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Golfers turn out on cool day to benefit scholars
More than 20 golfers turned out on a cool late-April day at Leawood South Country Club with a few things in mind: play a lot of golf, stay warm and raise some money for the Kansas Golf Foundation’s Scholarship program. The hearty golfing souls had signed up for the 2008

KGF Junior Golf Marathon which benefits a program that will soon be aiding 20 Kansas college students in their pursuit of higher education.
   “We’re going to raise in excess of $50,000 for our scholarship fund -- that’s a great day,” said Craig Jorgensen, president of the Kansas Golf Foundation. “Leawood South has been fantastic. With the conditions we’ve had with all the rain and moisture, for any golf course to let us use their course is much appreciated.”
   Jorgensen encouraged anyone interested in getting involved in the Foundation to go to kansasgolf.org-scholars for more information.
   “Look at what we do in the Kansas Golf Foundation for our program,” he said. “We take high school seniors who are deserving…Kansas students who want to go to Kansas schools and give them a nice four-year scholarship and we want to continue to do that. The more people that get involved the more scholarships we can give.”

Student of the game
   One golfer hitting balls on the Leawood South layout was Mark Browne. Clad in University of Kansas hat and shirt it was clear where the current KGF scholar attends school.
   “It’s great…fantastic…it’s definitely helped me be able to go to college,” Browne said of the Betsy Dower, Lee Sewell and Mark Browne

program. “Without it, I don’t think I’d be able to.”Browne said he had a chance to meet several people involved in the Foundation during the day.
   “It’s been a very good experience,” he said. “I already do some work at my local course. I help teach lessons. I’d love to do anything involved with KGA.”
   Browne, admittedly not a competitive-level player, said it was nice to receive the benefits of a scholarship based on his course-work and not his golf course work.
   “Some of us aren’t gifted that way and we work hard in school but not all of us can be rewarded like the great athletes,” the accounting student said. “It’s good for us who love the game of golf to be able to be rewarded…be able to enjoy the game and go to school.”
   KGF scholars Lee Sewell and Betsy Dower of the University of Kansas also made it out for the event.

On scholarship
   Another participant in the Marathon was Sean Dougherty, an associate of Jorgenson who moved to the area a few years back and actually benefited from a scholarship while attending University of North Carolina-Wilmington.
   “One of my good friends is Craig Jorgensen and he got me involved in it and I’m happy to be out here helping out. It’s a good cause…I’m very happy to give back,” said the assistant pro at Milburn Country Club in Overland Park. “I know how important this is to a lot of kids. It was a great boost. It takes some of the financial burden away from college.”
   Dougherty said he was getting a little tired as the holes piled up just past noon.
   “But the weather is warming up and it’s turning out to be a pretty good day,” he said. “It’s a lot of fun… (I have) a good person to play with.”

Raising funds
   Though his father Tim was unable to play in the marathon, Aaron Clemons was more than happy to grab his clubs and sub in for dear old dad. Tim Clemons, a longtime contributor to the program, raised more than $7,000 this year.
Johnny Lowe and Aaron Clemons

   “He was the primary money raiser and couldn’t be here and I kind of took his place,” the younger Clemons explained as he prepared to tee off on yet another hole. “The day is going well and we’re enjoying it.”.
   Aaron Clemons said he was glad to help young people out and encouraged them to continue to play golf.
   “Hopefully they continue to play golf throughout out their lives, but being able to get an education and all that is much more important.”
   Clemons’ playing partner Johnny Lowe was feeling the effects as he teed it up for his 68^th hole of the day.
   “Rigor mortis has set in,” the K-State grad joked. “I was a poor kid growing up and had to pay my way through college and I think it’s fantastic the money that’s going to the kids for their education and not their talents on the golf course.”

‘I think it disappeared’
   One highlight of the day was a hole-in-one turned in by longtime Leawood South member Ray Borth. Borth, a Johnson County attorney whose law firm formerly included KGA Executive Director Kim Richey, said he used a gap wedge to ace the second hole. KGA championship veteran Tyler Shelton also aced the hole during the Marathon.
Ray Borth, Leawood

   “They had cut a little spot ahead of the women’s tee box and it was about 105 yards,” Borth recalled. “John Holt of Fox 4 News was with us and he was talking to (KGA President) Jerry Waugh. My wife and I were kind of watching it and I said ‘I think it’s pretty close’ and all of the sudden I said ‘I think it disappeared’ and she said ‘I think it did.’ So we all four went up there and …hole in one.”
   Borth, who says he plays at least 100 rounds a year, said he had an “official” hole-in-one back in 2001. He aced the tenth hole at Flint Hills National in Andover where he is also a member.
   Borth said he had played both days on the weekend at Leawood South coming into the Golf Marathon.
   “I played terrible yesterday and I went to the driving range and we have some new mats we were anxious to hit off yesterday afternoon even though I knew we were going to do this thing today,” he said. “And I said ‘I want to see if I can get a decent swing going.’ I kind of found something that had worked real well for me in the past and today it worked excellent.”