While Mother Nature may have technically won Monday’s Pro-Am event at the West Virginia Open Championship (WV Open), hosted by the West Virginia Golf Association (WVGA) at the Pete Dye Golf Club in Bridgeport, W. Va., Tuesday saw an outstanding event for the Coca-Cola Shootout.
Defending 2020 WV Open champion Kenny Hess took top honors in the 2021 Coca-Cola Shootout, edging out Wheeling’s Thadd Obecny. “It’s great to win this,” Hess said. “The support of Coke for this event over the last 23 years has been remarkable.”
Participants included the top five professional finishers and the top five amateur finishers from the 2020 WV Open, presented by WVU Medicine. The final participant was the host club’s professional. The 2021 Coca-Cola Shootout field included amateurs Pat Carter, David Scragg, Nick Fleming, Owen Elliot and Christian Brand, plus professionals Cole Moore, David Bradshaw, Kenny Hess, Thadd Obecny, Will Evans and Pete Dye Golf Club Director of Golf Chris McGinnis.
“Golf is a sport enjoyed by people of all ages and we love to support healthy lifestyles for our consumers,” said Chris Estep, area sales manager for Coca-Cola Consolidated. “We’ve been associated with the WVGA for more than 20 years and they’ve given us a great way to support the game and our consumers.”
“As a first-time host professional, it was my pleasure to participate with such strong competitors,” McGinnis said. “It was also an outstanding opportunity to work with such great sponsors as Coca-Cola and WVU Medicine.”
In addition to WVU Medicine and Coca Cola, other event sponsors throughout the week include: Advantage Occupational Medicine, Arsenal Resources, Encova Insurance and Yes Chevrolet.
For those wishing to watch the action in person during the week, the public is welcome each day and there is no charge for admission. To keep track of daily scores, visit wvga.org.
For more information please visit wvga.org.
About the West Virginia Golf Association (WVGA): Founded in 1913, the West Virginia Golf Association is dedicated to promoting and preserving the game of golf in West Virginia. It is our privilege to protect and share the rich history of golf in West Virginia through the West Virginia Golf Hall of Fame. We serve as a central source of information for our Member Clubs and generally represent the United States Golf Association (USGA) through administering the USGA Handicap System and Course/Slope Rating System, conducting qualifying rounds and overseeing amateur status matters. We introduce elementary school children to golf and safety, core values and healthy habits through the First Tee of West Virginia and develop young players through our Callaway Junior Rookie League and Callaway Junior Tour events for boys and girls under 18. We host one-day events and tournaments, which highlight the best amateur and professional golfers in the state, throughout the season for men, women, juniors and seniors. We encourage people of all ages to pursue and benefit from the opportunities for competition, camaraderie and health offered by the sport of golf. Our membership consists of 85 Member Clubs and over 11,000 individual golfers throughout the state of West Virginia.
