Peyton Manning with Matt McClish at the 2019 Memorial Tournament.
Since its 1976 inception, the Memorial Tournament has been raising money for the benefit of Nationwide Children’s Hospital.
For the past decade, though, the tournament has also recognized one Nationwide Children’s patient each year whose story has inspired others – and given that person a front-row seat to some of the most exciting parts of tournament week.
The 2021 Memorial Tournament is slated for May 31-June 6. And as the world’s top golfers are welcomed to Dublin during the week, so, too, will the 11th Nicklaus Youth Spirit Award winner be celebrated.
The History of the Program
The award program has been a key part of the tournament since Nationwide signed on as presenting sponsor. The award is given to a patient or family that has come through Nationwide Children’s to overcome a significant health hurdle and inspire others at the hospital in their own medical struggles, with the first winner crowned in 2011.
Its inception can be credited in part to fortuitous timing. Golf legend Jack Nicklaus, founder of the tournament, had attended a similar event in Texas with his wife, Barbara, right around the time the tournament was forming its relationship with Nationwide. From day one, officials at the tournament and the insurance giant wanted to do something that would bring the community together, and in 2011, they drew 250 people and $250,000-$300,000 at the Ohio Statehouse for the Legends Luncheon.
Last year, the program alone pulled in $1.45 million of the total $3.1 million raised for the hospital.
The winner is chosen each year by a committee appointed by the hospital, which reviews nominees submitted by the Nationwide Children’s Hospital Foundation. Traditionally, the award winner has been presented to the public at the Legends Luncheon in April.
Major championship winners Webb Simpson (left) and Gary Woodland speak at the 2020 Legends Luncheon.
“As the event happens, the recipient and the family get a chance to meet the Nicklauses and join them onstage,” says Dan Sullivan, executive director of the tournament.
Tournament organizers anticipate announcing the winner during tournament week this year, with the luncheon being pushed back to the fall due to COVID-19 restrictions.
Stories to Impress & Inspire
There’s not a dry eye in the house when the award winner takes the stage and attendees are informed of the trials they’ve overcome, says Niki Shafer, senior vice president of outreach for the foundation.
“My favorite thing is watching the parents’ faces when their children go up onstage and stand next to Jack and Barbara Nicklaus,” Shafer says.
In addition to the ceremony of the luncheon, the winner is always included in the proceedings of the tournament as part of the hospital’s Patient Champions program.
Matt McClish presents a check, along with Jack and Barbara Nicklaus, at the 2019 Legends Luncheon.
The program is a volunteer effort through which the foundation invites current or former patients to participate in events and share their inspirational stories with others.
“Our Patient Champions truly inspire others, especially kids their own age who may be battling a condition or diagnosis that’s really challenging for them,” says Shafer. “They have a really strong conviction for being connected to the hospital and wanting to be a champion for all that we do here.”
Areas of the hospital that have benefited from recent tournament support include the neonatal intensive care unit, the Center for Family Safety and Healing, and the On Our Sleeves behavioral health program.
“As a company, Nationwide lives into its mission of providing extraordinary care to our members and that spirit extends to our charitable partnerships. Supporting the Legends Luncheon alongside the Nicklauses and our tournament partners helps Nationwide Children’s Hospital provide extraordinary care to kids who come to Children’s from all over the world,” says Jim McCoy, Nationwide’s associate vice president of sports marketing for Nationwide.
A Firsthand Look
Winners get behind-the-scenes tours, are part of the Wednesday pro-am meet-and-greet, and enjoy themselves with friends and family at the tournament. Winners tend to be golf enthusiasts, which boosts the emotional impact of their recognition.
2020 winner Anna Earl remembers meeting Gary Woodland this past year, in addition to getting to meet the Nicklauses and seeing players warming up on the course.
“(Woodland) had gone out of his way to say good job and congratulations,” Earl says.
Earl – of Vienna, West Virginia – is among those golf enthusiasts. She was born with cerebral palsy and went to Nationwide Children’s for selective dorsal rhizotomy in May 2018. Now 16, Earl has been golfing since age 9 or 10.
