Menu
Pro-Am off to hot start
Friday's high temperatures did not deter the competitors at the Horse Race Friday night at Heritage Hills Golf Course in McCook.
Jason Thornburgh of Omaha took home first place honors with Troy Martin of Gardner, Kan., coming in second. The third place winner in the annual contest was Jeff McRay of Chickasha, Okla.
Mike Schuchart is back to defend his title as the pro-am continues Saturday and Sunday.
Tee times for the first 18 holes Saturday is 7:30 a.m. Sunday's second round begins with a shotgun start at 8:30 a.m.
Proceeds from the tournament benefit the Community Hospital Health Foundation Endowment.
The tournament, which began in 1989, is being played in honor of John Mullen, the son of Dr. Bernie and Nona Mullen of McCook.
Mullen worked as an assistant professional in Denver, Southern California and Heritage Hills. He lost his fight with cancer in 1986 at the age of 23.
Since the inception of the tournament, approximately $108,000 has been raised. Approximately $12,000 should be raised at this year's tournament because of an increase in the number of sponsors, Crowe said. Last year, more than $8,700 was raised.
Twenty-one of the 36 teams competing are backed up by sponsorships. There are 15 "gold" sponsorships ($1,200) as compared to 10 last year, said Crowe.
Schuchart (pronounced Shoo-hart), who hails from Lincoln, is one of five former champions competing in this year's tournament.
He broke the course record with a first-round score of 62 and added a 74 on the second day under miserable weather conditions.
His 136 total was five strokes better than runnerup Jim White, who won the first Pro-Am in 1989.
White will not be playing in this year's event because of a graduation commitment.
Also back are 2000 champion Shane Zywiec, who is the assistant pro at Heritage Hills; Steve Gotsche, who won back-to-back titles in 1997-98; Rick Cramer, 1999 and Rennie Sasse, who won in 1992-93-95.
Gotsche, who hails from Great Bend, Kan., and is a University of Nebraska alumnus, has played on the PGA and Nike Tours and has competed in seven U.S. Opens.
Other previous winners of the John Mullen Pro-Am are John Ogden, 1996; Jack Eckhardt, 1994; Greg Moser, 1991 and Ken Schall/Jack Quick, tie, 1990.
In addition to the cause, the biggest draw for the professionals and the other competitors is the course itself.
Heritage Hills, once rated as "America's 100 Greatest Tests of Golf" by Golf Digest, lives up to its reputation, according to course professional Lee Maiden.
"The golf course is one of the draws," Maiden said. "The conditions are immaculate. We're very excited about the Horse Race. We'll get quite a crowd out there. We expect 300 people to watch the Horse Race."
The par-72, 6700-yard course features bluegrass fairways and bent grass greens. Maiden said the course places a premium on shot-making but doesn't discriminate against long hitters.