The 19th Annual Richie Hall Red Cross Golf Classic included a group of Saskatchewan Roughriders as they took to the golf course at Deer Park in Yorkton.
Each May for the past 18 years, Hall and selected members of the lone Saskatchewan professional sports team have brought a little fun and excitement to Yorkton in support of the Red Cross services in Saskatchewan.
As a former Roughrider player and coach, Hall is renowned throughout the province for not only being a part of two Rider Grey Cup victories (1989 and 2007) but also as a tireless community volunteer and humanitarian. The Canadian Red Cross also works tirelessly to provide humanitarian assistance to Saskatchewan residents when they need help the most.The Richie Hall classic is an important annual fundraiser for the Red Cross in Saskatchewan, but also a great awareness and marketing opportunity for corporate sponsors to be associated with the event.
Mike Pasloski, a community outreach co-ordinator with the Red Cross, said the totals generated by the day should amount to "well over $20,000".
"It was awesome," he said over the telephone long after everyone left the banquet that night. He went on to add that it "was a little better than last year" taking into account a longer list of local sponsors which totaled 40+.
Hall, who starred in the pros from 1988 through to 1997, hails from Denver, CO., and has been affiliated with the Red Cross since the late '80s.
He said the course is meant to raise awareness regarding "the importance of donating blood", adding that "over the years, it becomes a part of the community."
Allan Sauser, head professional at the home of the tournament, Deer Park Municipal golf course, said the Richie Hall Classic is one of those top three tournaments that, as of late, have proven to be one of the biggest crowd pleasers of the golf season.
"It's right up there," he told Yorkton This Week.
"All three of them have a pretty good turnout," he added, referring to the other tournaments Deer Park has hosted including the Parkland College Dollars for Scholars, set to take place next month on June 18 and the Yorkton Terriers annual tournament.
Sauser said all three of them usually bring out the bigger numbers of participants, adding that the Richie Hall Classic seems like it "gets bigger and better every year."
This year's Classic had the good luck of falling on the one day of the three-day long weekend where the sun came out and stayed out.
According to both Sauser and Hall, that wasn't always the case with the Red Cross fundraiser.
Golfers were greeted by snowflakes in 2004, Sauser recalls.
What it did bring out, much to the delight of a large handful of Rider fans were three current players including Chris Getzlaf, Joel Lapinski and Marcus Adams. In previous years, the list included Nealon Greene, Marcus Crandell as well as then-head coach Danny Barrett.
"Every year, we try to bring different players out here," Hall explained just minutes before joining 100 or so others lining up for the dinner banquet at the Gallagher Centre.
Hall said the task of trying to secure a professional athlete even during the off-season is not as difficult a task as one may think.
"People keep coming back. They have fun. It's real easy."
Hall said most of the athletes come to him.
Total numbers for this year's tournament were 139, Sauser said.
"It went pretty good. It's a very successful tournament for the Red Cross," he noted, before mentioning that next year will be the 20th anniversary of Richie Hall's Classic and hinted that there could be some changes made for it but did not mention what they could be.
"The only thing I think they're going to do is get more Riders out for it."
Getzlaf took a moment to speak with the media shortly before the 2 p.m., Texas Scramble tournament and was no doubt happy to be there amongst Hall and his teammates."(I've) been doing it for a few years now. We're helping out a really good cause."
Getzlaf, who's made a name for himself on the turf of Taylor Field over the past few years, said he doesn't play a lot of golf himself, but moreso, the Richie Hall Classic is a really good opportunity to tour Saskatchewan a bit.
He also added he wasn't too sure what kind of score to expect. "It's Texas Scramble, so you never know," he said with a sly grin. "I am going to hope for the best and count on some teammates," he offered bashfully.
Sauser told Yorkton This Week that the winning team was Team SaskTel, which included Barry Davidson, Rick Lazar, Wes Dierker and Marina Campbell who completed the course with a net score of 44.
"It was good for the golf course. Good for Yorkton and great for Richie Hall who still comes out and brings the Riders," Sauser commented.
