John Dell: Area junior golfers help wounded vets

Three local high school golfers took part in a fundraising tournament earlier this month at The Dormie Club in the Pinehurst area.

A field of 24 highly ranked junior players from North and South Carolina took part in the tournament that had two-man teams. The second annual Dormie Cup helped raise money for the Wounded Warriors project that helps servicemen and women who have been wounded.

Among those who played in the Ryder Cup-style format were Andrew Kennedy and Eric Mitchell of Winston-Salem, and Ben Scholottman and Philip Kelley of Advance. Each of the participants raised more than $1,000, with proceeds going mostly to the Wounded Warriors project.

Also benefiting was the First Tee of the Sandhills and the American Junior Golf Association scholarship program. The players also collected more than 350 new golf hats to send to troops overseas.

"It definitely didn't feel as much pressure as a regular tournament," Kennedy said. "It was a different type of tournament — and playing with Eric as my teammate was really fun."

Kennedy said he asked family and friends for donations, and said it was worthwhile to help out.

"On the second day, some of the wounded warriors came out to caddie and we got to talk with them and got to know them," said Kennedy, who is a sophomore at Mount Tabor.

Scholottman and Mitchell, who are sophomores at Forsyth Country Day, also played in the tournament for the first time.

"It was a fun deal — and to be able to raise money was a good excuse to play golf," Scholottman said. "And the course was fantastic, so we all had a great time."

The fundraiser was started by Patrick Cover of Huntersville and Thomas Walsh of High Point last year, when the two wanted to find a way to raise money that involved golf. There were 12 players last year. About $10,000 was raised last year; this year it was well over $25,000.

Kennedy said he hopes to do it again next year. He also loved playing the Dormie Club, a new private course in West End that was designed by Ben Crenshaw and Bill Coore. "Yes, I plan on coming back," Kennedy said, "and hopefully we can raise more money."

Scholottman also hopes to play next year.

"It felt good to give back like that, and I'm just glad we were able to help," Scholottman said.

Haas and Simpson reflect

Despite having the best seasons of their young careers on the PGA Tour this year, Bill Haas and Webb Simpson said they were both more excited about what happened off the course.

Haas was married in June to Julie Arrington and Simpson and his wife, Dowd, had their first child born in February.

"Golf-wise, the way the FedEx Cup and Tour Championship ended was an obvious highlight for me," Haas said. "To win the FedEx Cup was amazing even if it was unexpected — but to win the Tour Championship as well probably means more than any of my other wins.

"Off the golf course, getting married in June was great, and it's really just been an amazing 2011."

Simpson, who just missed out being the PGA Tour's leading money winner this season, said: "Definitely having our son, James, born in February was great. Dowd and I have had so much fun watching him grow up. It's been way more fun off the golf course than anything I've done on the course."

Around the green

• A third former Wake Forest golfer, Kyle Reifers, will be back on the PGA Tour next season. He says seeing Haas and Simpson do so well is encouraging. He was a college teammate of both players. "I've played a lot with them and seeing what they've done in the FedEx Cup alone is impressive," he said. "Bill's had a great year. Webb's been in contention every time he plays, so that's all positive things that (makes me) feel like I can compete with them."

• The state of North Carolina struggled in the rankings put out by Golf Digest for the country's top 75 resorts. Pinehurst made the rankings at No. 12 and the Eseeola Lodge in Linville was ranked No. 54. Bandon Dunes in Oregon was first and Pebble Beach was second.

• Bill Haas, 29, has been out of Wake Forest awhile but always loves coming back to play at Old Town Club. He said he didn't appreciate it as much as he should have when he was a student. "We were so spoiled in school that we didn't realize what a true gem Old Town was and still is," Haas said. "I was talking about that with Buck Williams (a former teammate) and we didn't know how lucky we were to be able to play here because it's one of the best courses, if not the best course, in North Carolina."