Last Updated: 12:38 am, Friday, March 5th,
2004
Local golf tour gets name
change
By Craig DeVrieze
Amateur golfers in the Quad-Cities will vie this summer under the
banner of The National City Bank Amateur Tour.
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It
is the fourth name in the six-year history of the annual circuit, which was
played last year as The First Tee of the Quad-Cities Amateur Tour.
The tour also has been known as the River City Amateur Tour and the Amateur
Tour Championship.
Board member Chris Wilkins said the new name is neccesary
to give proper exposure to the tour’s title sponsor. He said sponsorship
proceeds will allow tour members to continue to make a year-end donation to The
First Tee of the Quad-Cities chapter. The tour last year donated $10,000 to the
local youth golf organization.
The name change is one of two key changes on the tour this year. Last month John Deere Classic tournament director Clair Peterson
announced the tournament no longer would provide an exemption into the PGA Tour
event.
Wilkins said that disappointing change will cost the tour a few familiar names
— such as defending points series champion Tyler Swanson of Clinton — but he
said it should not mean a drastic change in numbers.
The summer-long, nine-event tour will start with the May 22-23 Hawthorn Ridge
Amateur, a tournament that has been missing from the tour schedule for three
years. Also new this year is the Aug. 14-15 Indian Bluff Amateur, which will
introduce the unique Stableford scoring format to the
tour. The format awards points for birdies and eagles and subtracts points for
bogeys. Wilkins said Indian Bluff golf Course, a relatively short course in rural
The top 30 championship-flight players and leading 12 seniors will advance to
the Sept. 11-12 Tour Championship at Pinnacle Country Club in
The season will end with the annual Hasley Cup
pitting the top players in
For information, contact Darrell Reynolds at (309)-787-8657.
Craig DeVrieze can be contacted at (563) 333-2610 or cdevrieze@qctimes.com