Sandy's Circle II

The second NCGA Foundation Sandy’s Circle was held on March 2, 2009 at Lake Merced GC in Daly City.

The event provided an opportunity for participants to play golf and listen to stories with two of the game’s biggest names -- Sandy Tatum and Tom Watson. The format retained an intimate feel with 21 donors having the opportunity to play golf and gather together for a panel discussion on everything golf in Northern California.

The day was lively with special guests including comedian George Lopez, Golf Digest's Jaime Diaz, golf professionals Morris Hatalsky and Joel Kribel and Stanford Men’s Golf Coach Conrad Ray.

Due to inclement weather an impromptu clinic was held prior to the 9-hole shotgun, Watson gave tips on the full swing, Kribel and Ray manned the chipping station and Haltalsky offered his wisdom on the putting green.

Watson and Tatum are no strangers to success on the links. From the mid ‘70s through the early ‘80s, Watson was the gold standard of golf. Refusing to play second fiddle to Jack Nicklaus, the short-game wizard evolved into one of the Golden Bear’s greatest challengers and arguably the best champion the British Open has ever seen. The hall-of-fame golfer is best known for his phenomenal chip-in on the 71st hole en route to victory at the 1982 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach.

Another extraordinary Stanford graduate, Tatum played on the back-to-back Stanford National Championship Teams and was the NCAA Individual Champion in 1942.  The Stanford Hall of Famer has a storied career including serving as the USGA President and various design and golf course development projects in Northern California.

The event raised more than $100,000 for the NCGA Foundation and its Youth on Course program.

9-Hole Stableford Scoring Event (rain-shortened)
Gross division champions: Conrad Ray, Paul Morton and Bahman Taheripour
Net division champions: Sandy Tatum, Brian Morton, Bill Lewin and Charles Bertucio

         

The Inaugural Sandy's Circle Event at Harding Park GC

In 2007, the NCGA Foundation held its inaugural event for Sandy's Circle charter members. The five charter members played a round of golf at Harding Park with former USGA President Sandy Tatum and Hall of Fame member Tom Watson.

The event raised nearly $200,000 to support Foundation programs and Youth on Course. Sandy has been a proponent of youth golf since long before the emergence of any formal programs to meet this need.

He has championed the First Tee program and also more recently joined the NCGA Foundation in the implementation of our pioneering Youth on Course program, which picks up where other junior golf and life skills programs leave off - by ensuring kids can continue playing golf, while learning the life lessons and values that are intrinsically part of the game.