The Veteran Golfers Association (VGA) will host its National Championship in Biloxi, Mississippi from September 18 to 21 at Fallen Oak, located at the Beau Rivage Resort & Casino.
Fallen Oak Golf Association Hosts the 2023 Veteran Golfers Association Championship
The Tom Fazio-designed championship course is usually reserved exclusively for guests of MGM Resort International's renowned Beau Rivage Resort & Casino. This tournament features a field of regional winners that qualified over the course of the year for the opportunity to play for the title.
For the VGA, the 2023 season-ending event will showcase the determination and accomplishments of the players and their families. Wounded veterans and Purple Heart recipients will make up nearly half of the field. Competitors range from enlisted personnel to three-star generals, spanning from the Korean War to Post 9/11 veterans.
The field features 94 players, advancing from four regional championships, that will compete for a coveted Red Jacket. This Red Jacket is ceremoniously awarded to the overall male and female VGA National Champions from four divisions of competition: Male Veteran, Female Veteran, Combat Wounded (Purple Heart) and Family Member. Each division contains four flights of competitors as determined by their handicap index.
For the players, the opportunity to travel and compete for the VGA National Championship is an honor in itself, as the season encompassed 1,100 tournaments for over 19,000 VGA members from 49 states over an eight-month period. Since VGA's founding in 2014, the organization has hosted over 3,500 golf tournaments and more than 200,000 rounds of golf nationwide for Veterans and their family members.
"Fallen Oak and Beau Rivage are honored to be the destination of choice for this year's VGA National Championship," says Beau Rivage President and COO Brandon Dardeau.
"Hosting an event like this is another way for us to show appreciation for the extraordinary sacrifices of the brave men and women who have served our country. This is more than just golf, it's about camaraderie, sportsmanship and competition on our award-winning course. We could not be more excited to welcome them back to Coastal Mississippi," says Dardeau.
"The VGA utilizes golf as an alternative therapeutic activity, offering Veterans and their families an impactful way to connect and compete on the golf course," says VGA President and CEO Joshua Peyton, a retired Army Captain and Army Ranger.
Veterans Golfers Association
VGA membership is open to all U.S. veterans, wounded, non-wounded, disabled, active duty and retired. Also welcome are their family members, who must be at least 18 years of age. More information is available at www.vgagolf.org.
The 2023 VGA Championship opening ceremonies will be on Monday, September 18, at 8:30 a.m. and will feature a parachute demonstration. The public is encouraged to attend the championship and cheer on the troops.
