POWELL, OH – The Southern Ohio PGA, through the charitable PGA REACH Southern Ohio Foundation, is excited to announce the Play Yellow Birdie Bash has raised over $690,000 in support of Play Yellow, a program benefiting Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals (CMN Hospitals). 

The third annual event played on Tuesday, May 23, 2023 added $184, 008 to the previously raised $500,000 total. The funds raised specifically benefit CMN Hospitals in Columbus, Dayton & Cincinnati as well as PGA REACH Southern Ohio. 

“The Play Yellow Birdie Bash is all about community,” noted Southern Ohio PGA Executive Director Patrick Salva. “The goal of the Play Yellow Birdie Bash is to support our community through the game of golf. We made huge strides this year by uniting 1,000 individual donors behind our campaign. All of those people believe in the game and believe in our PGA Professionals. Our PGA Professionals excelled on the golf course to benefit the community; our three hospitals and our PGA REACH Southern Ohio Foundation.”

38 PGA professionals from Cincinnati, Dayton and Columbus gathered to play at Kinsale Golf & Fitness Club in Powell, OH to raise money by making as many birdies as possible throughout 72 holes of golf, playing the Doubles Golf format (two-person scramble). Over the past thirty days, players recruited pledges during the #30DaysofPlayYellow campaign from donors to contribute money for each birdie their team made in the Play Yellow Birdie Bash. Over 1,000 donors pledged anywhere from $2 to $50 per birdie to the third annual event.

The Play Yellow Birdie Bash is all about utilizing the game of golf to impact the community. PGA HOPE Southern Ohio Ambassador Kevin Farrell of the Columbus Chapter kicked off the 2023 event by hitting a ceremonial tee shot to begin play. Patient Champions from all three local CMN Hospitals cheered players on throughout the day while also reading putts on the greens to help teams make birdies and raise more funds. Brody Heinrich from Dayton Children’s Hospital and Cole Baughman from Cincinnati Children’s Hospital returned for their second Play Yellow Birdie Bash event; while new Patient Champions Aiden Fulton and Roman represented Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus. Southern Ohio PGA Junior Golfers also assisted teams throughout the day. Drive, Chip and Putt National Finalist and Boys 12-13 Drive Champion Harrison Young of Springfield, OH showed professionals the line down the fairway during the third round. The 2023 Southern Ohio PGA Jr. Golf Scholarship Recipients – Stephen Ma and Abbey Kittles – were recognized during the final round and showed off their on-course skills assisting professionals in making their final birdies. 

2023 Play Yellow Birdie Bash Team Results

54 – Andy Montgomery & Alex Brickley (Kinsale Golf & Fitness Club)

48 – Ryan Coll & Chase Wilson (Columbus Country Club) 

40 – Chad Gilligan (Losantiville CC) & Doug Wade (Sugar Valley GC)

38 – Taylor Suggs (Sharon Woods Golf Course) & Drew Muhich (The GC at Stoneline Hills)

38 – Ashley Thomas (GOLFTEC Blue Ash) & Mike Thomas (Sharon Woods Golf Course)

37 – Brian Jones & Jon Balyeat (Kenwood Country Club)

37 – Mike Stills & Ty Schobelock (Rattlesnake Ridge Golf Club)

34 – Dan Gage (Wedgewood G&CC) & Joey Glander (Brookside Country Club) 

34 – Bobby Sneed & Jimmy Andres (Wedgewood Golf and Country Club)

34 – Michell Creamer & Andrew Martin (Muirfield Village Golf Club)

33 – Ben Bastel & Justin Justin VanHeukelom (Worthington Hills Country Club)

32 – Chad Ammer &  Ian Prats (Maketewah Country Club)

31 – Joe Falardeau & Chris Yoder (Scioto Country Club)

31 – Dave MacLaughlin & Andrew Oxender (the GC at Little Turtle)

29 – Jeff McEldowney & Joe Stago (GOLFTEC – Dublin)

27 – Tom Bach (Sharon Woods Golf Course) & Brian Fennen (Golf Club at Yankee Trace)

26 – Jeff Olson & Krissy Austin (the Golf Club of Dublin)

22 – Jeff Grant & Rob Karnes (NCR Country Club)

20 – John Elking and Gip Hoagland (NCR Country Club)

It wasn’t just donors getting in on the fundraising. New to the SOPGA Play Yellow Birdie Bash was the Memorial Tournament PinPoint Challenge hosted by CapTech on Kinsale Golf & Fitness Club’s hole #17. Players had four attempts throughout the day to make a hole in one on the 17th hole. Teams that stuck their shots closest to the hole throughout the whole day had the opportunity to earn additional funds towards their fundraising goal at the end of the day. Scioto Country Club’s Joe Falardeau, PGA took the top earnings by sticking his final shot to 5 feet 8 inches from the hole. 

Funds generated from the event will go to the three Children’s Hospitals in the Southern Ohio Section – Nationwide Children’s Hospital, Cincinnati Children’s and Dayton Children’s Hospital – by way of the Children’s Miracle Network as well as PGA REACH Southern Ohio programs. Contributions to the Children’s Miracle Network will be presented to Play Yellow during a private check presentation on Wednesday at the Memorial Tournament. Funds raised for each hospital will be presented to their respective locations later in June.