Saturday, February 10, 2007

30 Years of History

I hope all this talk about the Wyndham Championship possibly moving to Sedgefield Country Club does not blemish the fact that Davis Love III will be returning to Forest Oaks Country Club to defend his title on a course that he redesigned. The same course that has played host to Greensboro's only major league sporting event for three decades.

There has been a lot of discussion in our local media about the tournament returning to its "roots" and many reminders of tournaments of the past. The truth is that the Wyndham Championship has been played at Forest Oaks since 1977. That's 30 years of uninterrupted tradition. Sedgefield only hosted the event for 18 years on its own.

Don't forget:

1977 Woody Durham was the Honorary Chairman for the Greater Greensboro Open held at Forest Oaks Country Club.

1978 Seve Ballesteros won the Greater Greensboro Open at Forest Oaks Country Club.


1979 Greensboro Jaycee President Mark Schott watched Raymond Floyd comeback from behind to win the GGO at Forest Oaks.


1988 the Greater Greensboro Open enters a new era with Kmart as a sponsor and a $1,000,000 purse.


1999 was a good year at Forest Oaks for Jesper Parnevik. He had 27 birdies in that year's tournament.


The Greater Greensboro Open Blog would like to thank Forest Oaks Country Club for 30 great years.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Amen! Forest Oaks has served this event well for years. The Jaycees want a pretty clubhouse and a more upscale CC. The truth is Sedgefield is too tight for event crowds to be comfortable! This event will be given to corp. sponsors and smaller crowds. Forest Oaks is a better course even after they force the longer D. Ross design at Sedgefield. Bet the pros will be very happy to bus over to Grandover for practice range time!