The Zurich Classic is under way at TPC Louisiana in Avondale. While the event is billed as a golf tournament, organizers say it's really a festival disguised as a golf tournament.
"What we try to do is sell entertainment, fun, food, even live music out here. Oh, by the way, there's a little bit of golf over there if you care," Chris Kenyon, vice president of sales and marketing for the Zurich Classic and the Fore!Kids Foundation, said.
Kenyon noted that the event's format is one that even non-golf fans can enjoy.
"It's college teammates getting back together," Kenyon said. "It's guys who may have grown up in the same area. Sometimes two guys have wives who are good friends, and they'll team up."
Even if the different format doesn't interest you, Kenyon says the food trucks, drink tents, and end-of-day concerts will.
"Sunday after the last put, the Molly Ringwalds will finish off the weekend here," Kenyon said, adding that local cover group Band Camp will perform after the last putt on Saturday.
Once the "festival disguised as a golf tournament" is over, local children's charities will reap the benefits of the event. He says once the golfers and vendors are paid, 100 percent the net proceeds from the tournament go to organizations that help children in South Louisiana.
"Last year, we were fortunate enough to give $2.7 million to multiple charities," Kenyon said. "Fifty (or) sixty charities are given checks anywhere from $5,000 up to $300,000."
And that, Kenyon says, is why the foundation hosts the Zurich Classic year-in and year-out.
"Really, not only is it a great sporting event, the largest golf event in the South, it also creates a lot of good for a lot of people that need it," Kenyon said.
Tickets for the Zurich Classic are still available online and at the golf course. Kenyon says children ages 15 and younger will receive free admission if they are accompanied by a paying adult.
