Ewing Charity Classic Sets Fundraising Record, Benefits NTPGA Foundation
FORT WORTH, Texas – The 17th Annual Ewing Charity Classic, a fundraising golf tournament conducted by the Northern Texas PGA for the benefit of the Northern Texas PGA Foundation, was held today at Shady Oaks Country Club in Fort Worth. This year’s event raised a record $303,500.
The Ewing Charity Classic, formerly the Westcott Pro-Am (from 1996-2005), is widely considered one of the most special and unique pro-am events in the country with $5,368,500 raised during the past 27 years for the benefit of the Northern Texas PGA Foundation's broad-based community outreach programs. The money raised helps to further the Foundation’s mission to positively impact lives and communities through golf.
The Ewing Charity Classic featured 21 teams consisting of three amateurs, a PGA TOUR, PGA TOUR Champions, Korn Ferry Tour or LPGA Tour player and a PGA of America golf professional. Past and present tour players that participated in this year’s event included Chad Campbell, Sebastian Munoz, Ryan Palmer, Rich Beem, Todd Hamilton, Mark Brooks, Brad Faxon, Tom Hoge, Ally Ewing, Cheyenne Knight, Angela Stanford, Gerina Mendoza and others.
This year's event was shortened due to afternoon thunderstorms that stopped play. Teams were scored through their first 13 holes that all 21 teams competed playing in the following format: The tour player and club professional played a modified alternate stroke and the amateurs played their own ball with full handicaps (maximum of 28). The team score was the professional team score plus the low net score of the amateurs.
Two teams ended the day tied at 14-under-par and in first place. The first team was composed of professionals Chad Campbell and Chad English and amateurs Wood Brookshire, Harrison Holmes, and Bryant Patton. The second team were professionals Ryan Palmer and Dow Finsterwald Jr., PGA and amateurs Jeff Bookout, James Edmondson, and Mike Biggs. For full event results, please click
here.
As is tradition after play, the PGA Golf Professionals competed in a closest to the hole competition to win a car. Jake McCullough, PGA director of golf at Odessa Country Club and NTPGA Section President, took home a GMC Acadia after hitting a 50 degree wedge from 91 yards, to 2 feet, 9 inches from the hole.
“Thank you to the Ewing family for their support of this event. It means a lot to the five pillars of our foundation and impacts thousands of lives,” said McCullough. “It’s special, we go around the country and other PGA professionals ask us about this event. The Ewing family is what makes it happen.”
The closest to the hole contest was Mr. Ewing’s idea as a way to not only help raise funds for the Northern Texas PGA Foundation but also to say a special thank you to the PGA golf professionals who participate in the event. In 2012, it was so well received that Mr. Ewing decided to keep the shootout going and has given away a car to a PGA golf professional each year since.
Ronny Glanton, PGA head professional at Sherrill Park Golf Course finished in second place after a shot of 6 feet, 9 inches to take home $3,000. The third place prize was awarded to Mike Wright, PGA director of golf at Shady Oaks Country Club, who took home $1,500 after a shot of 11 feet, 7 inches.
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About the Ewing Automotive
Ewing Automotive Group, is a dealership group consisting of Mercedes-Benz of Plano, Ewing Buick GMC and Ewing Subaru of Plano, located north of the George Bush Turnpike and South of Highway 121, in one of the fastest developing business corridors in the country. A special thank you goes out to Mr. Ewing and all he has done for the Northern Texas PGA, our local PGA Professionals, junior golfers in North Texas and the game of golf. In 2019, Mr. Ewing was inducted into the Texas Golf Hall of Fame for all he has done for the game of golf.
About the NTPGA Foundation
Founded in 1983, the nationally acclaimed Northern Texas PGA Junior Golf Foundation, a 501 (c)(3) tax-exempt organization, was rebranded in 2019 as the Northern Texas PGA Foundation. The Northern Texas PGA Foundation focuses on five pillars: junior golf, college scholarships, inclusion, fellowships and military and veterans. The Northern Texas PGA Foundation is governed by the Northern Texas PGA Board of Directors and is supported by the Northern Texas PGA Foundation Trustees. The mission of the Northern Texas PGA Foundation is positively impacting lives and communities through golf.
