Whitakers golf tournament to benefit ECU transplant surgery program

The third annual Gene Watson Golf Tournament to benefit the transplant surgery fund at the Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University will be held May 17 at Hickory Meadows Golf Course in Whitakers.

The 18-hole captain’s choice event will have a shotgun start at 9 a.m. The entry fee is $60 per golfer or $240 per four-person team. The fee includes green fee, cart fee, lunch and other items. A $5,000 putting contest will also be held; it’s open to the public.

Tournament proceeds benefit the transplant fund for continued education and research for organ donation. Last year’s tournament raised approximately $6,600. The fund is administered by the ECU Medical & Health Sciences Foundation.

Watson, who built Hickory Meadows, received a kidney from his wife in 1998 and lived until 2002. Watson’s family hosts this tournament to promote awareness about the importance of organ donation as well as to raise funds for the transplant surgery fund.

Hickory Meadows is at 8983 N.C. 33 and is accessible via Exit 150 on Interstate 95. To register for the tournament, call 252-437-0591. More information is available online at www.hickorymeadows.com.