Celeb golf tourney heads toward rough
A proposal from PGA golfer Tom Pernice Jr. to bring a celebrity tournament to George Wright Golf Course in Hyde Park appears doomed.
City officials said they are “doubtful that the benefits would outweigh the costs to the public and so it is very unlikely that we would ever pursue this in Boston.”
As the Herald reported yesterday, Pernice golfed with District 5 City Councilor Tim McCarthy Tuesday morning to discuss the idea of bringing some kind of celebrity event to the city next year.
“My main conversation with him was what’s the positives that he’s going to bring to Boston? What can we do for the junior golf program, that was my concern,” McCarthy said.
McCarthy had questions about the quick turnaround, noting that it would be tough to hit the ground running in planning the tournament for next year. He also raised questions about members, should the course need to be closed for the event.
“Would you close the course for a week?” McCarthy said. “What happens to those people who have purchased a pass for six or seven months of golf? Now they’re missing a week of golf in prime time.
“So, there’s a lot of moving parts,” he added. “It was a pleasure playing with him. My little input was: What does Boston get out of it? What do the courses get out of it? What’s the impact of the neighborhood?
“I think they’re going to have trouble getting this one off the ground, but we’ll see,” the councilor said.
George Wright has been the home for other major golf events. The two city courses hosted the Massachusetts Amateur Championship in July and McCarthy said the city had “tremendous success” hosting the event.
Pernice turned professional in 1982 and has 11 career wins, including two on the PGA Tour. In 2007, he tied for 17th at The Masters, and in 1989 tied for 13th at the U.S. Open.
Back in February, the AT&T Pebble Beach Celebrity Pro-Am included NFL players Larry Fitzgerald and Aaron Rodgers; retired pros Steve Young and Wayne Gretzky; singers Toby Keith, Darius Rucker and Jake Owen; and actors Bill Murray, Ray Romano and Tom Dreesen.