BYRON, Minn. -- Somerby Golf Club will host the Scholarship America Showdown from Monday, July 10, through Sunday, July 16, 2006, at 975 Somerby Parkway, N. E., Byron, Minnesota 55920, phone 507-775-3700. The event will benefit Scholarship America® and the Children's Cancer Research Fund.
The Somerby Golf Club course was designed by Tom Lehman and John Fought (par 72, 7,209 yards) and named among the 10 Best Private Golf Courses in America by Golf Digest magazine.
A field of 156 professionals on the Nationwide Tour will compete for a $550,000 total purse (winner check $99,000). The format is 72-hole individual stroke play, cut to the top 60 players, plus ties, following the completion of 36 holes. http://www.scholarshipamericashowdown.com/
The Nationwide Tour, now in its 17th year, is a member of the PGA Tour
family, and is a collective effort of the PGA Tour and local civic
organizations.
Here's the schedule:
MONDAY, JULY 10
Practice Rounds
TUESDAY, JULY 11
Scholarship America Shot at College
Practice Rounds
WEDNESDAY, JULY 12
Official Pro-Am Play
THURSDAY, JULY 13 - SUNDAY, JULY 16
Tournament Play
Matt Anderson, a professional golfer from Edina, Minnesota, has been exempted to join the field. Matt turned pro in 2003, after playing on the University of Minnesota's 2002 NCAA Team Championship, where he finished 8th individually with a closing round of 66. Matt won medalist honors at the 2003 Big Ten Championships and was an Honorable Mention NCAA All-American in 2002. He is a top performer in the NGA Hooter's Tour.
"I look forward to playing again in my home state and the challenge Somerby Golf Club will present," said Anderson.
Attendance of over 33,000 is estimated during the seven-day event. The Golf Channel will broadcast tournament play from Thursday, July 13, through Sunday, July 16.
Scholarship America is committed to helping young people achieve their dreams through higher education, and has distributed more than a billion dollars to more than a million students.
Somerby Golf Club architects John Fought and Tom Lehman have created a challenging golf course that is eminently fair. The design motif is characteristic of the 'golden-age' (1915-1935). The golf courses of this era were routed efficiently so very little earthwork was necessary and connections between greens and tees were short, and hazard placements were carefully thought out to tempt the player.
The style chosen for Somerby Golf Club is a grassed-down bunker faces for ease of maintenance, especially during thunderstorms that are so common in the Midwest. The fairway movement is subtle, with very little mounding. The streams, lakes and wetlands areas are natural looking with few abutments or hard edges. Natural hillocks are integrated into the golf holes that are covered with fescue grasses. Trees are planted as a frame or backdrop to the golf holes and not as a strategic element.
The Somerby Golf Club has been designated as a "Certified Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary" by the Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary System (ACSS), the educational division of Audubon International.
The Somerby Golf Club is a world-class private club developed by Golden Tee Development, a partnership between Ames Construction, Inc., and Wensmann Homes. General Manager is Brian Jones, 507-775-3700. http://www.somerbygolfclub.com
Scholarship America® Contacts: Gordy Hanson, Tournament Director and Wendy Robinson, Tournament Consultant, SFX Golf - 763-287-0100.
