The Shocker Open Presented by the Butler Group is making a move. The alumni association’s golf tournament, traditionally played in the spring, is set to tee off Thursday, Sept. 5.
The season may be different, but the fun of tournament play and the purpose behind it remain the same: Shocker Open proceeds will benefit WSU student recruitment efforts, particularly the annual Shocker Honors Scholar Banquet, sponsored by Capitol Federal.
The honors banquet recognizes the academic accomplishments of area high school juniors who are in the top 10 percent of their classes. University speakers and special alumni table-host voluteers together take up the challenge of introducing the potential future Shockers in attendance to the academic opportunities offered at Wichita State.
And you can help the effort simply by signing up and coming out for some fun on the greens at Wichita’s Willowbend Golf Club. Willowbend, the only Tom Weiskopf/Jay Morrish designed par 72 course in Kansas, is located at 8001 E. Mulberry Drive. The course opened in 1987 and has been host to numerous events, including the Nike Tour, Futures Tour, U.S. Open and Senior U.S. Open qualifying. Shocker Open prizes will be awarded for the top three teams in three flights based on score. Prizes will also be presented to the winners of closest-to-the-hole, longest drive and longest putt competitions. Plus there will be a hole-in-one grand prize on each par-3! Entry fees are $180 per WSU Alumni Association member, or $200 per non-member. The non-member fee includes an annual membership with all its benefits.
Benefits include 15 percent off weekday green fees at Wichita State’s Braeburn Golf Club; 15 percent off logo merchandise at the University Bookstore; use of WSU’s fitness facility, the Heskett Center (special fees apply); discounts for WSU College of Fine Arts concerts and events; user privileges at WSU’s Ablah Library; an annual subscription to The Shocker; invitations and discounts to alumni association events; and the opportunity to sign up for a Shocker Visa card, offered by INTRUST Bank. Shocker Open hole sponsorships are still available.
The Butler Group, a Wichita-based business owned by WSU’s Barton School of Business marketing graduate and former Shocker baseball player Adam McCollough ’97, is again the presenting sponsor of the tournament. The Butler Group offers 24-hour emergency water removal and provides water-damage restoration, carpet and upholstery cleaning, structural drying and dehumidification, painting and a number of other residential and commercial services.
“We appreciate the continued support of the Butler Group and all of our returning hole sponsors,” says Rachael Hush, the alumni association's assistant director of alumni events. “And it’s not too late to sign up your business as a new hole sponsor. We welcome your support – of the alumni association, the Shocker Open and of its goal of strengthening student-recruitment efforts.”
