The 2023 Foundation Cup presented by Palm Golf Co. was a success, thanks to the leadership of Faith Bender and the rest of the SCGA Junior Golf Foundation staff. As the Community Engagement Intern, I played a key role in the execution of this tournament and was proud that both the tournament and reception ran smoothly due to good planning and preparation.
As with all events, preparation began many months ago. One of my main responsibilities was collecting biographies from the juniors who would be participating alongside donors for this event. The players enjoyed reading the junior bios on our website and we were excited to highlight their accomplishments thus far. We also had quite a bit of work to do the day before the tournament as we loaded our company van with all kinds of supplies: tents, tablecloths, easels and on-course giveaways thanks to the U.S. Open.
On the day of the Foundation Cup, July 24, staff arrived at 8 am for set-up. Between registration, giveaway holes, tournament info sheets and the tee gift tent there was a lot to do! Thankfully, our team, committee members and Mission Viejo CC staff executed efficiently, and we were fully organized by the time the first juniors arrived on-site.
By 9 am, registration, the auction table and the Palm Golf Co. setup were ready to receive the attendees for the tournament, and everyone on staff was assigned to a specific role throughout the day. While some staff were taking care of different roles at registrations, others were making sure everything else on the course was ready for our shotgun start at 11 am. After everyone had picked up their amazing giveaways from the Palm Golf Co., which included gifts like polos, hats, towels and utility bags, they mostly headed to the range for warmup.
At 11 am, everyone rolled out from the clubhouse towards the hole to which they were assigned, each foursome ready with their juniors to have a great day of golf in sunny SoCal. During the tournament, our staff was distributed in different roles, whether it was on the course or with other tasks, ensuring that the event ran smoothly. We had all kinds of different activities on the course, including closest to the pin, beat the scholar and a hole in one competition. From what I heard, most people had a lot of fun playing against our Assistant Director, Lauren Fesler, trying to beat her on a par-3. Additionally, players and juniors received some great giveaways, such as SCGA Foundation hats and U.S. Open memorabilia. Since I was mainly stationed at hole 16, giving out the U.S. Open giveaways, I heard how almost everyone was amazed by this giveaway and relieved they didn’t have to compete against someone for it.
As the tournament wrapped up, all the players headed to our reception to enjoy great food and share their experiences throughout the day. During the reception, the staff helped get everything ready to wrap up the scoring for the tournament, announce the raffle and auction winners, and mainly recognize the Foundation Cup 2023 winners.
As the tournament finished, some of the staff started to do some course cleanup and gather all the material used throughout the day so we could all enjoy time at the reception with the players and juniors. Throughout the event, it was a great success thanks to all the staff involved, making the overall experience enjoyable for everyone attending.