More than 100 aspiring professional golfers will be taking their swings at Metamora Fields Golf Club next week, along with one well-known NFL personality.
Broadcaster and former Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo is scheduled to be among the competitors in next week’s inaugural OSF Children’s Hospital of Illinois Pro-Am and Championship.
Metamora Fields general manager Matt Rogers credited Romo’s participation to a stroke of good timing.
“It's one of those things where, ‘you build it and they will come,’” Rogers said. “We were fortunate to have our tournament kind of lined up with another event that he's playing in a few weeks after, and he was looking for an opportunity to kind of tune things up.
“He is wanting to become somewhat of a professional golfer. He's 44 right now (and) at 50, he can eventually get on to the Champions Tour if he's playing well enough. This will give him an opportunity to tee it up against some of the best young golfers in the country and kind of measure where he's at.”
The week kicks off with pro-am tourneys on Monday and Tuesday, featuring celebrities with local connections. Peoria native and three-time NBA champion Shaun Livingston will play on Monday, with Romo slated for Tuesday’s event.
“It's exciting to welcome Shaun Livingston back to central Illinois and celebrate all the great achievements he had over his NBA career,” Rogers said. “It's really fun to have him come back and be willing to be a part of the event.”
Others scheduled pro-am participants include Bradley University men’s basketball coach Brian Wardle, former Braves standout Marcellus Sommerville, UFC light heavyweight Dustin Jacoby and Peoria Rivermen coach Jean-Guy Trudel.
The four-day championship tournament beginning Wednesday is part of the developmental All-Pro Tour schedule, with about 150 golfers competing for a purse of about $160,000.
“The All-Pro Tour is the largest non-PGA owned golf tour in the United States, and it's comprised of PGA professionals that are trying to make it onto the tour,” said Rogers, who noted he’s been trying for several years to get a professional golf event in the Peoria area.
“I was approached in November of last year by the APT (and) they were interested in coming in,” he said. “It was kind of late notice; they flew in two days after we talked over the phone and did a course visit, a site visit. And a couple of weeks after that, we signed the agreement for a two-year event here at Metamora Fields.”
Rogers said the Children’s Hospital of Illinois on board for the tournament provides an ideal situation.
“When the Ring and Brinkman family first built Metamora Fields, it was really something for the community and it was hoping to one day put a spotlight on central Illinois with the course,” he said. “With the charitable cause that we've teamed up with, I couldn't imagine a better one. I've got four young children myself, and there's nothing more heart-wrenching and a helpless feeling than having a child with an illness that needs to be treated. As a community, we're extremely fortunate to have the Children's Hospital of Illinois right here in our backyard and all of the capabilities that the hospital has, all the way from the different research that they do to the actual treatment."
“A lot of fundraisers in our area are for children's hospitals, but not necessarily for the one here in our backyard. I was hoping (by) pairing with them that, instead of seeing other hospital fundraisers everywhere, everyone in central Illinois can start getting on board with the Children's Hospital (of Illinois). Our children's hospital could be a top 10 in the entire country if we can start supporting it more as a community. And with the growth of this event, I hope it continues to help the growth of the Children's Hospital (of Illinois) and to help keep bringing cutting edge technology and resources to our own local community.”
In conjunction with the golf events, Metamora Fields will host a drone light show on Monday night and an all-ages “Concert on the Range” on Tuesday night featuring country artists Donny Lee, Megan Patrick and Mitchell Tenpenny – all of whom are also committed to play in the pro-am.
Spectators can purchase $25 general admission wristbands for admission to all six days of golfing and the drone show; those without wristbands can attend the drone show for a $10 donation. All proceeds benefit the Children’s Hospital of Illinois. Tickets for the concert are sold separately online.
Rogers said he’s hopeful the event is enough of a success to open a path to hosting additional pro golf events in the future.
“We would love to continue the relationship with the APT tour; we're already in talks of bringing one of their women's events to central Illinois,” Rogers said. “We may be able to use Weaver Ridge and Metamora Fields next year. You know, we would love to keep the APT tour going for several years, and at the same time I'm interested in either getting a PGA Tour event or a Champions Tour event also.”
