The 28th Annual Senior Memorial Golf Tournament will be held this weekend at the Forest Country Club. This year’s tournament is set to honor longtime club member and tournament participant Jim McConnell who passed away this year.
The annual golf tournament was organized by Raymond Cox in 1991, and first played in September of that same year. Cox, who died away shortly after playing in the tournament in 2015, originally came up with the idea for the tournament for two very specific reasons.
First, he, and the golfers he regularly played his golf rounds with, wanted the opportunity to play a tournament against elders in their own age group. By tournament rules that means you must be 50 years old or older in order to be eligible to play in the tournament.
Secondly, was to generate a revenue stream to put directly back in to the upkeep of the golf course.
“During the last 28 years, the Senior Tournament has continued to fulfill one of the main purposes of helping with the upkeep of the golf course,” said tournament committee member Tom Brown of Forest. “This tournament brings in significant proceeds every year that go directly to the upkeep and maintenance of the Forest Country Club golf course.”
After Cox’s death in December of 2015, the 2016 tournament was the first time the tournament designated a person to honor. Committee member Haywood Reeves said that the 2016 golf tournament was not only played in Raymond’s memory, but also to honor his wife Helen.
Helen always helped with the planning and coordinating required to hold the tournament every year, but she has taken on much more of a significant role since the death of her husband.
“I have always been involved throughout the years because I would help Raymond,” she said. “After he died, I became more involved of course. I wanted to see that the tournament continued so I was willing to help in any way I could. I’m now on the tournament committee so you can say I’m very involved.”
“This year’s tournament field includes 34 teams from all around Central Mississippi including Forest, Brandon, Meridian, Carthage, Jackson and other surrounding areas,’ Reeves stated.
The two-man teams will play two rounds of 18 holes and the winning team in each flight will receive awards. This year all participants will receive participation door prizes, but only the winning duos will receive the coveted flight championship awards.
The committee members said, almost in unison, the support of the sponsors made it possible for this tournament to be created in 1991, and remains the reason why the tournament is being played for the 28th consecutive year.
Golfers will tee-up the golf balls and swing away senior style this Saturday at 9:00 a.m. After completing Saturday’s round, players will return on Sunday afternoon when the round starts at 1:30 p.m. with the flight winners announced and awards presented immediately following the final team finishing their round of golf.
