By Staff
MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. – For the first time ever, The National Golf Association's Hooters Professional Golf Tour, presented by Hooters of America and Naturally Fresh Foods, is coming to Blackthorn Golf Club, owned by the city of South Bend (Ind.) and managed by Meadowbrook Golf.
The tour will make its stop May 5-11 for The Life Treatment Centers Golf Classic.
The Life Treatment Centers Golf Classic will have a purse of $200,000, with $33,556 going to the winner.
A portion of the proceeds from The Life Treatment Centers Golf Classic will go to benefit The Life Treatment Centers of South Bend and Elkhart, Ind.
"We are very excited about bringing the Hooters Tour back to the state of Indiana and to Blackthorn for the first time," said NGA/Hooters Tour President Robin L. Waters. "The players are going to love the golf course and the community. I expect it to be a first class event on a first class golf course."
The NGA/Hooters Tour is the third largest men's 72-hole professional golf tour in the country behind the PGA and Nationwide Tours.
It boasts alumni like 2007 Masters Champion Zach Johnson, 2003 PGA Champion Shaun Micheel, 2003 British Open winner Ben Curtis, 2003 US Open winner Jim Furyk, two-time U.S. Open winner Lee Janzen, British Open and PGA Champion John Daly.
Other alumni include British Open winner Tom Lehman, PGA Champion David Toms, 2003 Tour Championship Winner Chad Campbell, 2004 &2005 Reno Tahoe Open winner Vaughn Taylor and TPC winner Craig Perks to name just a few.
All told, the NGA/Hooters Tour's alumni have an incredible 10 "Majors" to their credit. The NGA/Hooters Tour has helped more than 100 professionals acquire their PGA, Senior PGA, and Nationwide Tour cards.
In fact, 42 percent of the players that earned their 2008 PGA Tour card, and 47 percent of the players that earned full exempt status on the Nationwide Tour started their careers on the NGA/Hooters Tour.
Life Treatment Centers (LTC), a non-profit organization in South Bend, operates with the vision of providing professional treatment services to adults addicted to alcohol and other drugs.
It helps its clients lead healthier, more productive lives, free of chemical dependencies.
The multifaceted chemical dependency treatment programs at Life Treatment Centers enable those who cannot afford to pay for treatment to have the opportunity to become a more integral part of the community.