Trans-Mississippi Championship to have new format, younger field in 2010
The Trans-Mississippi Golf Association announces changes for the Trans-Mississippi Championship beginning in 2010, which will be conducted at Denver Country Club (Colorado), July 12-15.
For 106 prior years this historic championship had been played with a match play format. Past champions include Jack Nicklaus (1958 and 1959), Charles Coe (1947, 1949, 1952 and 1956), Deane Beman (1960), George Archer (1963), Ben Crenshaw (1972), Gary Koch (1973), Bob Tway (1978), Mark Brooks (1978) and other professional tour notables who had prominent amateur golf accomplishments. In 1987 the championship was changed to a mid-amateur age requirement, and a senior division was also added.
To address current realities of travel expense and scheduling, the TMGA board of directors recently concluded that the match play format, while traditional and exciting, makes it too difficult and expensive for its players to participate without knowing arrival and departure dates.
Therefore, commencing with the 107th Trans-Mississippi Championship, the following changes will be implemented:
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The Championship will be conducted over 54 holes of individual stroke play (three consecutive days).
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The field size will be 144 players from Trans-Mississippi Golf Association member clubs or players receiving a special invitation from the Championship Committee.
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Two divisions will compete:
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The Championship Division will have no age restriction. However, contestants under than 19 years-old must be invited to participate.
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A Senior Division (age 55 and older).
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The number of golfers is allocated at 84 for the Championship division and 60 for Senior division.
The TMGA also announces that Steve Hatchett from Wichita, Kansas has been appointed as Chairman of the Trans-Miss Championship Committee.
Mr. Hatchett, a member of Flint Hills National Golf Club, while thanking his fellow directors for their confidence to chair this important committee, stated that “the Trans-Miss is looking forwarded to bringing the nation’s top young golfers back to this historic championship. With our slot on the national amateur schedule in mid-July and playing at some of the nation’s very best and well known venues, we are committed to recruiting a starting field that will rival any other amateur event in the country.”
The Trans-Mississippi Championship prior to 1987 was considered one of the top three annual amateur championships in the United States (along with the U.S. Amateur and the Western Amateur). Collegians and high-ranking amateurs would typically travel the summer circuit highlighting their schedule with those prominent events. Golf history enthusiasts will remember that John Goodman won the Trans three times over nine years (1927, 1931 and 1935) and the Harry Legg was champion five times and runner-up four times between 1907 and 1917. The inaugural champion in 1901 was John Stuart, the man who started the Quaker Oats Company.
The Trans-Mississippi Golf Association, founded in 1900, is a not-for-profit association of member golf clubs from throughout the nation. Its charitable mission is to grant annual scholarship awards to men and women pursuing college degrees in golf course turf management. Currently those awards exceed $90,000 annually and are distributed to 21 universities.
For more information about the Trans-Mississippi Golf Association or its Turf Scholarship Fund, contact Kim Richey at the above address, or view the association’s website (www.trans-miss.com) for general information, a complete description of the scholarship program and more history of the association.
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