Club News

Georgia club wins with junior tourney … NASCAR star spotted at Citrus Club … Vegas pro-am attracts athletes

COMPILED BY CLAIRE JURKIEWICZ

The Exide Technologies Junior Open returns to Country Club of the South in Johns Creek, Ga., April 19-21 with some fresh bragging rights. Beating out 61 other tourneys in its category, the event was named the American Junior Golf Association’s 2012 Open Tournament of the Year. Last year, 78 players traveled from 18 states and seven countries to participate in the 36-hole competition. Organizers expect a similar turnout this year.

While in Florida to test his new racecar at the Daytona International Speedway in January, NASCAR superstar Jeff Gordon stopped by the Citrus Club in Orlando for a private event. Gordon greeted more than 60 guests, spoke about his career thus far, and offered tastings of his Jeff Gordon Collection wines, including the 2006 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon.

Early this year, Las Colinas Country Club near Dallas hosted the Texas Tech University men’s tennis team training camp. During the weeklong event, members practiced and competed in a pro-am-style tennis tournament with the players and socialized with Red Raider coaches at a Q-and-A session.

Current and former pro athletes such as Trevor Hoffman, Rick Rhoden, Joe Theismann, and Shane Victorino played 18 holes at Bear’s Best Las Vegas during the Moyer Foundation’s 6th Annual Celebrity Golf Classic in November. For the round, 25 celebrities teamed up with sponsors who donated more than $6,000 to the Moyer Foundation, a nonprofit organization founded by Major League Baseball pitcher Jamie Moyer and his wife, Karen, that helps children in distress by providing education and support. The night before the tournament, a dinner and auction at the nearby MGM Grand hotel raised more than $460,000 for the charity.

Nearly 200 members and guests flocked to Canyon Creek Country Club near Dallas for the Marit Liv Peterson Melanoma Research Golf Fundraiser and Silent Auction in October. In a single day, participants raised more than $120,000 for the Marit Peterson Fund for Melanoma Research, which supports such research at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston. Member Chris Crosby’s granddaughter, Marit, was diagnosed with melanoma at 18 months old, and he hosts this annual tournament at the club to raise money and awareness for the now thriving girl’s namesake fund. At this year’s event, slated for Oct. 15, MD Anderson doctors will conduct free melanoma screenings for event participants at Canyon Creek.

The Capital Area Tennis Association, a nonprofit organization promoting tennis and sportsmanship, has declared Lost Creek Country Club in Austin, Texas, its 2012 Partner of the Year. Lost Creek earned this distinction by providing courts for CATA-sponsored tournaments and fundraisers, hosting CATA junior tennis events, and offering junior programming consultation.