NORMAN, Okla. – “Sometimes it’s not about the golf, it’s about the tournament,” said Florida State Head Coach Amy Bond before the start of the Schooner Fall Classic at the Belmar Golf Club. “This is one of those tournaments. For our team, and our program, we are excited to play in this event every year because of who we play for – the Kids and the OK Kids Korral.”
The championship, which is played to benefit the Toby Keith Foundation and the OK Kids Korral, will be played for the ninth time — and the Seminoles have participated in the event each time it has been played. Bond led Florida State to the championship of the tournament in 2016. In winning the title, the Seminoles defeated Alabama by 12 strokes, while Seminole Morgane Metraux won the individual championship.
The three-day, 54-hole event features 15 teams as Florida State plays for its first championship of the year. The Seminoles are joined by Baylor, Clemson, Illinois, Iowa State, Houston, Louisville, North Texas, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, TCU, Texas State, Tulsa, UTSA and Virginia Tech. The Seminoles opened their four-match fall season with a fourth-place finish at the season-opening Cougar Classic.
Florida State’s lineup for the Schooner Fall Classic includes senior Amelia Williamson, juniors Charlotte Heath and Alice Hodge, and freshmen Lottie Woad and Jacqui Putrino – with Putrino making her collegiate debut. Williamson, who ranks eighth in school history with a 73.76 stroke average, plays in the classic for the fourth time in his career. She finished tied for 15thth place in the fall of 2021 with a 3 over par score of 213. Heath knows the course well, also, and will play in the field for the second time in her career. She finished tied for 11thth place in the individual standings at the 2021 Schooner Fall Classic.
Toby Keith and his wife Tricia Covel started this organization following the untimely death of Toby Keith’s former bandmate, Scott Webb’s, daughter Allison. Allison was a month away from her third birthday when she sadly lost her battle to kidney cancer in August 2003. The Keith’s watched firsthand the physical, mental, and financial hardships the Webb family went through.
The Keith’s initially helped establish “Ally’s house”, a non-profit group that helped children with cancer and their families, in Oklahoma. Beginning in 2004, Keith held his annual golf tournament, the Toby Keith and Friends Golf Classic, to raise money for Oklahoman children with cancer and their families. The tournament has raised more than $15 million dollars, with 2021 being the second-highest total in the tournament’s 17 years as it raised $1,427 million.
The funds are now directed towards the Toby Keith Foundation, OK Kids Korral which opened in 2014 as a “home away from home” facility where children with cancer and their families can spend time either overnight or during the day, cost-free, while receiving treatment at nearby children’s hospitals. Amenities include overnight suites, daytime rooms, dining areas, game rooms, living rooms, a kitchen, a laundry room, and family resource rooms. It is designed as a relaxing, safe haven.
This tournament is not ordinary, as the ambassadors of the Schooner Fall Classic are children diagnosed with cancer. The golfers have the opportunity to meet with these children, which allows for personal relationships to be made, as well as furthering awareness for the foundation.
The tournament and the play on the course is not the only time the golfers have the chance to interact with the children. Dinners, playground activities, and meetings with the families are all part of the schedule.
“I will schedule my team to play in this tournament every year,” said Bond. “This is our most favorite event of the year because of what it means to the kids. When I say kids – I mean the kids the tournament is for, but I also mean our players and our staff. This event means so much to me because I believe so much in the mission established by Tricia and Toby.”
Florida State plays with Houston and TCU beginning at 10:30 am ET from hole No. 10.
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