The 54-hole tournament will be called the Middletown Men’s and Women’s Open Golf Championships and be held June 23-25 at Brown’s Run. City owned Weatherwax Golf Course hosted the tournament from when it opened in 1972 to when the course closed in 2016 after being sold two years prior, said Kraft.
Dalton, girls golf coach at Fenwick High School, said by opening the tournament to golfers from Middletown and surrounding communities within a 10-mile radius of the city, he hopes to attract enough golfers for a championship, first, second and third flights with gross and net winners in each division. The age limit has been reduced to 16.
There was a time when the tournament had full fields and featured the best golfers in the city. Four past winners of the tournament, Mike McGee, Frank Lickliter II, Marianne Morris and Marty Dickerson, later played professionally, Lickliter, a two-time winner on the PGA Tour, set a record by winning the city tournament four consecutive times from 1988-91.
Before Kraft left Weatherwax, he took the men’s city championship trophy, and after it’s been repaired, hopes to hang it in the Brown’s Run pro shop.
He said John and Avinne Kiser, owners of Brown’s Run, have been supportive of hosting the city tournament that he believes will be “good for the city and good for the golfers.”
Kraft, who never won the city tournament, said it always was “the tournament” he wanted to win. He had a four-shot lead heading into the final round in 1985, but faltered to second when he shot 79 and Ben Morrison, the winner, shot 71.
“I still remember that,” he said. “Just like it was yesterday.”
Dalton, 58, never played in the city tournament championship flight, but always enjoyed the competition, he said.
“It was always great getting out there and playing,” he said. “The challenge was just incredible.”
HOW TO PLAY
WHAT: Middletown Men’s and Women’s Open Golf Championships
WHEN: June 23-25
WHERE: Brown’s Run Country Club, 6855 Sloebig Road
HOW MUCH: $200 includes three rounds, cart, range balls, gift certificate awards
ELIGIBILTY: Must be at least 16 by June 23 and live within a 10-mile radius of the city of Middletown
REGISTER AFTER MARCH 1: www.brownsrun.com
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