Fundraiser helps SC junior golf program turn out top talent
If it’s Masters week, the “must-be-there” event for golfers outside of Augusta is the annual Columbia Golf Ball that unfolds for the 16th time Thursday night at the State Fairgrounds.
If schedules prevent attendance, fans can participate in the fundraiser to support junior golf through an innovation this year – mobile bidding for the silent auction.
Both pre-registration and a list of items to preview – courses to play, golf-related items and stay-and-play opportunities – are available at www.scgolf.org.
“The new bidding process ought to be exciting,” said Happ Lathrop, executive director the South Carolina Golf Association. “There are some wonderful items and places to play available. Like always, the kids who benefit from junior golf will be the big winners.”
The Columbia Ball is a primary fundraiser for the South Carolina Junior Golf Foundation, and the long-range results are reason to celebrate.
Players who honed their skills in South Carolina’s junior golf program have won 35 PGA Tour tournaments, including a pair of U.S. Opens, and one LPGA event. They are fixtures on U.S. teams in international competition, and one, Dustin Johnson, is ranked No. 1 in the world. If the Tour Championship were to start today, four golfers who began in the state junior ranks – Johnson, Kevin Kisner, Bill Haas and Lucas Glover – would be in the 30-player field.
Impressive, certainly, but the real numbers to cherish in pondering the state’s junior program are:
▪ $337,700, the amount the South Carolina Junior Golf Association distributed in 2016 to developmental programs such as The First Tee, the summer chapter competition and tournament sponsorships
▪ 110 scholarships worth more than $800,000 awarded since 1996
▪ About 18,000 youngsters introduced to the game through the Golf in Schools program since 2010
▪ More than 53,000 youth impacted by contributions to programs around the state such as The First Tee, Special Olympics of South Carolina and Hook-a-Kid on Golf
“The pros who succeed make the headlines, but our goal is to get more kids involved in golf,” Lathrop said. “We want to give them a competitive arena to get them started. Golf is really a game for a lifetime.”
Tickets for the Golf Ball are available online at www.scgolf.org., by calling the SCGA at 803-732-9311 or at the door. The festivities begin at 6:30 p.m.
Chip shots
Tommy “Two Gloves” Gainey (Hartsville), Sam Saunders (Clemson) and Andrew “Beef” Johnston have received sponsors’ exemptions into the RBC Heritage, set for April 13-16 at Hilton Head Island. For tickets, go online to www.rbcheritage.com or call 843-671-2448. … Save the date: the A.C. Flora Golf Gathering, a fundraiser to support the school’s high-powered golf teams, is set for June 19 at Columbia CC. Participants will include Charles Warren, who won a state title at Flora and the NCAA individual championship at Clemson before turning pro, and current Symetra Tour pro and former Falcon Lauren Dunbar. For information or to register, call coach Robert Dargan at 803-414-5311. … The amateur team representing the SCGA defeated a team of state professionals 31-11 in the Palmetto Cup matches at Columbia CC. … Bronson Myers (Columbia) led the boys, and Rachel Rich (Mt. Pleasant) paced the girls in the SCJGA’s Caddie Classic at the Members Club’s WildeWood course. … USC’s men won the Hootie at Bulls Bay Intercollegiate for the third year in a row with Keenan Huskey and Jamie Wilson posting top-10 individual finishes.
This story was originally published March 31, 2017 at 4:56 PM with the headline "Fundraiser helps SC junior golf program turn out top talent."