The 13th annual Perry Golf and Country Club Memorial Golf Tournament will honor longtime PHS coach Gene Sturtz, who passed away in 2011 after a long and courageous battle with cancer.
The annual tournament, set this year for Sunday, July 5, honors a former member of the PGCC who has passed away.
Born in Boone in 1945, Sturtz was an outstanding athlete in basketball and baseball at Grand Community High School. He graduated from Simpson College, where he continued his sports career.
He married Sonja Stark, his high school sweetheart, in 1965.
Sturtz began a successful 33-year career in teaching and coaching, including his last 29 years in the Perry Community School District. He had a huge impact on young people, whether it was in his PE classes or coaching basketball and other sports at PHS. He loved to help kids learn the games of basketball, golf, softball and baseball.
Sturtz also was a member of the Perry Golf and Country Club’s Board of Directors for a number of years. He is credited with implementing the senior tees being at the PGCC (gold tees) in order to make the game more enjoyable for older golfers. He also was a volunteer coach for the junior golf program at the PGCC.
The late Gene Sturtz will be honored before the championship nine holes are played at the tournament. The public is invited to the event or to play in the tournament. There will be an open division, senior division (age 50-69) and a super senior division (age 70 and up).
Last year’s tournament champion was Nick Luett, who shattered the tournament record by shooting a 9 under par total of 65 and 34.