3rd Legends of Kansas Championship
"Honoring the great names in Kansas Golf"

  | Monday, June 05, 2023 - Tuesday, June 06, 2023

Event Contact
Greg Goode, Tournament Chairman
goodegr2003@yahoo.com
(303) 550-4210

Schedule of Events
Monday, June 5th -- First round (18 holes) - 1:00 pm from #1 & #10 tees 
Tuesday, June 6th -- Second round (18 holes) - 8:30 am shotgun

Host Club Information
Salina Country Club
2101 E. Country Club Rd., Salina, KS  67401

785 827-0388
www.salinacountryclub.com

Head Golf Professional: TBA
Superintendent: Chris Rice

Eligibility
Open to all male and female amateurs who have reached the minimum age for their selected division by June 5, 2023 and who have a GHIN handicap index of 16 or lower. 

Entry Fee and Deadline
$220.  Deadline for entry is Monday, May 29, 2023 at 11:59 PM.  Field is limited to 78 players. 

Format
36 holes of individual stroke play with gross and net scoring.  The event may be shortened to 18 holes if weather cancels either round.  Gift certificates will be awarded in amounts to be determined based on the number of total entries within each division.

Any player that plays the five par three holes at even par or better wins a dozen Titleist Pro V1x golf balls.

Divisions

One division must be selected upon registration:
 

• Super Senior, 65+ (gross and net scoring)
• Legends, 70+ (gross and net scoring)
• Super Legends, 75+ (gross and net scoring)
• Women, 65+ (gross and net scoring)

Course Set-Up
The golf course will be set-up at approximately:
 

• Super Senior: Blue tees - 6,150 yards
• Legends: Blue/White combo tees – 5,900 yards (white tees on 5, 6, 12, 14)
• Super Legends: White tees – 5,647 yards
• Women: Red tees - 4,857 yards

Players Food
Food will be provided after the competition on Monday and Tuesday. A short program will honor the 2023 Legend of Kansas during Monday’s meal.

Practice Round
Please contact the golf shop at Salina Country Club at (785) 827-0388 to arrange a practice round at your convenience.  Cost is set by the host course ($65 for green fees and cart).

Clubhouse and Practice Facilities
Clubhouse and practice facilities open one hour prior to the first starting time.  Practice facilities are for tournament contestants use only.

Carts, Spectators and Caddies
Carts will be provided as part of your entry fee for the championship. 

Caddies are allowed for this event and the actions of the caddie during the round are the responsibility of the player (Rule 10.3c). This is the default position for caddies for Central Links Golf events, but availability may vary from event to event or any other factors affecting this policy. Caddies are allowed to ride on and operate the golf cart, provided space is available. Central Links Golf has a strict two carts per group policy and the carts are reserved for the players first. If a group has more than one caddie, arrangements must be made within the group to accommodate the cart policy.

Spectator carts will be available at the discretion and fee set by the host course.

Registration
There will be no registration at this event.  You are responsible to be at your assigned starting tee at least five (5) minutes prior to your scheduled starting time.  This will give you adequate time to receive instructions and information from the Starter.

Method of Payments
Salina Country Club accepts cash or credit card for all purchases. 
 

When Competition is Final
The competition is final when the trophy has been presented to the winner or, in the absence of a prize ceremony, when all scores have been approved by the Committee. 

Good luck to all contestants and thank you for your support of your golf association.  Your expressions of thanks to the staff of the host club and rules volunteers are always appreciated!

Airline

For those considering flying, United has direct jet service to Salina. Other airport options include Wichita (90 miles) and Manhattan (American Airlines) 60 miles.

2023 Legend Honoree:  Natasha "Tash" Matson Fife

If your daddy is a golf pro and a four-time winner of the Kansas Amateur  (1932, '33, '36, '37) it is probably inevitable that you would take an interest in golf. And if you were recognized as an "up and comer" by the USGA, so much so that, as a 14 year-old, you receive a special invitation to play in the US  Women's  Open in your home town, well, that's pretty special, too.
 

But, to be on-hand at that event, as an eye witness, when the best women professional golfers in America joined hands to form the Ladies Professional Golf Association, well, that's got to leave an indelible mark on a young girl.
 

To be in the company of players like the Bauer sisters, Patty Berg, Helen Dettweiler, Helen Hicks, Kansas City's own Opal Hill, Betty Jameson, Shirley Spork, Louise Suggs, "Babe" Zaharias and Wichita’s Marilynn Smith... what a thrill that must have been.
 

Natasha Matson and another young Wichitan by the name of Judy Bell were there when the LPGA was founded at Rolling Hills in 1950. Bell went on to an incredible career as a three-time Kansas Women's Amateur Champion, Curtis Cup team member (and twice-captain), and as the first woman to serve as President of the USGA. Bell has been inducted into five Halls of Fame.
 

The then-14 year-old, Natasha Matson would earn her bones, too. She won the Kansas Women's Amateur five times between 1956 and 1962 when the event ended with a 36 hole match play final.
 

She won the Wichita city Championship seven times and added three Broadmoor Invitational Championships (1959, '61, '63) to her resume before putting her golf career "on ice" to raise her two daughters.
 

After more than a ten-year hiatus from competition, she returned with a vengeance to take home seven KWGA Senior Championships. Ms. Matson -- now "Tash" Fife -- played in five USGA Women's Amateurs, making the quarter finals when it was held in Tulsa in 1960. That year the USGA had Tash ranked among the Top-10 in both the Women's- and Senior Women's- Amateurs in the country.
 

Tash began teaching Physical Education at Wichita State in 1959 and a decade later was instrumental in creating a separate women's athletics program and establishing the "varsity era" of women's sports at WSU. In 1974 she was named the school's first Director of Women's Intercollegiate Athletics. After Title IX was established, the men's and women's programs eventually merged and Fife continued as Associate Athletic Director until 1984. She retired from WSU with "Emeritus" status in 1998.
 

More than 70 years after she had that first taste of competitive golf, Tash continues  her efforts to "grow the game" in any way she can. A scholarship in her name goes to members of the WSU Women's Golf Team honoring her dedication to the game and her continuing efforts to influence future generations of female golfers.
 

She is an inductee into three Halls of Fame: The Kansas Golf Foundation Hall of Fame (1993), The Kansas Sports Hall of Fame (2006) and the Shocker Sports Hall of Fame (2018).
 

The Tournament Committee of the Legends of Kansas Championship has previously honored Johnny Stevens and Dave Dennis in our first two years of existence. This year we are proud to add Natasha "Tash" Matson Fife to the Hall of Legends.

Past Legends Honoree's:

• 2021 - Johnny Stevens, Wichita
• 2022 - David Dennis, Independence (award accepted by David's son Bo)
• 2023 - Natasha Fife