THE TOURNAMENT

Celebrity Exhibition & Scramble Golf Tournament

In 2009 we had the good fortune of hosting Annika Sorenstam as our professional golfer. In 2010, John Daly joined us for an outstanding event.  This year, we have done it again and welcome Mark Calcavecchia to the course for our tournament on Monday, June 13th. Calcavecchia will be stationed on a Par 5 and will hit a tee shot with each participating team. Prior to the tournament, Calcavecchia will be present for a Meet-and-Greet with all the participants. Sponsor our event and get a chance to meet a golf titan in person!

Also joining the event are LPGA players Blair O'Neal and Mina Harigae.  These phenomenal young athletes will be showcasing their skills for all players on the course and will be present for the Meet-and-Greet at registration.

In addition to our golf pros, we will have current and former NFL players Darren Sharper, Roman Harper, Gerald McNeil and Dan Pastorini available for the Meet-and-Greet.  These football superstars will also be accompanying some of our Diamond and Platinum level sponsors for the day.  Sign up early to spend a day with one of these greats! 

The talent does not stop there.  We are also fortunate to have Dayna Steele, local Houston hero, as our Emcee.  Dayna will be present at the meet-and-greet, join one of our Diamond or Platinum Sponsors on the course and celebrate with us throughout the evening. 

We will also have the lovely Saints Cheerleaders, the Saintsations, present at the tournament and cook-off event ready for photos and autographs. These beauties will help to cheer us all on while representing Louisiana - the home of LACAP.

Photo Credit: Chris Condon PGA TOUR

Mark Calcavecchia (PGA TOUR)

Calcavecchia attended the University of Florida, where he played for the Florida Gators men's golf team in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) competition and he turned professional in 1981 and joined the PGA Tour in 1982. His most notable achievement was in 1989, when he won The Open Championship, aka the British Open, which is one of golf's four major championships, winning a four hole playoff over Wayne Grady and Greg Norman. Upon being awarded the Claret Jug, Calcavecchia famously said, "How's my name going to fit on that thing?"

Calcavecchia has won 13 times on the PGA Tour and 11 further times in other professional events. He spent over 100 weeks in the top 10 of the Official World Golf Rankings from 1988 to 1991. In winning the 2001 Phoenix Open, he set the Tour scoring record at that time by making 32 birdies in 72 holes finishing at 28 under par for the tournament.  Calcavecchia was a member of the United States Ryder Cup team in 1987, 1989, 1991 and 2002.  On July 25, 2009, Calcavecchia set a PGA Tour record by getting nine consecutive birdies during his second round at the RBC Canadian Open at the Glen Abbey Golf Course in Oakville, Ontario, Canada. Meeting and shooting with golf great Calcavecchia will be a once in a lifetime opportunity.

Photo Credit: Jeremy Pierson DEEPFOTO

Mina Harigae LPGA.com

Mina Harigae is a second-time attendant of the Black Elk Energy Empowering the Community Event.  Mina was a wonderful addition to the 2010 event and will surely bring out returning sponsors.  In 2009 Mina Harigae went pro and finished first on the Duramed FUTURES Tour earning her membership for the 2010 LPGA season. Mina took first at the Ladies Titan Tire Challenge, Michelob ULTRA Duramed FUTURES Players Championship and the Falls Auto Group Classic. Mina led the USA to a 13-7 victory over GB&I in the 2008 Curtis Cup. She won the 2007 U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links Championship at Kearney Hill Golf Links with a 4 and 3 victory over Stephany Fleet. Mina has played in five Women’s Amateur Public Links, five U.S. Girls’ Juniors, five Women’s Amateurs and the 2007 U.S. Women’s Open, where she made the cut. She was a medalist at the 2006 Girls’ Junior after shooting an 8-under 64 at Carmel Country Club. Mina is two-time U.S. Girls’ Junior semifinalist, in 2003 and 2006. She was a co-medalist at the 2006 Women’s Amateur Public Links. Mina won the California Women’s Amateur Championships four times, from 2002-2005. She also won the 2007 AJGA Verizon Junior Heritage and the 2006 AJGA Heather Farr Classic. Mina was an AJGA Rolex All-American first-team selection in 2005, 2006 and 2007. Mina is fast making a name for herself and is sure to have a long career ahead.

Photo Credit: blaironeal.com

Blair O'Neal www.blaironeal.com

Blair O'Neal found her love for golf at an early age.  At the age of 12, Blair's enjoyment of golf became a passion and her skill for the game was only matched by the focus and determination with which she practiced, all the while hoping to one day don the maroon and gold for Arizona State University and move on to realize her dream of being a professional golfer. At 13, she began playing on the American Junior Golf Association during the summer and enjoyed success after success in her junior golf career: a selection on the U.S. Junior Ryder Cup Team in Valderrama, Spain; a selection to AJGA Cannon Cup Team; runner-up in the Woman's Western Tournament; a medalist at the AJGA Ping Phoenix Jr. Championship. Blair oly grew as a golfer and was a three-time medalist at the 5A Regional Golf Championship, four-time Golf MVP and the Arizona State Golf Champion in 1998-99. During her college years as a Sun Devil, Blair won 2 out of 3 NCAA Long Drive contests, making her one of the longest hitters in college golf.  Blair went pro in 2004 and has since she has competed in the West Coast Ladies Golf Tour, the Futures Tour and two events with the Orient Masters in China. In the summer of 2007, she was selected by Nike to teach with the Nike Golf School in San Diego, CA.  In 2008 Blair was named by SPORTS ILLUSTRATED "One of the Hottest 50 Athletes of All-Time". Shortly after she gained votes from millions of web users, InGameNow.com, and Sports Illustrated in the "World's Hottest Athlete" contest in which she was voted into the Final Four among some of the greatest female athletes of our time.

FOUR MAN SCRAMBLE

1. A scramble means that all four team members tee off on each hole and then decide which tee shot they like the best and mark the spot with a tee or ball marker.
2. The other team members pick up their balls and place them within one club length (no closer to the hole) of the marked spot. Each team member hits their next shot from the chosen spot of the prior shot.
3. This procedure is followed on every shot for the remainder of the hole, including putts. The ball should be marked on the putting green also.
4. Putts need to be made within 3 inches of the marked spot (no closer to the hole). The first ball to go in the hole is counted for the team score.
5. If the ball you choose to play is in a hazard (sand, water, etc.), the rough, or out of bounds, you cannot drop the ball outside of the hazard or rough even if relief is within one club length away.
6. Each team must use at least one of each team members tee shots on each nine (minimum two tee shots per player).