Ava Bunker hits a fairway shot on No. 1 June 29, 2023, in the final round of the AJGA Circle K Classic Hosted by Otter Creek Golf Course.
The Republic file photo
Next week’s 12th Annual Circle K Junior Championship Hosted by Otter Creek likely will be the last one in Columbus until at least 2028.
The tournament is moving to Indiana University’s Pfau Course for the next three years while Otter Creek undergoes major renovation.
“We’re committing to them for at least the number of years that it takes (Otter Creek owner and chief operating officer) Bob (Haddad) and the team here to complete the renovation,” tournament co-chairman John Fairbanks said. “Then, we would discuss coming back. Our decision will be, ‘When will it be ready for tournament golf again?’ before we make our decision. Based on growing season, I think we’re three years out.”
Haddad said during last weekend’s Epson Tour event at Otter Creek that renovation on the championship 18 holes won’t begin until at least late 2025, which is later than originally anticipated.
“When Mr. Haddad invited Mr. Kite to start the redesign process, we were under the impression that might start sooner than later, and we needed another venue,” Fairbanks said. “We certainly did not want to get in Mr. Haddad’s way to start the renovation. We just had to make the decision to have a venue that we could use, and IU made the offer.”
The tournament week gets underway Sunday morning with an AJGA qualifier. There will be a Junior Amateur on Monday morning and afternoon.
The annual Junior Golf Clinic will be at 1:35 p.m. Monday on Otter Creek’s practice putting and chipping areas and driving range. Columbus North incoming senior Erin Hopkins is organizing the clinic for her senior project.
Hopkins received one of the six exemptions to play in the tournament, which will be Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. She and former North teammate Ava Bunker, an Edinburgh resident and AJGA Tour regular, will be among the 78 players in the tournament.
Fairbanks and Circle K executive Kevin Merritt are co-chairmen of the tournament. Ryan Flanagan remains the AJGA Midwest Regional Director, and Ty Kempf returns as AJGA Tournament Director.
Since 2017, Foundation for Youth and ACE Grant Scholarship Program have been the tournament’s two charitable partners. The event has raised $569,000 for charitable partners over the past 11 years.
“We are proud that our local and national sponsors have stepped up in a very big way, and that is attributable to the Circle K leadership and Kevin Merritt,” Fairbanks said.
The Otter Creek staff has been getting the course ready for the AJGA event after hosting the Epson Tour Otter Creek Championship last weekend.
“We’re excited to be back again for the 12th year at Otter Creek,” Fairbanks said. “We sense that the golf course is going to be in good condition following a very successful Epson Tour event. Epson runs an excellent tour, and obviously, they picked a great golf course for this year’s tournament.”
