The Booz Allen Classic, formerly known as the Kemper Open, is about to make a move.
Following this year's tournament, the Professional Golf Association Tour will make renovations to the course at the Tournament Players Club at Avenel, which has hosted the tournament since 1987.
In 2005, the Booz Allen Classic will move from Avenel to Congressional Country Club, 1.47 miles away.
Nearly 80 percent of Congressional Country Club's membership voted last week to approve the request by the Booz Allen Classic and its host organization, Washington Golf Charities, to move the 2005 tournament to Congressional Country Club, which hosted the tournament from 1980 to 1986 following its move from Quail Hollow Country Club in Charlotte, N.C.
Next year, the tournament will be played the week prior to the 2005 U.S. Open at Pinehurst, which will be "a great boost for our tournament," according to Dr. Ralph W. Shrader, chairman and chief executive officer of Booz Allen Hamilton, the title sponsor of the PGA Tour event.
<sh>Committed to Play
<bt>John Daly has committed to play the 2004 Booz Allen Classic, scheduled for June 21-27, at the Tournament Players Club at Avenel.
Daly will join Charles Howell III, Justin Leonard, Fred Funk, Brad Faxon, Rich Beem, Chris Riley, Shaun Micheel, Adam Scott, Jonathan Kaye, Joey Sindelar, Zach Johnson and Heath Slocum as well as the nation’s top-ranked amateur, Bill Haas, who will make his professional debut at the 2004 Booz Allen Classic.
John Daly won the 2004 Buick Invitational for his first PGA Tour win since the 1995 British Open. Daly, currently ranked third on the Tour with an average driving distance of 304.6 yards, has posted four top-10 finishes in 2004. His best finish at the Potomac tournament, formerly known as the Kemper Open, was in 1992 when he finished in second place. He won his first major at the 1991 PGA Championship as the final alternate.
<sh>1,200 Volunteers
<bt>More than 1,200 volunteers led by 44 committee chairmen help run the Booz Allen Classic, the area’s only Professional Golf Association Tour event.
Many volunteers have worked every year at the tournament, formerly known as the Kemper Open, since it moved from North Carolina to the Washington area in 1980.
People interested in volunteering should contact the Tournament at 301-469-3737 for more information.
Potomac residents who serve as committee chairmen include:
* Dick Carter, communications
* Kevin Crutchfield, medical
* Clayton Eisinger, house
* James Leder, distribution
* Mike and Phoebe Manders, youth
* Dawn Pare, main scoreboard
* Tom Ryan, skybox
* John Shinkoff, shotlink
* Charles Wolf, finance
* Peter Zacharkiw, grounds
<sh>Tee Time for Charities
<bt>More than 65 local non-profit charities benefit from Potomac’s PGA Tour event, the Booz Allen Classic, formerly known as the Kemper Open.
Some of the local organizations that benefit from the tournament include the Cabin John Park Volunteer Fire Department, the Children's Inn at NIH and Suburban Hospital's Emergency Room.
Booz Allen Hamilton and Washington Golf Charities, a non-profit organization created in 2003 to host the professional golf tournament, have set a fundraising-goal of $1 million this year to be distributed to local organizations.
In 2003, the tournament raised approximately $500,000, which was split evenly between national and local organizations.
Washington Golf Charities selected 14 organizations to be Major Gift recipients and each organization could receive up to $50,000 when funds are collected and distributed.
2004 Major Gift designees include:
* So Others Might Eat (SOME)
* The Children's Inn at NIH
* The ALS Association
* Children's National Medical Center
* The American Cancer Society DC Chapter
* The Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy
* Capital Hospice
* Catholic Charities
* Food & Friends
* HEROES, Inc.
* Neediest Kids
* Special Olympics Maryland
* The Women's Center
* Northern Virginia Community Foundation
Community organizations also to benefit from this year's tournament include:
* Cabin John Park Volunteer Fire Department
* Suburban Hospital (Emergency Room)
* Montgomery County Police Foundation
* Montgomery County Urban Search and Rescue
* Montgomery County Urban Search and Rescue Family Support
* Ronald McDonald House
* Kiwanis Foundation/Joe Riley Youth Leadership Awards
* Mercy Health Clinic
* Education Africa USA
* USO
* Bethesda Chevy Chase Rescue Squad
<sh>Birdies for Charity
<bt>Professional golfers competing at the 2004 Booz Allen Classic will have the support of 49 organizations which will root for players to post scores well under par.
Every time a professional golfer records a birdie in this year's tournament, 49 Washington area charities will receive a donation as part of the new Birdies for Charity Program.
PGA Tournaments average approximately 1,500 birdies over the four days of the official tournament, beginning with the first round scheduled for Thursday, June 24 and ending with the final round on Sunday, June 27.
Donors, who wish to participate in the Birdies for Charity program, can submit pledges online at http:birdies.boozallenclassic.com. A donor can select one or more of the 49 charities and pledge an amount for each birdie recorded through the tournament.
Fans can track the number of birdies recorded by visiting the Tournament's website at www.boozallenclassic.com
2004 Birdies for Charity Beneficiaries include:
* Jewish Council for the Aging
* Strathmore Hall Foundation
* Montgomery County Coalition for the Homeless
* The Children's Inn at NIH
* CSAAC (Community Services for Autistic Adults and Children)
* Mental Health Association
* ALS Association (DC, MD, VA chapters)
* Alzheimer's Association, National Capital Area chapter
* American Cancer Society Mid-Atlantic Division
* American Diabetes Association, D.C.
* Big Brothers Big Sisters of the National Capital Area
* Blue Ridge Speech and Hearing Centers
* Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Washington
* Boy Scouts of America National Capital Area
* Cancer Research and Prevention Foundation
* Capital Hospice
* Center City Consortium
* ChildHelp USA
* Children's Hospital Foundation
* Community Tax Aid
* Fellowship of Christian Athletes
* First Tee Montgomery
* Food and Friends
* For Love of Children
* Goodwill of Greater Washington
* Hearts and Homes for Youth
* Hoop Dreams
* Housing Unlimited
* Junior Achievement of the National Capital Area
* Leukemia and Lymphoma Society National Capital Area
* MAPGA Scholarship Foundation
* Montgomery County Coalition for the Homeless
* National Childhood Cancer Foundation
* Neediest Kids
* Our Daily Bread
* Rebuilding Together Montgomery County
* Ronald McDonald House Charities
* Special Olympics