Anna Earl speaks at the 2020 Legends Luncheon.
2019 winner Matt McClish of Galloway is also an avid golfer, and hasn’t let his own medical challenges hold him back. McClish has had multiple surgeries for a brain tumor and epilepsy, the last of them coming in 2017. He began golfing in middle school, and had qualified for all-county every year he played – until that final surgery, after which a stroke paralyzed his left side.
Nevertheless, McClish, now a sophomore studying sports management at Columbus State Community College, learned to golf with just one arm – having taken two or three lessons, but otherwise going entirely off muscle memory – and got back on the course. He’s now relearning how to play with both.
“I still love the sport just as much, maybe more … since being able to play after I wasn’t able to move half my body for a while,” McClish says.
McClish was in inpatient rehab at Nationwide Children’s for three months and will serve as a mentor for stroke and brain surgery patients once COVID-19 rates have dropped enough for it to be safe.
Earl and McClish both describe the experience of being named award winner as nigh-overwhelming. Earl was shocked and refers to meeting the Nicklauses as “the coolest thing ever,” while McClish says he “was jumping for joy” when he found out.
As much of a prominent role as the award plays during and surrounding tournament week, the impact of the money raised for Nationwide Children’s is a comparable point of pride, Sullivan says.
“The great news is the funds spread throughout the hospital, whether it’s the NICU or the new Behavioral Health Pavilion or family health and services,” he says. “We’re proud to continue the momentum and the success we’ve had over the years.”
The Golf Shop at Bridge Park
Where many professional golf tournaments have their merchandise shops on or near the course, for the past few years, the Memorial Tournament has located its shop at Bridge Park.
Situated at 6564 Longshore St., across from 16-Bit Bar+Arcade, the shop’s new location was chosen in part to better expose tournament patrons to what Dublin has to offer.
Niki Shafer of the Nationwide Children’s Hospital Foundation lauds the Memorial Tournament fundraising arm for its support of the hospital, but also points to the City of Dublin as a great partner during the tournament and related activities, particularly the crew of volunteers it helps to amass.
Charting a New Course
A year’s worth of changes has overhauled almost every hole at Muirfield Village Golf Club Longtime Memorial Tournament enthusiasts will notice some significant changes to this year’s tournament – and not just safety-minded alterations connected to COVID-19.
Over the past year, Muirfield Village Golf Club has undergone a major renovation.
The greens already needed to be updated, says Dan Sullivan, executive director for the tournament, and it had been some time since the course had seen any significant changes. That was the starting point for a series of sweeping changes spearheaded by tournament founder Jack Nicklaus.
“Jack looked at this as an opportunity for him to make a significant impact on the future of the golf course for years to come,” Sullivan says.
What Looks Different?
Avid followers will be most likely to notice the changes to hole 15, which has been completely redesigned, including changes to the fairways and visuals. The fairway area was lowered about 12 feet, making it easier for players to see where they’re going from the tee, while the back tee was moved back 37 yards and a new forward tee was added.
Hole 5 also saw substantial changes, with the green being shifted back about 20 yards and made smaller. Now, it has water on the left side and bunkering on the right.
“It’s going to be a pretty wild hole from the tour standpoint,” says Chad Mark, director of grounds for the course.
Only four or five greens resemble their previous selves, Mark says. Even those that did not see changes to the greens saw changes to the contours.
“Golf fans both in person and on television are going to be able to notice the difference and be intrigued by it,” Sullivan says.
Though club members are getting the first crack at the redesigned course, the 2021 tournament will mark the first time professionals have been on it.
“That’s the exciting part about this year: We get a brand-new golf course that no one has played,” says Sullivan.
One thing that hasn’t changed, per Mark: the fan experience. The course was already designed with the spectators in mind, so the only priority there was to ensure that experience wasn’t damaged by any of the changes, a goal Mark thinks was achieved in full. Hospitality venues have largely been kept in place as well. As of mid-March, tournament organizers were still waiting on clearer guidance related to coronavirus safety measures before making any concrete decisions on spectators at this year’s event.
Garth Bishop is a contributing writer. Feedback welcome at feedback@cityscenemediagroup.com.
