Golfing for a good cause
Published 9:21 pm Wednesday, October 21, 2015
Matt Liebler was one of 92 golfers who took advantage of Friday’s opportunity to play for a good cause, winning the 2015 Suffolk Pro-Am both individually and with his team at the Suffolk Golf Course.
The course’s pro shop manager John Bonds noted the Suffolk Pro-Am has existed for at least the last 25 years, but around eight years ago, Suffolk Golf Course PGA Professional Eddie Luke made a change to the event.
![Tim Newsom, the PGA professional at the Riverfront Golf Club, competes during the 2015 Suffolk Pro-Am on Friday at Suffolk Golf Course. The event raised approximately $2,000 to $3,000 this year and benefits the Down Syndrome Association of Hampton Roads, as well as Special Olympics Virginia.](https://www.suffolknewsherald.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/19/2015/10/IMG_5900.jpg)
Tim Newsom, the PGA professional at the Riverfront Golf Club, competes during the 2015 Suffolk Pro-Am on Friday at Suffolk Golf Course. The event raised approximately $2,000 to $3,000 this year and benefits the Down Syndrome Association of Hampton Roads, as well as Special Olympics Virginia.
“It’s never been for a cause; it’s just to get a bunch of guys together and play in a tournament,” Luke said, noting it allows amateurs a chance to play with PGA professionals. “And I said, ‘You know what? What better way to raise money for charity?’”
Lyndon Luke, his son, served as an inspiration for what organizations he, amateurs and his fellow pros could help benefit.
“I have a son that has Down syndrome,” Eddie Luke said. “We started raising money for the Down Syndrome Association of Hampton Roads and (Virginia) Special Olympics eight years ago.”
Combined with the 18-hole tournament, Luke has also included a raffle and a silent auction, though inclement weather prevented the auction from happening this year.
“Usually we make a couple thousand dollars on the auction,” Luke said after noting this year he had items including an autographed Jack Nicklaus visor, an autographed Tom Watson hat from the Masters and a Tiger Woods hat.
Luke works at Augusta National Golf Club in Georgia during the Masters, which allows him to see a lot of players and get them to autograph memorabilia.
For the Suffolk Pro-Am, “we’ll raise anywhere from $1,500 on a low end to $4,000 on a high end,” Luke said. “Last year, it was more, reason being is we had more players.”
The event featured 128 players last year. Luke said the reason for the drop off this year was that there were a lot of PGA pros that were out of town playing in other events.
Also, he had to move the Pro-Am back from its standard weekend.
“It’s normally the second Friday in October,” Luke said. “But there was another (Middle Atlantic Professional Golfers’ Association) event that got rained out, so they took that weekend, and then I had to bump mine back one week.”
Among the PGA professionals Luke got to play in the Pro-Am on Friday was Bryan Sullivan, who Luke noted years ago won the North and South Amateur Championship, one of the biggest amateur tournaments in the country.
Liz Rowland, a veteran of the LPGA Tour, was also competing on Friday, as was Dennis Winters, a former Maryland Open champion, and Tim Lewis, who has won the Senior Open of Virginia.
In the past, Luke has had Chip Sullivan, Rick Schuller and even Buffalo Bills great Bruce Smith come and participate in the Pro-Am.
“Bruce and I are good buddies,” Luke said. “Bruce has come out, and he’s sat out here and signed autographs.”
Bonds estimated on Wednesday that the Pro-Am, the Suffolk Golf Course’s biggest event of the year, raised between $2,000 and $3,000 this year.
Following are the results from the 2015 Suffolk Pro-Am on Friday:
Pro individual results
1) Matt Liebler, 68
2) Tim Lewis, 69
2) Bryan Jackson, 69
4) John Bonds Jr., 70
4) Jonathan Faw, 70
4) Blake Brookman, 70
Team results
1) Matt Liebler, Cabell Birdsong, Bennie Powell and Jeff Gardy — 125
2) John Bonds Jr., John Bonds Sr., James Powell and Paul Strange — 127