Dana Quigley MONROE – Fuzzy Zoeller and Dana Quigley make up part of the celebrity cast that has signed on for the annual charity golf classic at Forsgate Country Club this month.
To be held at the private club Sept. 25-26, the Sovereign Bank Charity Golf Classic will feature two days of golf and entertainment in an effort to raise money for the nonprofit Forsgate Foundation, which supports causes throughout New Jersey.
Fan favorite Zoeller will be accompanied by Champions Tour player Quigley and LPGA stars Erica Blasberg and Jenna Daniels. Television personality Matt Griesser, best known for his recurring role as “Sign Boy” in FootJoy’s commercials, will serve as master of ceremonies.
In addition to Sovereign Bank, other major sponsors of the charity classic include Malouf Auto Group and Bud Light.
Due to the event’s popularity and substantial growth over the past four years, organizers will open Forsgate’s second 18-hole golf course, Palmer Course, to accommodate additional golfers for the tournament portion of the event. Previously, the tournament was limited to the Banks Course.
“The support from Forsgate members as well as local businesses and the community has been so outstanding that we felt compelled to open the second course for play this year,” said Forsgate Foundation Executive Director Dave Wasenda. “Our goal is to raise valuable dollars for worthwhile charities and, certainly, opening the Palmer Course for more participants will help us reach that goal.”
For the first time, the golf classic will kick off with a Long Drive and Hitting Exhibition, to take place at 5:30 p.m. Sept. 25. Professional long driver and golf entertainer Eric Lastowka will entertain the crowd with electrifying trick shots, proper golf swing instruction and actual drives. A VIP reception and auction will follow in the clubhouse.
On Sept. 26 at 8:30 a.m., event participants will compete in an 18-hole golf tournament on both courses.
At 2 p.m., the general public is invited to attend the hour-long Malouf Auto Group Celebrity Skills Exhibition, where Zoeller and Quigley will entertain the crowd with impersonations and funny anecdotes from life on the Champions Tour. Blasberg and Daniels will join in with a demonstration of their LPGA Tour skills. Griesser will serve as commentator throughout the event.
The event will conclude at 3 p.m. with the nine-hole Bud Light Skins Game, where the celebrity golfers will battle it out on the links for a total purse of $9,000.
Corporate sponsorships and individual playing participant packages are still available, and gallery participant tickets are complimentary for those fans interested in attending all the day’s events on Sept. 26. For more information, contact Dave Wasenda, executive director at (732) 656-8911 or log on to [email protected].
Zoeller, in 1979, became one of only three golfers to have won the Masters in his first appearance in the event; the other two were the winners of the first two Masters – Horton Smith and Gene Sarazen. Zoeller’s other win in a major championship came at the 1984 U.S. Open. Zoeller joined the Champions Tour in 2002 and won a second major, the Senior PGA Championship, that year and then in 2004 won the MasterCard Championship.
Quigley has been a leading player at the senior tournament level since 1997. His first win on the Senior PGA Tour came at that year’s Northville Long Island Classic and further wins followed. In 2005, he topped the Champions Tour money list at age 58 to become the oldest player ever to claim the Arnold Palmer Award for the leading money-winner on the circuit. By the end of that season, he had won 10 tournaments on the tour. In 2006 he captured the Greater Kansas City Golf Classic title.
Blasberg, a standout on the American Junior Golf Association (AJGA) circuit, was a three-time, first-team Polo All-American, a member of the 2002 Canon Cup and winner of the 2002 Rolex Tournament of Champions. She began her professional career in 2004 on the Futures Tour and then qualified for the LPGA Tour on her first try. During her rookie year, she carded a career-low 68 in the second round of the Office Depot Championship and also won a Mercury Mariner with a hole-in-one during the third round of the Sybase Classic. She recently carded a career-best Top-25 finish at the ShopRite LPGA Classic in New Jersey.
Daniels qualified for the LPGA Tour on her first attempt. In her rookie year in 2001, she recorded her career-best finish with a tie for 10th at the LPGA Corning Classic and has had at least one top-10 finish each year since 2003.
To learn more about the charity golf classic and the celebrity guests, visit www.forsgatefoundation.org or call (732) 656-8911.