This World Golf Hall of Fame member is coming to the Grand Strand for an event
World Golf Hall of Fame member and LPGA legend Nancy Lopez will participate in the second annual Mentor Cup at Tidewater Golf Club in North Myrtle Beach on Oct. 26.
Lopez won 48 LPGA Tour tournaments, including 17 events in her first two seasons in 1978-79, and was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1987. She also gave birth to three children during her career.
The three-time major champion will be a featured mentor, and is planning to conduct a junior clinic and play in the Dream Challenge by Liberty Mutual, an 18-hole captain’s choice event that follows the Mentor Cup.
The Mentor Cup raises money for the Gene’s Dream Foundation, and the tournament and foundation are spearheaded by North Myrtle Beach native and former Golf Channel personality Kelly Tilghman.
“This is going to be a tremendous boost for the tournament, the weekend and most importantly the children,” Tilghman said. “She’s a wonderful mentor and her father was very influential in the way she approached the game of golf and all the life lessons he instilled in her while encouraging her to be a champion. Now she gets to share those with the children.”
Tilghman helped create the foundation and tournament in honor of the late Gene Weldon, a PGA professional who helped mentor countless children during his nearly 50-year career along the Grand Strand, including Tilghman as the only head pro in the 20-year existence of her family’s golf course, Gator Hole Golf Club in North Myrtle Beach.
The primary goal of the Gene’s Dream Foundation is to help improve the lives of children through golf, and its president is Gene’s son, Wil Weldon.
In addition to Lopez, the Dream Gala at the Surf Golf and Beach Club on Oct. 25 will include an acoustic soul performance by the inaugural winner of “The Voice,” Javier Colon. The gala will also include dinner and cocktails.
The inaugural Mentor Cup, which featured a stand-up comedy performance by David Feherty and participation by former NFL player Sterling Sharpe, resulted in a donation of $50,000 to the First Tee of Coastal Carolinas.
“This really falls in line with the model we have. We try to attract one or two recognizable faces, preferably a woman and a man, who can inspire all of our children,” Tilghman said. “They’ve achieved great things and are good people who understand that giving back is important and sharing their life lessons with the children is important. . . . Nancy Lopez and Javier Colon fit that role beautifully.”
Auction items at the gala include a Tiger Woods-signed 2019 Masters flag, a VIP Hootie & the Blowfish Monday After the Masters Celebrity Pro-Am experience and Gibson guitar signed by the band, golf escapes to championship courses and accommodations in Bermuda and Chicago, and golf items signed by Rickie Fowler, Bubba Watson and Rory McIlroy.
The Mentor Cup will be nine holes of scramble and alternate shot competition featuring two-person mentor/mentee teams the morning of Oct. 26, followed that afternoon by the four-person team Dream Challenge, an 18-hole captain’s choice event. Teams will compete for luxury prizes and a chance to earn one of two available spots in the 2020 Liberty Mutual Invitational finals at Kiawah Island’s Ocean Course.
Entry fee for The Dream Challenge is $2,500 per team. Gifts include golf equipment and clothing valued at more than $600 per golfer. All proceeds benefit Gene’s Dream Foundation, The First Tee of Coastal Carolinas and other area youth organizations.
To register to play or for more information go to MentorCup.com and GenesDream.com.
This story was originally published July 23, 2019 at 3:48 PM.
