The second Folds of Honor Collegiate golf tournament will be held next month at American Dunes Golf Club in Grand Haven, and this year, it will also be broadcast on GOLF Channel.
The tournament will involve 18 schools from across the country, including two Historically Black Colleges and Universities, three service academies and other schools with big golf programs.
It will also highlight Folds of Honor recipients at each university. Folds of Honor provides scholarships to children and spouses of fallen or disabled service members.
“As a former college golfer at the University of Kansas and F16 fighter pilot, my heart is on fire to host a college tournament that raises funds for Folds of Honor and features a field like no other in college golf,” Folds of Honor Founder and CEO Lt. Col. Dan Rooney said in a statement. “We have the privilege of hosting all three service academies, two HBCUs, and several of the preeminent powerhouses in college golf.”
The competition will be played from Sept. 4-6 with all three rounds airing on TV, and there will be a College-Am on Sunday, Sept. 3 followed by a welcome party and appearance by American Dunes designer and legendary golfer Jack Nicklaus.
Each team will carry a bag honor tag that represents Folds of Honor recipients at each of their schools. The organization will award over 9,000 scholarships this fall, and has awarded over 1,500 scholarships at the schools playing in this year's collegiate.
American Dunes opened in May 2021 and is the vision of Rooney, with 100% of the profits from American Dunes going to Folds of Honor. Each of the 18 holes features two plaques: One stone honors each of Nicklaus' 18 majors; the other features a story of a fallen service member. At 1 p.m. every day, the course pauses and "Taps" is played and a bell rings 13 times, signifying the 13 folds on a folded American flag to its triangular shape.
Michigan State and Florida State are the host schools along with the Golf Coaches Association of America.
The schools participating are:
- Air Force
- Arizona
- Arkansas
- Army
- Florida A&M
- Florida State
- Grand Valley State (Div. II school qualified via 2022 Folds of Honor Challenge)
- Howard University
- Indiana
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Memphis
- Michigan State
- Navy
- NC State
- Notre Dame
- Oregon State
- South Carolina
“We are so proud to co-host the Folds of Honor Collegiate and we look forward to the opportunity to promote Folds of Honor and the best of collegiate golf at the prestigious American Dunes Golf Club,” Michigan State Men's Golf Coach Casey Lubahn said in a statement. “As we kick off another exciting season, I hope that the fans, television viewers, and everyone involved will feel gratitude and pride for America’s heroes who have done so much for this country while watching the extremely talented players from these institutions. It is sure to be a special event.”
