Oxford Welcomes the North Mississippi Classic

The path to the PGA heads for hill country

BY JENNA MASON
PHOTOS COURTESY OF COUNTRY CLUB OF OXFORD

The North Mississippi Classic golf tournament comes to Oxford April 16-22, 2018. Hosted by The Country Club of Oxford, the event brings 156 players to compete for a $550,000 purse.

Part of the Web.com Tour, the tournament is the third PGA TOUR-sanctioned event held annually in Mississippi, joining the PGA TOUR’s Sanderson Farms Championship and the Mississippi Gulf Resort Classic on PGA TOUR Champions.

Mississippi is one of only five states to host an annual tournament on the PGA TOUR, the Senior Tour and the Web.com Tour, along with California, Florida, Georgia and North Carolina.

Century Club Charities, a Mississippi 501(c)(3) organization, will manage the tournament. The group has donated over $12 million to statewide charities since 1994, and proceeds from the North Mississippi Classic will benefit charities throughout the region.

“The North Mississippi Classic is a brand new event on the Web.com Tour. Our goal, through the tournament, is to create a substantial charitable and economic impact to Oxford and other North Mississippi communities,” says Erin Johnson, Tournament Services Manager for Century Club.

Commonly considered the “Path to the PGA TOUR,” the Web.com Tour was founded in 1990 to identify those players who are ready to compete and win on golf’s biggest stage. The Web.com Tour is owned and operated by the PGA TOUR.

“Oxford was chosen because of its central location, collegiate atmosphere and the great facilities the Country Club of Oxford has to offer,” Johnson explains. “Oxford also makes a lot of sense because of our existing relationship with the University of Mississippi Medical Center and more specifically Batson Children’s Hospital.”

Batson Children’s Hospital will play a major role in the event, says Johnson, “and we hope to get many North Mississippi charities involved through both volunteerism and spreading the word about the tournament.”

In order to be successful, the tournament relies on the help of 350+ volunteers. “There are a variety of volunteer opportunities available,” says Johnson, “including hole marshals, walking scorers, standard bearers and shuttle drivers.”

Local businesses can also get involved as sponsors through participating in Pro-Ams, entertaining customers through hospitality and by promoting their companies through various branding opportunities.

For a list of volunteer and sponsor opportunities, or to reserve tournament tickets, visit www.northmsclassic.com.