After practice rounds on Monday, the 20th annual TrueNorth Greater Cedar Rapids Open, presented by Granite City Food & Brewery, will kick off Tuesday, July 24 with our first two pro/ams and some free kids activities at Hunters Ridge Golf Course in Marion.
The first Dave Wright Nissan Subaru Pro/Am tees off at 8 a.m. While that is going on, several competing pros and the Hunters Ridge staff will be the instructors at the Culver’s Junior Golf Clinic at 10 a.m. This is free to all kids. Get some great pointers and help from some kid-friendly pros and staff!
Then stick around for some fun at the 2ndannual Coca-Cola Mascots Putting Challenge at 11 a.m. Mascots scheduled to appear include Mr. Shucks from the Cedar Rapids Kernels, Ricochet from the Cedar Rapids Roughriders, Scoopie from Culver’s Restaurants and of course, the host, the Coca-Cola Polar Bear. They will be competing in a putting battle royal with help from the audience.
The second Dave Wright Nissan Subaru Pro/Am tees off at 1:30 p.m. featuring four foursomes of golfers from the G.I.V.E. Foundation (Golf for Injured Veterans Everywhere). Two foursomes will go off the no. 1 tee and two more off the No. 2 tee. The veterans’ foursomes are sponsored by RIM Enterprises, Skogman Companies, St. John & Gielau CPA and Dave Wright Nissan Subaru.
The four foursomes from the G.I.V.E. program include the following veterans:
- Ricky Davis (U.S. Air Force Security Service); Russ Irvine (retired U.S. Army Chief Warrant Officer); Brad Griffis (U.S. Army Sergeant First Class) and Eric Ringena (U.S. Air Force Auto Flight Control Specialist).
- Allen Moore (U.S. Army Infantryman); Larry Meyer (U.S. Army); Dave Johnson (U.S. Air Force Sergeant Communications Specialist); and Jeremy Soppe (U.S. Army National Guard).
- Ron Williams (U.S. Navy Master Chief Petty Officer); Curt Goodrow (U.S. Army Sergeant, Vietnam); Terry Ackerman (U.S. Navy) and Bob Smith (U.S. Army Specialist 4thClass).
- Buck Pickerill (U.S. Navy); Rick Frame (U.S. Army, Vietnam, Korea); Dan Sargent (U.S. Army Sergeant First Class); and Jeff Brown (U.S. Air Force, Senior Airman).
Come out and salute these heroes on the first and second tees or elsewhere during the round!
After all the festivities of the day, pro/am participants are invited to sit back and discuss their rounds at the Granite City/Heineken/Fleck Sales Cool-Off Reception. This ticketed event will be held at approximately 6:30 p.m. at the Hunters Ridge Lodge and will feature beer, wine and soda as well as appetizers provided by Granite City.
On Wednesday, the third Dave Wright Nissan Subaru Pro/Am goes off at 10:30 a.m. That is followed later in the day by the annual Granite City Food & Brewery Pro/Am Dinner Party. The event, from 5:30-8 p.m., brings together all the professional and amateur golfers, all of our wonderful sponsors and GCRO committee members in a celebration of friendship and hard work. This is also at the Hunters Ridge Lodge and is a must-come! Entertainment will again be provided by B.F. Burt.
Finally, the official 54-hole tournament itself kicks off at 7 a.m. Thursday off both the Nos. 1 and 10 tees. Approximately 130 pros and 15 amateurs are scheduled to tee it up. The pros will be competing for the record $30,000 first-place prize and maybe a springboard to bigger and better things in their careers!
Action continues Friday at 7 a.m. with second-round play.
After cutting the field, the third and final round will be held Saturday with the leaders scheduled to go off at about 11 a.m. (check tee times later this week). The awards ceremony is tentatively set for about 4:30 p.m. and will feature not only the check ceremony, but the winner will be the first recipient of the Bob Brooks-Sam Farner TrueNorth Greater Cedar Rapids Open Memorial Trophy.
Come out and support this great event. The GCRO has given back over $178,000 to the community since its inception in 1999. Last year the GCRO made a record charitable contribution of over $20,000 to various youth and veterans programs in the community. It included an $8,000 contribution to the Iowa PGA Foundation’s “Swings with Kids” program that was earmarked for the Marion Independent School District. The previous two years the GCRO made a combined $16,000 donation that allowed the Cedar Rapids School District to begin the program in all its elementary schools.
Admission is free!