With COVID-19 continuing to be a public health concern, and with the health and well-being of all involved in mind, the Centura – St. Catherine Hospital Development Foundation announced today that it is canceling this year’s Southwest Kansas Pro-Am golf tournament.
The 41st annual tournament and all events surrounding it had been scheduled for June 8-13 at Buffalo Dunes Golf Course and The Golf Club at Southwind in Garden City. Since its inception, proceeds from the event have been given to the St. Catherine Newborn Intensive Care Unit.
“Out of concern for the health of our community, volunteers and players, we will cancel this year’s Southwest Kansas Pro-Am,” said Paige Kraus, Stewardship Coordinator for the SCHDF.
This year’s tournament was to be the first held under a new three-year agreement between the SCHDF and the All-Pro Tour and was going to feature a new format and date, moving from its usual early August time slot to early June.
“As the largest healthcare provider in western Kansas, we respect St. Catherine Hospital and the Pro-Am Board of Directors’ decision to cancel this year’s event. We are certain that when we do return to Garden City next year, the pros will be very pleased with the Pro-Am’s hospitality, a new format, and the challenge that both Buffalo Dunes and the Golf Club at Southwind present”, said Gary DeSerrano, President of APT. “We expect to release the 2021 date this fall.”
Scott Taylor, CEO of St. Catherine Hospital, said that while the decision to cancel the annual event was a difficult one, it was the right choice.
“I want to extend my appreciation to the Pro-Am Board of Directors for helping with the difficult, but prudent, decision to cancel this year’s tournament, which I know was made with an abundance of caution and concern for the safety of all participants,” Taylor said. “We are committed to continuing the Pro-Am’s proud legacy as Kansas’ longest running professional golf tournament, and we will use this extra time to plan an outstanding event in 2021.”
Over the past 40 years, the Southwest Kansas Pro-Am has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for the NICU at St. Catherine.
“The needs of equipment and technology in our Newborn Intensive Care Unit will continue, and we ask that the communities served by the NICU remember us as they plan their sponsorships and contribution decisions this year,” Taylor said.
Kraus said anyone wanting to donate to the NICU can do so online at SCHDFoundation.com.
“The need for support of St. Catherine Hospital is greater now than ever,” Kraus said.
The Southwest Kansas Pro-Am Board of Directors would like to thank APT, Buffalo Dunes and the Golf Club at Southwind, as well as presenting sponsors Pizza Hut, Finney County Convention and Visitors Bureau, Old Chicago/American Warrior Construction, Hometown Chevy Dealers, Tatro Plumbing and St. Catherine Hospital.