PGA professionals Notah Begay and Ronnie Black joined Golf Channel celebrities and more than 150 Southwest professionals and amateurs through Sept. 9 at the 53rd annual New Mexico Open at the Inn of the Mountain Gods Resort and Casino in Mescalero, N.M.
|
|
The event is the top golf event in the state, as players compete for their share of an $80,000 purse at the resort's championship course. Proceeds from the Open benefit the University of New Mexico Children's Hospital. Since 2000, the Open has generated more than $124,000 for the hospital and its patients.
The New Mexico Tourism Industry is complete support of what is quickly becoming a billion-dollar industry in New Mexico: Golf and golf tourism. A recently released New Mexico State University economic study funded by the state's golf industry shows that golf and golf tourism were worth nearly $1 billion a year to the state's economy in the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2005.
"This only goes to prove what we have known in the tourism industry for a long time," says Michael Cerletti, secretary of the tourism department. "Golfers will travel hundreds of miles to play their favorite courses, and playing golf in New Mexico is quickly becoming a favorite pastime of golfers everywhere. The New Mexico Open is a hugely popular event and we appreciate the hard work of those dedicated folks who have made it such a success." Golf Digest, Golf Magazine and other national publications consistently rank New Mexico courses on their lists of their top 100 public courses in the nation.
|
|
The Open dates back to 1954, when amateur Billy Moya took home top honors in the inaugural event. Since then there have been two additional amateurs and a host of professionals that have had their name etched on the New Mexico Open Trophy, including Lee Trevino, Paul Stankowski and Notah Begay.
After winning the 1998 New Mexico Open, Begay made a big splash on the national scene on the PGA Tour.
The Sun Country Section PGA was established in 1974 as one of the 41 Sections that make up the Professional Golfers Association of America. The Section (the state of New Mexico and El Paso County, Texas) is made up of more than 200 PGA Members and Apprentices. The mission of the Section is to promote participation and enjoyment in the game of golf for all levels of golfers. Many current PGA Professionals have been associated with the Sun Country Section including Begay, Kent Jones and Rich Beem.