BLESSINGS COLLEGIATE INVITATIONAL

Now in its second year, the tournament founded by Tyson Foods Chairman John Tyson [above] is a men’s and women’s mixed event, with teams from ten D1 schools competing over 54 holes of stroke play. It takes place this October 4–6 at Blessings Golf Club in Arkansas, a stunning venue built by Tyson that also serves as the home of the University of Arkansas Razorbacks Men’s and Women’s golf teams. “Supporting both men and women was important to me,” Tyson said of the mixed tournament format. “The result is based on the combined scores of the men’s and women’s teams, and so no matter how one group places the other has to keep playing hard because they might still have a chance to win overall.” As Tyson says, the competition is meant to offer the players a chance to test themselves in a cooperative team environment, but also to have an experience that will continue to impact them throughout their lives. “For a lot of these young kids, this is the only time they’ll play on TV… And though I never played college golf, I learned young and I’m still learning, both about the game and the process of the game but also golf’s full of life-long lessons. They were real when I was young, and they’re just as real today.” Blessingscollegiate.com