A four-man scramble golf tournament and banquet to benefit East Marion High School’s baseball and football teams, which was originally scheduled for this Saturday at the newly revitalized Columbia Golf & Country Club, has been rescheduled for Nov. 18 and moved to the Shadow Ridge Golf Club in Hattiesburg
First-year Eagles baseball coach Janone Watts said the country club’s golf course isn’t quite ready yet to host a full tournament, so the switch was made to Shadow Ridge.
Watts had helped put together a similar golf tournament at his previous school, Meridian High School, and wanted to bring it to East Marion to assist his new program. Watts and East Marion High School Interventionist and School Test Coordinator Kristen Hanson are working together to organize the event.
The East Marion baseball program just added a junior high team this year, which will be repurposing the varsity squad’s uniforms as its own, creating a need for the high school team to get new uniforms.
“We need an influx of money for baseball,” Watts said. “The golf tournament in Meridian does really well, so I wanted to bring it here and create something new to reach outside of what was already being done.”
Watts added that all of the schools should all support each other so that they can all succeed.
“We don’t want this event to be isolated,” Hanson said. “We want everybody to come.”
The entry fee for the four-man scramble is $300, which includes tickets to the banquet. Tickets are also available to only attend the banquet for $50. Businesses can also now sponsor one of the 18 holes for $100.
The first, second and third-place winners of the tournament will be announced at the banquet. There will be a live auction during the banquet as well, including items from area businesses and sports memorabilia from professional athletes with local ties.
The first tee time will be at 9 a.m.
