The Big Cedar Lodge Legends of Golf Presented by Bass Pro Shops
Where: Top of the Rock at Big Cedar Lodge
Website: http://bigcedarlegends.com/
Long called the Legends of Golf, this PGA Champions Tour event was held in Branson for the first time its in history this year June 4-8, 2014. Since 2002, Savannah, Georgia, has done the honors of hosting this prestigious event, but the PGA decided Branson deserved a shot and signed a five year contract starting in 2014.
Now that the tournament will be in Branson for the next 5 years, they decided to adjust the name to Bass Pro Lodge Legends of Golf presented of course by sponsor Bass Pro Shops. Beginning on June 4 and ending on June 8, the tournament took place at the Top of the Rock golf course and Buffalo Ridge golf course. Luckily enough for fans and players alike both courses were situated within the Big Cedar Lodge complex.
Some Information on the Courses:
- Top of the Rock is a 9-hole, par 3-course designed by no other than the master himself Jack Nicklaus. Since there are two sets of tees, players can play 18 holes. The course is situated on a nature-based heritage preserve that Johnny Morris, the founder of Bass Pro developed. The facility includes an Arnold Palmer created practice facility with 18 target greens in addition to the Himalayan, a 70,000 square foot, putting course mapped out by Tom Watson. This will be the first ever PGA Tour sanctioned event to be conducted on a par-3 course.
- Known before as Branson Creek Golf Club, Buffalo Ridge Golf Course is a regulation, 18-hole course which has been extensively been remodeled by Tom Fazio. With paths that wend through rolling hills, the course offers a large amount which has undergone extensive redesign by Tom Fazio. The course winds through rolling hills and contains natural and man-made hazards complete with free-ranging buffalo whose origin home was nearby Dogwood Canyon Nature Park. This course has earned the distinction of being ranked as the top public golf course in the state by GOLF Magazine and has been on Missouri’s top ten list for 11 consecutive years according to Golf Digest.
Four days prior to the tournament, there was an outdoor competition in addition to pro-am golf outings.
World Golf Hall of Fame members in attendance were Jack Nicklaus, Tom Watson, Hale Irwin, Gary Player and Lee Trevino will be at Buffalo Ridge in addition to: Fred Couples; Ben Crenshaw; Nick Faldo; Tom Kite; Sandy Lyle; Colin Montgomerie; Larry Nelson; Nick Price; Vijay Singh; Craig Stadler and Curtis Strange.
With purse money of $2.75 million, the competition consisted of two-man teams split into two divisions. The golf action was televised live to more than 200 nations on the Golf Channel, which is the official cable TV resource for the Champions Tour.
The grounds encompass more than 800 acres nestled within the Ozark Mountains within a cover of Table Rock Lake. Arnie’s Barn, a 150-year-old barn that was moved from Latrobe, Pennsylvania, is an amazing restaurant, pro shop and bar that accentuates the charm of Top of the Rock.
The State of Missouri and Mastercard were also sponsors of the event and the Champions Tour will most likely donate to College of the Ozarks.
Please call Branson Ticket & Travel for event information and tickets in 2015. Tickets will go on pre-sale sometime in the spring of next year but they will go fast! Call 1-800-432-4202 or email us to be included on the mailing for additional information & ticket information on The Big Cedar Lodge Legends of Golf in Branson, Missouri.
