News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
Top golfers from across the Pacific Northwest are on the links at Black Butte Ranch, contending in the Oregon Open 2001 tournament, June 22-27.
The tournament, founded in 1905, drew 168 golfers --Ü136 professionals and 32 amateurs. The Open is run under the auspices of the Pacific Northwest section of the Professional Golfers Association (PGA).
The BMW pro-am tourney launched the event on Friday, June 22.
The professional tournament was to start Monday, with the championship round scheduled for Wednesday. The pro tournament carried a purse of $50,000, with a champion's check of $8,000. The tournament will donate a total of $8,000 to the Sisters Schools Foundation and the Kids' Center in Bend.
All play will be conducted on the Big Meadow Course. The other Black Butte Ranch courses will remain open.
Loy Helmly, BBR manager, said the ranch applied for the tournament because "we wanted to bring it back to Central Oregon."
Helmly noted that the tournament was held for years at Sunriver, then "bounced around."
Chris Crosby, Director of Tournament Marketing, said that having the tournament in Central Oregon makes it more attractive to golfers. Last year, the tournament was not full. This year, it is.
"The Ranch has really gone after it and made every effort to make sure this is a great tournament --Üand it is," Crosby said.
Helmly reports that the greens are "in what we consider to be pretty good shape" despite a rough spring where ice impeded grass growth.
According to Helmly, the Ranch hopes the tournament will "reacquaint golfers with our courses here." He noted that numerous courses have sprung up in Central Oregon over the past 10 years and BBR does not want to be lost in the crowd.
Helmly also said the tournament boosted occupancy rates at Ranch rental property, which is a shot in the arm early in the summer season.
Jim Cornelius is editor in chief of The Nugget and author of “Warriors of the Wildlands: True Tales of the Frontier Partisans.” A history buff, he explores frontier history across three centuries and several continents on his podcast, The Frontier Partisans. For more information visit www.frontierpartisans.com.
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