Join the Legends
On September 10th, as the sun rises over the Appalachian Mountains, each of these renowned personalities will be paired with four donors on the links of The Olde Farm for 18 holes of fun and competitive play.
For those who desire to take in the day’s events as an observer, we welcome your presence.
Philanthropic contributions for this year’s event are expected to surpass those raised in 2010, when The Olde Farm played host to The Big 3 — Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer. These golfing legends, along with the generosity of many donors, raised more than $15 million to benefit Mountain Mission School. The amount remains the largest single-day charitable total in PGA Tour history.
Gary Player
Gary Player is the most successful international golfer of all time. He has won 165 professional golf tournaments worldwide, and is one of only five men to capture golf’s coveted Grand Slam, winning all four of golf’s Majors by the age of 29. He also is the only professional golfer in history to win the Grand Slam on both the Regular Tour with 9 Majors, and 9 Majors on the Senior Tour. He has designed more than 400 golf courses around the world.
Mr. Player currently serves as the global ambassador for the World Golf Hall of Fame, and he has been dubbed “The Black Knight,” “Mr. Fitness,” and “The World’s Most Traveled Athlete™.”
Jack Nicklaus
With a record 18 professional major championship titles and 73 PGA Tour victories, Jack Nicklaus may be the greatest golfer of all time. During his five-decade competitive career, he won six Masters, five PGA Championships, four U.S. Opens and three British Opens, and racked up 19 second-place and nine third-place finishes. He is one of only five golfers to have won the career Grand Slam. A five-time winner of the PGA Player of the Year Award, Nicklaus was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1974 and was presented with the Presidential Medal of Freedom award in 2005.
Lee Trevino
One of the greatest players in golfing history, Lee Trevino won six major championships and 29 PGA Tour events over the course of his career, and is one of only four players to win the U.S. Open, British Open and PGA Championship — twice. He was the first player to win the U.S., British and Canadian Open Championships in a single year (1971). Trevino is a five-time Vardon Trophy recipient, a four-time Byron Nelson Award recipient, a three-time Jack Nicklaus Trophy recipient, and a two-time Arnold Palmer Award recipient. He was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1981.
Peyton Manning
A two-time Super Bowl-winning quarterback who played 18 seasons in the NFL, Peyton Manning is considered one of the greatest signal-callers of all time. He spent 14 seasons with the Indianapolis Colts and four years with the Denver Broncos, and is the only starting quarterback to win a Super Bowl with two different franchises. Named the most valuable player of Super Bowl XLI, Manning notched 14 Pro Bowl appearances and is the NFL’s all-time leader in career passing yards (71,940), touchdown passes (539), single-season passing yards (5,477), single-season touchdown passes (55), 4,000-yard passing seasons (14), and AP MVP awards (5).
Dan Marino
Dan Marino is a former NFL quarterback who played 17 seasons for the Miami Dolphins. His quick release and powerful arm propelled the Dolphins into consistent post-season appearances, leading them to the playoffs 10 times and to a Super Bowl appearance in 1984. He is recognized as one of the greatest quarterbacks in American football history, and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2005.
Lorena Ochoa
In her seven-year career, Lorena Ochoa accumulated 27 LPGA Tour victories, including the Women’s British Open in 2007 and the ANA Inspiration in 2008. Named Rookie of the Year in her first season on the LPGA Tour, she was the world’s top-ranked female golfer for 158 consecutive weeks from 2007 until her retirement in 2010 at age 28. Ochoa was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2017.
Betsy King
Betsy King became a member of the LPGA Tour in 1977, and has collected six major championships and 34 LPGA Tour victories. During an 11-year span from the 1984 Women’s Kemper Open through the 1995 ShopRite LPGA Classic, she claimed 30 victories, including five major championships, and became the 14th member of the LPGA Hall of Fame. She was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1995.
Lanny Wadkins
Lanny Wadkins joined the PGA Tour in 1972, when he was named Rookie of the Year. He achieved 21 PGA Tour victories during his playing career, including the 1977 PGA Championship. Wadkins was runner-up in four majors, finished third in the Masters three times, and placed fourth in the British Open in 1984. He played on eight Ryder Cup teams and was named PGA Tour Player of the Year in 1985. Wadkins served as the lead CBS golf analyst from 2002 to 2006, and currently serves as the lead analyst for the Champions Tour on the Golf Channel. He was elected to the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2009.
Jerry West
Jerry West enjoyed a highly successful NBA career with the Los Angeles Lakers from 1960 to 1974, was named to the All-NBA First and Second Teams 12 times and the NBA All-Star Team 14 times, and was chosen All-Star MVP in 1972. He holds the NBA record for the highest points-per-game average in a playoff series (46.3) and played in nine NBA finals. West was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 1980. He served as both head coach and general manager of the Lakers, during which time the team won six championship games, and as general manager of the Memphis Grizzlies, helping the team win their first-ever playoff berths.