The private Upper Saucon, Pa., property will welcome the public on June 23 to its Old Course, site of the upcoming U.S. Mid-Amateur, to help fund the tournament as well as benefit The First Tee Lehigh Valley. For $250, golfers will receive a round of golf and lunch, with the club capping the number of participants at 100.
The private Saucon Valley Country Club in Upper Saucon, Pa., will host a public play day June 23 on its Old Course, site of the 2009 U.S. Women’s Open and the upcoming U.S. Mid-Amateur, the Lehigh Valley (Pa.) Morning Call reported.
For $250, golfers receive a round of golf, lunch and the chance to help Lehigh Valley junior golf. Saucon Valley has partnered with The First Tee Lehigh Valley, which will receive contributions from proceeds of this September’s U.S. Mid-Amateur. In addition, the club will host an instructional day this summer for First Tee Lehigh Valley participants, the Morning Call reported.
The club plans to cap the event at 100 participants, though Gene Mattare, Saucon’s director of golf, said he might open the Weyhill Course as well if there’s significant interest. Both courses will be used for the Mid-Amateur, with the Old Course hosting the match-play final, the Morning Call reported.
Since the Mid-Amateur has no ticket sales or corporate hospitality, Saucon Valley must rely on fundraising and contributions to help fund the event, the Morning Call reported.
“We’ve already had some interest and think this will very successful,” Mattare said. “In addition to benefiting the First Tee, this also will be a bit of a fundraiser for us to help defray some of the costs of funding the event, which are substantial.”
The Mid-Amateur, scheduled for September 6-11, will be the sixth different USGA championship Saucon Valley has hosted. It also will be the club’s first amateur event since the 1987 U.S. Senior Amateur, the Morning Call reported.
Andrew Warner, president of Saucon Valley, and tournament chairman Barry Treadwell have said the tournament is part of the club’s mission to give back to the game. The U.S. Mid-Amateur features players 25 and older, and the tournament’s winner historically has received an invitation to the following year’s Masters, provided he remains an amateur, the Morning Call reported.
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