Roanoke Youth and Rest of Country Learn a Lot at Greenbrier Kick Off

Youth Day on Tuesday brought together (L-R) PGA Pro Davis Love III, First Tee Roanoke players Katherine Bowles and Vince Wheeler, Greenbrier owner Jim Justice, First Tee West Virginia players Christian McKisic and Alex Schreckengost and Stanford amateur standout Maverick McNealy.
Youth Day on Tuesday brought together (L-R) PGA Pro Davis Love III, First Tee Roanoke players Katherine Bowles and Vince Wheeler, Greenbrier owner Jim Justice, First Tee West Virginia players Christian McKisic and Alex Schreckengost and Stanford amateur standout Maverick McNealy.

Play in the sixth annual Greenbrier Classic PGA TOUR golf tournament began in ernest Thursday morning as 156 entrants set out for the $1.206 million winner’s share out of a total purse of $6.7 million.

But, there was plenty of activity leading up to the first tee shot at 7am that will culminate with the awarding of The Springhouse Trophy Sunday afternoon.

Tuesday at the Greenbrier Resort, Jim Justice hosted the First Tee luncheon which brought together members of First Tee Roanoke Valley and First Tee West Virginia.

Justice reminisced about his days as a young golfer, playing in prestigious West Virginia amateur tournaments while his mother looked on.

PGA TOUR pro Davis Love III and Maverick McNealy. a rising junior at Stanford, one of the top amateurs in the country and one of only two amateurs in the Greenbrier Classic field, were the special guest speakers at the luncheon. Both fielded questions about their beginnings in golf.

“My dad was a teaching pro, so I started with a golf club in my hand when I was still in diapers,” Love, who is a 6-time Ryder Cup team member and 6-time President’s Cup team member, said. “When I got to be 8 or 9 I realized he knew what he was talking about, and I started listening more.”

Love will be the 2016 U.S. Ryder Cup captain.

“We’ve lost the last three Ryder Cups in a row,” Love, who has won 20 times on the PGA TOUR, noted. “We’ll have a lot of pressure on us.”

“This week should be fun,” Love added. “It’s an old-style course and it’s in so perfect shape that I’m scared to take a divot. The big thing is how Jim Justice has done so much for the game as well as what he’s done for charities.”

Afterward, the action moved to the #1 fairway of the Meadows Course where PGA TOUR pros Aaron Baddeley and Heath Slocum, along with Greenbrier trick shot specialist Billy Winters, entertained the youngster at the junior clinic.

The afternoon culminated with the popular First Tee Scramble, where First Tee Roanoke Valley’s Katherine Bowles and Vince Wheeler joined First Tee West Virginia members Christian McKisic and Alex Schreckengost in a three-hole contest along with PGA TOUR pros Justin Thomas and Jonathan Byrd for the $10,000 purse that was split between the two First Tee chapters.

Wednesday's Pro-Am was highlighted by the appearance of NBA All-Stars Jerry West and Shaquille O'Neal.
Wednesday’s Pro-Am was highlighted by the appearance of NBA All-Stars Jerry West and Shaquille O’Neal.

Wednesday’s Pro-Am was all about having fun and entertaining the spectators, and it would be hard to top the 12:10 pairing that brought Justice, his son Jay, pro Keagan Bradley and the biggest and tallest star of the day, 7-foot-1 and 14-time NBA All-Star Shaquille O’Neal to the first tee of the Old White.

“Shaq makes me look little, doesn’t he,” Justice laughed as a huge crowd and sizable media group surrounded the pair on the tee.

Shaq then showed he may be the force in the paint with a basketball, but still has a little way to go between the tee markers when it was his turn to hit the little white ball. The first swing was a complete whiff, the only remnant of the shot being a clear cut divot on the otherwise pristine tee box, with Shaq nearly falling flat on his face after the monstrous swing. Jim Justice then had some fun, stepping in to re-tee the ball, but O’Neal again missed with his second attempt. Shaq redeemed himself on the third try, ripping the drive about 250 yards down the left side.

That led Greenbrier pro-emeritus Lee Trevino to note, “You lie three.”

Justice and others countered with chuckles, “No, you lie one!” After all, nobody wanted to cross O’Neal, who was having a ball entertaining the fans with the opening tee mishap that was also witnessed by another former NBA All-Star, Jerry West.

Also, Wednesday, excitement abounded from the announcement that Justice has enlisted golf legends Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player and Lee Trevino to collaborate with The Greenbrier Sporting Club to design an exclusive new course just a few miles north of The Greenbrier.

The four legends will join forces for the first time on one golf course design for what is described as an unprecedented architectural achievement in the history of building golf courses.

Justice’s vision is to have a championship mountaintop golf course in the future Sporting Club Oakhurst development. Justice says his goal is to one day host a major championship, perhaps even a U.S. Open.

The existing historic 9-hole Oakhurst Links course, built in 1884, is the oldest golf club in America and will be incorporated into the new planned development.

The project, which is anticipated to include a modest ski facility, clubhouse, and dining facilities, will break ground in the next month, with the opening of the course scheduled for fall 2016.

“I have a particular soft spot in my heart for The Greenbrier,” Palmer said. “I was invited to play in the Sam Snead Festival, an unofficial pro-am at the resort in 1955, which was my first year on Tour. Now, I’m looking forward to spending whatever time it takes to do a job for Jim Justice and The Greenbrier that will be an enduring and memorable contribution to golf. Jim Justice wants the course to be a U.S. Open venue by 2023 and that’s our goal, too.”

Bill Turner

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