Each year, golfers from around the country and internationally gather to compete on a stage that shares a history unlike any other golf tournament.
The Skyview Golf Association was founded and Incorporated in 1959 as a 501(c)4 nonprofit organization in an effort to promote golf competition among African American golfers locally and throughout the United States. It was also intended as a stepping-stone to groom African American golfers for the Professional Golf Association (PGA) tour.
In 1960, the very first Skyview Tournament was an all-African American event with 50 participants. The next year Asheville pediatrician Dr. Robert McDuffie and another White man were welcomed to play in the Skyview Golfers Pro/Am Golf Tournament. Their participation opened the door for all people to enter, and the tournament has grown consistently each year.
This tournament attracts thousands of golfers from all cultures and nationalities, plus families, friends, and onlookers to Asheville and Buncombe County. Numerous African American celebrities and golf professionals have participated in the Skyview Open, including Lee Elder, Jim Dent, Jim and Chuck Thorpe, John Brooks Dendy, Harold Varner III, and even World Boxing Champion Joe Louis.
Since 1991, the Billy E. P. Gardenhight Scholarship Fund has also awarded more than $180,000 in scholarships to deserving students from low-income and underserved neighborhoods. The Skyview Pro/Am Golf Tournament is Western North Carolina’s oldest golf tournament.
Tournament Information
The 62nd annual tournament will be hosted July 12-14 at the Asheville-Buncombe Municipal Golf Course. “Muni,” as it known, was designed by world-renowned designer Donald Ross. Purses for the professional division purses range from $6,000 for the winner to $600 for 16th place.
For more information, and to register, visit www.skyviewgolfasheville.com. You may also call Rev. Theodore Pea at (828) 231-5416 or Alvin McGahee at (828) 275-6165 for more details about the tournament.
