The 22nd Annual Jack Ratz Jr. Memorial Golf Tournament is a great deal for area junior golfers.
Early entrants for the Aug. 1 main event at Wildwood Green Golf Club in North Raleigh also can golf for free in a July 25 pre-tournament tournament that starts at 11 a.m. A box lunch will be served after the round.
The Monday event is in addition to a practice round included in the main tournament's $50 registration fee.
"You can sign up for the Ratz tournament, do this event free and also do your practice round this week," said one of the organizers, Kevin Hamski, the club pro at Wildwood Green.
Registration ends Tuesday for the memorial tournament, an individual stroke-play competition. The $50 fee also includes a practice round, range balls, lunch, tee packet and trophies. Age divisions, for boys and girls, range from 9-and-under to 16-18. Tee times start at 7:30 a.m.
For information, call Wildwood Green at 919-846-8376, or visit the club website.
Family and friends annually donate $1,000 in the names of the tournament champions to the Jack Ratz Jr. Memorial Scholarship Fund at Cardinal Gibbons High School.
Ratz was an avid golfer and Wildwood Green member whose goal was to make the Cardinal Gibbons golf team. He died in a car accident just weeks before tryouts. His father and club staff continue to organize the tournament, and his father still keeps in touch with the families of his son's friends.
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