Lanto Griffin Returns Favor To Roanoke Valley Golf Hall of Fame

Lanto Griffin raises $10,000 check at PGA Tour’s Travelers Championship last June that he has donated to the RVGHOF scholarship fund. Griffin will be on hand at the April 6th junior tournament at Roanoke Country Club.

Lanto Griffin is giving back.

The Web.com Tour pro is coming to Roanoke Country Club Saturday, April 6th to be part of the fifth annual Roanoke Valley Golf Hall of Fame Junior Amateur Tournament.
The tournament will include 24 teams that will showcase the top junior players from the area.
According to Roanoke Country Club PGA Pro Tim McAfee, each team will consist of a junior player teamed with three other players including sponsors, parents and former scholarship winners. A silent auction, with items estimated at $30,000, will also take place.
Griffin got the ball rolling last June while playing in the PGA Tour’s Travelers Championship in Connecticut. The Blacksburg player won a closest-to-the-pin contest that was worth $10,000 to the charity of his choice. He immediately thought about the RVGHOF.
“Lanto had a scholarship to play golf at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, but he received an additional $3,000 scholarship in 2007 from the RVGHOF to help with other college expenses,” McAfee noted.. “He always said it was huge to get that money, and instantly thought of the Hall of Fame when he had to choose a charity with the Travelers windfall.”
“Ned Baber and myself were looking for a special fundraising event for kid’s scholarships and this idea came up. Our junior tournament has typically raised $10,000- $12,000 per year, and having Lanto on site will make it bigger and better.”
Griffin will hold a golf clinic, “From Roanoke Valley Junior Program to the PGA Tour”, and a swing exhibition, prior to the tournament.
Founded in 1973, the Roanoke Valley Golf Hall of Fame serves to promote the game of golf in and around the Roanoke Valley. The Hall of Fame, which includes 12 public and private courses, provides annual scholarships and honors outstanding high school players and coaches each season. It also administers a points ranking system, presents certificates of merit and inducts members who have made an outstanding contribution to golf in the valley.
In addition, the annual Hall of Fame tournaments bring together the Roanoke Valley’s top amateur men, women, junior, senior and super-senior golfers each summer for team and individual competition.
In 2018, the RVGHOF awarded $70,400 in scholarships.
For more information on the tournament, contact Tim McAfee via  [email protected].
Bill Turner

Latest Articles

- Advertisement -

Latest Articles

- Advertisement -

Related Articles