Down Kansas City way, a beloved - and successful - charity golf tournament drew its last breath Tuesday. The Children's Mercy Golf Classic, hosted for 25 years by eight-time major championship winner Tom Watson, was held for the last time.
In giving the event's obituary, Watson said the tournament had simply run its course. That, and commitments from the PGA Tour stars who headlined the one-day fund-raiser were getting harder and harder to come by.
"It will be sad that it's not going to happen anymore. But all good things must come to an end sometime," Watson told the Kansas City Star. "Twenty-five years is a good run. There had to be an end to it."
Those words might get an argument from the folks who run the Roger Maris Celebrity Golf Tournament.
Yes, it's that time of the year again. It's time for Edgewood Golf Course in north Fargo to be overrun by sixsomes playing
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5½-hour rounds and celebrities who you might or might not know.
It's time for the Maris, which will be held Sunday and Monday for the 21st consecutive year.
It's also time to laud the Maris, precisely because it will be held Sunday and Monday for the 21st consecutive year.
What else can a person do?
Every year, it seems, we ask the question: How much longer can the Maris continue, given that its namesake died nearly two decades ago and the cherished home run record he held fell six years ago?
And every year the answer comes back: A lot longer.
"There is great, great enthusiasm for this event because people in Fargo-Moorhead want it to continue," said Jackie Shaw, a tournament committee member. "Everybody wants to see it continue, from the beneficiaries of the tournament to the people who help put it together to people who just love sports and like to attend the auction and see some of the celebrities."
And, Shaw points out, the Maris is not simply limping along on life-support. Far from it. This year's tournament will feature a full field of 82 six-player teams. That is nearly 500 golfers, most of whom paid a couple of hundred bucks apiece to get in the field.
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"We have a waiting list. We're turning people away. That's the first time I can remember that happening," Shaw said.
In addition, there's the possibility the auction - at which sports memorabilia and other celebrity-related items go to the highest bidder - could set a money-raising record for the sixth straight year. Last year's auction made $30,308.
In 20 years, the Maris has raised more than $800,000 for Shanley High School, Hospice of the Red River Valley and the Roger Maris Cancer Center.
So how does the Maris continue to chug along?
"I think people still love and respect Roger and the Maris family, they want to continue to support the charities and they like to have fun," Shaw said. "It's a great event, a fun event that people like to be a part of."
The most amazing part of the Maris tournament's success all these years is that it has never once paid even one dime to attract a celebrity.
You could say that policy has led to rather thin celebrity fields over the years. That is not an unfair critique.
But you could also say the policy has allowed the Maris to keep its innocence and stay true to its founder's idea in starting the tournament.
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"I really think Roger himself wanted to go this route. He wanted people to come here who wanted to be here. I don't think he would want to be paying people to show up," Shaw said. "We could probably get sponsors to pay $10,000 to get certain people to come here, but that's not what we're about."
That does not mean the Maris exists without expense. The tournament pays for air fare, hotel rooms and food for the celebrities who come to town.
But the yeoman's work is done by 20 committee members - all volunteers - and about 30 other volunteer workers.
Compared to other charity golf tournaments, the overhead at the Maris is minimal.
That means most of the money raised goes to the charities for which it is earmarked.
It is a formula that has worked for 21 years. Even as other charity events like the one in Kansas City are falling by the wayside, there is no reason why it can't work for 21 more.
Forum sports columnist Mike McFeely can be heard Saturdays at 8 a.m. on the WDAY Golf Show (970 AM). He can be reached at (701) 241-5580 or mmcfeely@forumcomm.com
