Bella Vista’s pro golf tournament ready to expand
With most of the sponsors in place, a new event is being planned for the only professional golf tournament in Bella Vista. The second annual Cooper Communities Charity Classic is coming to the Highlands Golf Course in early June; and on Friday, June 8, a garden party will be part of the tournament.
The festivities start on Monday of that week when the professional golfers begin to arrive and practice on the course. The tournament is part of the APT tour, and the APT attracts young professionals who want to move onto the PGA tour, according to the organization’s website, www. apt.golf/about/.
“They’re nice young men,” Charlie Teal of the Bella Vista Foundation said. The Foundation is helping coordinate the charities that will benefit from the tournament. Teal is also a golfer and played in the Pro-Am portion of last year’s tournament. Most of the pros are in their mid-20s, he explained.
By Friday of tournament week, the field will be narrowed down to about 60, he said. He expects about 130 golfers to start earlier in the week. With the smaller field, the tournament play will be
over by early afternoon, so some of the players will be guests at the garden party.
It’s planned to start at noon, with food and craft beer available. The four charities that benefit from the event — Bella Vista Animal Shelter, Courtesy Van, Benton Country Boys and Girls Club, and The First Tee — will have representatives at the party to talk about their groups.
It’s called Mr. Mulligan’s Garden Party because the wooden sculpture that welcomed golfers to the Highlands will be a centerpiece of the event. Mr. Mulligan was carved and later maintained by volunteers, including members of Friends of The Highlands.
At 3 p.m., a junior golf clinic is planned. Both the Boys and Girls Club and
First Tee will bring some of their clients to the clinic, but there will also be plenty of space for other young golfers. Bella Vista staff will host the clinic with some help from the professional golfers.
The garden party and junior clinic should bring families out to the course, Teal said.