Bid-Bid-Bid! Pro-Am Scholarship Auction Replaces Tournament
If you are looking for something different this year for the golfers or golf fans on your holiday list, here’s a Pro-Am Scholarship Auction, for charity, that might be perfect.
It’s a win-win because you get stuff, and other people are helped. The Pro-Am Scholarship Auction raises money for the Marilynn Smith Scholarship Fund. The last day is Masters Sunday, so don’t dally!
One of the best things about this auction is there’s a take-out price you can pay to be certain you get the item. Handy, if it’s something you really want.
Quite honestly, you have to be pretty deep into golf to even know who Marilynn Smith was. But no matter. She was one of the 13 founders of the LPGA, back in the dark ages of 1950.
Before becoming an LPGA founder, Smith attended Kansas University and even played in the 1949 Women’s National Intercollegiate Golf Tournament, but there was no women’s golf team at Kansas. When her father asked the university for travel money, they turned him down because she was not a male student.
Yes, those were the super dark ages. Title IX, which provided athletic opportunities for girls and young women, was not passed until 1970.
However, the annoyance that Smith felt in 1949 was behind her idea to create a scholarship fund for women. So far, the foundation has awarded 194 scholarships. Usually, it’s funded by the Marilynn Smith Scholarship Pro-Am tournament held in Phoenix. But this year, the tournament was cancelled due to COVID 19.
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According to Debbie Waitkus, Tournament Director, the organization decided not to take it lying down. They are raising money on-line with their auction which you can find at https://www.32auctions.com/organizations/71940/auctions/88935?r=1&t=all
The auction features an interesting assortment of items, from tee times at courses in and around Phoenix, to Ping golf clubs, autographed memorabilia and even a shirt worn in a PGA Tour event. In addition, if you are feeling extra charitable, you can make a cash donation to the scholarship fund.
The eclectic mix includes:
Phoenix Country Club foursome which you can score by buying it out for $550.
Masters flags signed by Sergio Garcia or Patrick Reed, starting at $100 bid.
There’s a 2020 Waste Management Phoenix Open name PHELPS from the caddie bib signed by Olympian Michael Phelps starting at $100 with a buyout bid of $400.
There’s a Waste Management Phoenix Open flag signed by Matt Kuchar, Zach Johnson, Kenny Perry, Bubba Watson, Michael Phelps, Jon Rahm and others with a starting bid of $200. You can buy out the bidders by paying $400 now.
One great item is already gone. That’s the Ping signed golf bag with autographs from Rickie Fowler, Charley Hoffman, Matt Kuchar, Zach Johnson, Adam Long, Phil Mickelson, Kenny Perry, Kyle Stanley, Justin Thomas, Nick Watney, Bubba Watson, Gary Woodland and more. It was a bargain at $400.
Here’s something you don’t often see: Tournament worn shirt. Pat Perez tournament used shirt with MGM Grand and MLife logos is available with bids starting at $100.
In the higher priced category, there’s a full set of Ping clubs: The G410 driver , two G410 fairway woods & G410 hybrids with standard graphite shafts plus a set of eight Ping G410 irons with standard steel shafts and a Sigma 2 putter. Clubs will be custom fit at Ping. The current bid is $1,000 with bid increments of $100 accepted. The buy now price is $2200.
And here’s a fabulous package from PGA Tour Superstores, valid only at the Chandler location.
Bid winner can bring 25 friends to the store.
All the friends in the party will receive a $20 gift card to use at the store.
Each person will receive a Performance Practice Bay Certificate which can be redeemed for a free 30-minute practice session in our practice center
The event will feature a Sponsored Putting and Hitting Contest. The winner of one will receive one PGA Tour Superstore Players Club Plus Golf and Tennis Membership, which has a $150 value. The other winner will receive three, one-hour golf lessons at any location, which is a $200 value!
The estimated value of the package is more than $1000. The starting bid is $200, and the buy-out price is $500.
So Bid-Bid-Bid!