durr was named Senior Player-of-the-Year.
Smith, a member of Oberlin Country Club, had yet another outstanding season. Since 2010, he has won the NOGA Player of the Year award every year except in 2011.
Durr, a member of the Silver Lake Country Club, is a first-time winner of the NOGA Senior Player of the Year. Durr won both the Senior Division of the Northeast Ohio Amateur Championship and the Senior West Championship. He also posted top ten finishes in the Founders Cup Shaker Heights, and the Four-Ball tournament.
Points for Player of the Year are awarded to the top five players in both the regular and senior divisions at all Northern Ohio Golf Association tournaments. Point totals are weighted based on difficulty and performance in the event. Players can also accrue points by medaling or qualifying in USGA events, as well as, select outside events.
Miami Valley Golf Association News
Dayton Country Club’s Rob Karnes has been recognized as the PGA Southern Ohio Section’s Merchandiser of the Year. Karnes has been at Dayton Country Club since 2013. After graduation from Heidelberg University, he was an assistant at Mohawk Country Club in Tiffin, before moving to Westwood Country Club. He was the Head Professional at Stonewater and later Monroe Country Club in southern Michigan before coming to Dayton.
He has been in the golf business his whole life as his family owned and operated 9-hole course.
