For the second consecutive year, the Veteran Golfers Association (VGA) will host its National Championship in Biloxi, Miss Oct. 8-11 at Fallen Oak, the Tom Fazio-designed championship course ordinarily reserved exclusively for guests of MGM Resort International’s renowned Beau Rivage Resort & Casino. The tournament features a field of regional winners that qualified over the course of the year for the opportunity to play for the title.
The 2017 VGA Tour included more than 200 tournaments at military, public and private courses, with more than 2,500 veteran golfers participating. Like the tour events, the VGA National Championship features three divisions of competition: Veteran, Combat Wounded and Family. Within each division are four handicapped flights and an open handicap Women’s flight.
The championship tournament at Fallen Oak puts the service, sacrifice and patriotism of its participants in the competitive, national spotlight. Wounded veterans and Purple Heart recipients will make up nearly half the field, and competitors will range from enlisted personnel to three-star generals.
“MGM Resorts International and Beau Rivage are very honored once again to host the VGA National Championship for military veterans who will travel here from all over the United States,” said Fallen Oak Director of Golf Rick Gehr. “For these players, this tour championship is more than a game or friendly match. Rather, it’s about the benefits they derive from the camaraderie and sportsmanship of competition, and we’re proud that our award-winning golf course and resort here in Biloxi continues to be their destination of choice.”
“The regional qualifiers provided an exciting run-up to the championship with numerous playoffs, narrowly eliminating some excellent golfers” said VGA President Joshua Peyton, a retired Army Captain and Army Ranger. “Just qualifying to play in this year’s championship at Fallen Oak is a significant accomplishment for our fellow veterans.”
Founded in 2014, the VGA is a national non-profit organization offering U.S. military veterans the opportunity to enjoy competition and community through golf. Membership is open to all U.S. veterans – wounded, non-wounded, disabled, active duty and retired – as well as to their families, including parents, siblings and dependents who are at least 18 years old.
The VGA’s mission is to enhance the lives of veterans and their family members through the camaraderie and sportsmanship of golf. The VGA also focuses on Post Traumatic Growth initiatives to help veterans and families cope with combat-related injuries. Using golf as an alternative activity, these veterans can choose a more productive way to deal with the challenges that impact their everyday lives.
More information on the 2017 tour and championship event is available at www.vgachampionship.org.
About the Veteran Golfers Association
The VGA is a 501 (c)(3) nonprofit organization committed to promoting the game of golf to veterans and their family members. The VGA develops programs that allow its members to compete, socialize and remain physically active through the game of golf. For more information visit us at www.vgagolf.org.
Images and videos are available upon request, and the VGA welcomes interviews with the Veterans.
About Beau Rivage Resort & Casino
Located on the Mississippi Gulf Coast in Biloxi, MGM Resorts International’s Beau Rivage Resort & Casino was named one of 2017’s top 10 “South’s Best Resorts” by Southern Living. The AAA Four Diamond resort features 1,740 elegantly appointed guest rooms and suites, 10 restaurants, four nightclubs and bars, a 85,000-square-foot gaming area, a 1,550-seat theatre, an upscale shopping promenade, a world-class spa & salon and Fallen Oak, a Tom Fazio-designed championship golf course. For more information and reservations, call (888) 567-6667 or visit www.beaurivage.com.
