Published March 18, 2008 11:39 pm -
O-Tour picks up steam
By Kenton Brooks
Phoenix Sports Writer
Keith Coleman knows he’ll never get to play on the PGA Tour and that’s OK with him.
Coleman, the slowpitch softball coach at Muskogee High School, has found something that makes him feel like one of those professionals seen on TV every weekend. It’s called the O-Tour, or the Oklahoma Individual Golf Tour.
Based in Okay, the O-Tour is a series of tournaments throughout Oklahoma and continues monthly until October. Golfers compete in three flights — Championship, Contender, Senior — with handicaps along with a Scratch Division.
Coleman finished third in the Contender Flight at the tour’s first tournament at The Woods Golf Course in Coweta last Saturday.
“It’s as close to a PGA Tournament as I’ll ever get,” he said. “This is great for guys who love golf. Once I got done playing college sports, coaching and golf have been my competitive releases.
“The good thing about this is that you’re not in a four- or three-man scramble. It’s you against the field. The only one you can blame is yourself. It’s fun. A couple of friends and myself joined. It’s right up our alley.”
Scott Ward, a McAlester native and an eight-year Muskogee resident came up with the ideal of the O-Tour. He’s the tour’s president.
“Like a bunch of guys, I was tired of playing in scrambles,” Ward said about starting the tour. “I’ve got a passion for golf that goes deep. My grandpa got me into it a long time ago. I was talking to a bunch of golf buddies and thought about it. I took the risk. This is a chance for golfers to be Tiger Woods for a day.
“The response to it has been very good. Our website (www.otourgolf.com) has exploded. There’s no other tour like this in Oklahoma. We’ve also got guys coming up from Arkansas and Texas to play in it and we’ll eventually get golfers from Missouri and Kansas. We want it to be the premiere tournament in this area.”
The tour plans to average two tournaments per month until October with a total of 19, including 15 one-day tourneys and three two-day major championships. A points system will be used for each golfer during the tour.
Flight winners at Coweta included Matt Poe of Franklin, Texas in the Championship, Casey Davis of Wilburton in the Contender and Stan Reyes of Duncan in the Senior.
The next tour stop is at the Stone Creek Golf Course at Tulsa’s Page Belcher Golf Club on Saturday, March 29.
Cherry Springs in Tahlequah on May 24 and the O-Tour Championship on Oct. 11-12 at Cobblestone Creek are the area courses to be used.