The seventh annual Greater Hickory Classic at Rock Barn is gearing up to get started next week and they're ahead of schedule, said GHC Executive Director Jim Correll.
The classic is expected to draw some 100,000 golf fans to the tournament over the course of the week, and that's great news for area charities.
The tournament is a charity event and has given some $750,000 to local organizations since its first year in 2003, Correll said.
"The big winners of the tournament are the charities," he said.
This year, tournament organizers began Tickets Fore Charity — a program that allows charities to sell tickets to the event and keep 100 percent of the proceeds. So far more than 60 organizations have signed up.
"We said, 'Hey, here's a way we can help some charities more than we already do,'" Correll said. "There's no catch. What we want is to get more fans out here."
Business owners also have benefited from the tournament over the years. Correll said the Greater Hickory Classic Presented by Kia Motors has generated more than $160 million for businesses in the Hickory Metro Area.
"It's been a great ride — one that we hope to continue," he said.
Correll said he's optimistic the Greater Hickory Classic will be back next year with Kia as a major sponsor, but the tournament is looking for a new title sponsor.
Rock Barn Golf and Spa has been the title sponsor since the classic began and will still have a very strong presence in the tournament, Correll said.
"I think Kia and all the major sponsors will stick with us as long as we're here," he said, adding that the tournament is looking for a new title sponsor or a group of sponsors to fill the title sponsor's role and take some of that pressure off Rock Barn.
It costs around $2 million to be the title sponsor for a stop on the PGA's Champion's Tour, and Correll's confident a new sponsor or sponsors will be found.
For more information about this year's tournament, go to www.greaterhickoryclassic.com.
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