Rock Barn, Catawba County ready for Champions Tour

 By ED DUPREE

         CONOVER – Champions Tour golfers who have enjoyed North Carolina courses for many years will find a new gem in the western half of the state when they visit Rock Barn Golf & Spa this month.

        Rock Barn will host the inaugural Greater Hickory Classic Sept. 22-28, when the senior (50 and over) pros play the new 7,126-yard Robert Trent Jones Jr. course. The event will have a $1.5 million purse, with $225,000 going to the winner.

        “We’re all excited about coming to Hickory,” said Charlotte’s Joe Inman, a former Wake Forest University golfer. “Walter Hall (of Clemmons) has been a good ambassador. He’s told a lot of people about the golf course, about the area. We’ve played in Charlotte. We’ve played in Raleigh. We’ve played in Winston-Salem and Pinehurst. The players are all familiar with North Carolina and they know how much they love it.”

        Golfers committed through Aug. 19 with North Carolina ties include Inman; Hall; Fairview’s Morris Hatalsky; Cornelius’ Walter Morgan; brothers Bobby and Lanny Wadkins, who played at Wake Forest; David Eger (UNC); Leonard Thompson (Wake); and Pinehurst native Jay Overton, who attended Duke on a football scholarship, then transferred to Campbell, where he was the 1973 NAIA golf champion.

        Charlotte’s Terry Mauney, who played on the Champions Tour in 2002, then lost his full-exempt status, is expected to get one of the two sponsor’s exemptions.

        “This is a first-rate golf course. It’s in great shape. It’s a beautiful golf course,” said Inman.

        Thirty-three of the Champions Tour’s top 50 money leaders had committed to the Greater Hickory Classic as of Aug. 19 with 2002 Tour Player of the Year Hale Irwin the biggest name.

        “Adding Hale to our field ensures Hickory area golf fans of an extraordinary week of golf,” said Jim Correll, executive tournament director. “Hale has continually set the bar for other players during his historical career. It’ll be fun to cheer on new players like Craig Stadler (1982 Masters champ) as they try to reach and exceed that standard.”

        Irwin set a Champions Tour record for earnings in a season with $3,038,304 last year and became the oldest player to win the money title at age 57. He won four tournaments. He won this season’s Kinko’s Classic of Austin. The Arizona resident ranks fourth on the season money list.

        Tom Jenkins (sixth), Bob Gilder (eighth) and Vicente Fernandez (10th) have committed.

        Larry Nelson, 21st on the list, has committed. He won three major PGA titles – the 1983 U.S. Open and the 1981 and 1987 PGA Championships. Hubert Green (27th), who won the 1977 U.S. Open, will play.

        The field includes four first-time winners in 2003. Eger, who grew up in Charlotte, won the MasterCard Classic. David Barr, Tom Purtzer and Rodger Davis are also first-time winners.

        Other 2003 tour champions in the field include Fernandez, Jenkins, Gilder, Tewell, Hatalsky, Ahern and rookie Stadler (Ford Senior Players Championship). Stadler turned 50 in June.

        Don Beaver, CEO of Rock Barn, was instrumental in bringing pro golf to the Hickory area.

        “Rock Barn’s been a great golf course for a number of years, going back to 1969, when it was built,” said Beaver. “The Robert Trent Jones Jr. course that we built last year … we were wanting something special, and I think we’ve got it. We wanted a championship course. We wanted a course that some day we could land a tournament.”

        Beaver, who has significant interests in minor league baseball and is a minority owner and member of the Board of Directors of the Pittsburgh Pirates, emphasized that Rock Barn didn’t jump into hosting pro golf without a lot of planning.

        “This wasn’t done without a lot of thought. We wanted to do something and bring something positive to this area, because we have had a lot of downers, some negative unemployment and other things. This is something that we can be proud of and we can really sink our teeth in, and it can be a very positive for our area.

        “This is a community tournament; this is for charity. There is a minimum of $100,000 that is being guaranteed by Rock Barn and the PGA Tour that will go to charity,” Beaver explained.

        The Catawba County United Way will be the biggest benefactor from tournament proceeds.

        “We’re very excited to be part of the Greater Hickory Classic at Rock Barn,” said Jennie Connor, executive director of the CCUW. “Hickory has been long awaiting an event like this and we know it will be a great success. Not only will this give a boost to our local economy, but it will boost our community’s morale.”

        NASCAR star Dale Jarrett, a Conover native, is the tournament’s honorary chairman.

        “I can feel the excitement,” said Jarrett, the 1999 NASCAR Winston Cup Series champion. Jarrett, a star athlete at Newton-Conover High School who was offered a golf scholarship to the University of South Carolina, will play in pro-ams Sept. 24 and 25.

        “When you start hearing about this tournament around a NASCAR race, I think we’ve got to realize that we’re doing something that’s pretty good. The excitement is there around NASCAR. They all want to come and play in the pro-am,” said Jarrett.

        “It’s going to be a fun time. It’s going to be great to watch them (seniors), because this is a challenging course. We’re certainly looking forward to the opportunity to show the Champions Tour that the people here in Catawba County are ready for this,” he added.

        Open qualifying and practice rounds are scheduled Monday, Sept. 22, followed by practice rounds and special events on Tuesday. Three pro-ams are scheduled over the next two days. The 54-hole tournament starts Friday and winds up Sunday. Golf Channel will telecast each day from 1:30 to 4 p.m.

        There is free admission on Monday, and $10 grounds passes can be purchased Tuesday through Thursday. Grounds passes are $20 for each of the final three days. Weekly grounds passes are available for $50. Tickets can be purchased by calling 1-866-ROCK-BARN (1-866-762-5227).