Area Golf Notebook: Two tournaments to benefit Tom Stecker

March 02--The Northern Chapter PGA is holding a benefit golf tournament on March 30 at the Ponte Vedra Inn and Club, "Go Big Red for Tom," which will raise funds toward the treatment required for veteran First Coast club and teaching professional Tom Stecker as he battles Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS).

Stecker, who teaches at the St. Johns Golf Club, is participating in a medical trial at the Mayo Clinic, and health insurance will not cover all of his expenses.

The tournament name refers to Stecker's passion for University of Nebraska sports.

The format will be a six-player captain's choice, with the individual playing fee $350 and the team fee $2,000. The fees include golf, food and beverage, tee gift and prizes. Hole sponsorships also are available.

To enter or obtain additional information, email spencer@atlanticbeachcountryclub@aol.com, tpeterson@pga.com or wtucker@sjcfl.us.

The St. Johns Golf Club is holding its own fundraising event for Stecker, "Tee It Up For Tom," on March 16. The format will be a four-player, nine-hole scramble for $75 per person. The amount includes dinner.

For information, call (904) 209-0350.

Target golf

The Jacksonville Area Junior Closest to the Pin Championship will be May 4 at the Deerwood Country Club, with clubs holding qualifying events between March 15 and April 20.

Competition is open for boys and girls in the age groups of 8-13 and 14-18. Each club can send up to four representatives to the championship (boys and girls winners in each age group), or up to four from one division if there are not enough juniors in the other.

The final competition will have the boys division shooting at flags from between 100 and 160 yards, and the girls at 90 to 135 yards. The entry fee is $10 per player, with 100 percent going to prizes.

Clubs that wish to hold qualifiers should call (904) 868-9535.

Chip shots

The first of three Jacksonville Area Golf Association Four Ball Tournaments will be March 3 at South Hampton. Entries are being accepted until Thursday, with information found at jaxareagolf.org.

Additional Four-Ball tournaments will be held in August (Ponte Vedra Inn and Club) and December (North Hampton). ... North Florida Girls Golf will hold its first nine-hole scramble event Saturday at the Country Club of Orange Park. The two-play team competition is open to girls ages of 6-17, with three divisions (K-fifth grade, sixth-eighth and high school). The tournament begins at 2:30 p.m., with a skills contest before that. The entry fee is $25. Visit www.nfgirlsgolf.com for more details. ... The first Blessings in a Backpack charity tournament will be March 24 at San Jose, with celebrity players Josh Scobee, Fred Taylor and Marcus Stroud of the Jaguars and PGA Tour players Bud Cauley, Russell Knox and Chris Stroud scheduled to appear. The proceeds will go to the Blessings in a Backpack program at Hendricks Avenue Elementary School.

Garry Smits: (904) 359-4362

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