THOMASVILLE — With big drives and putts sometimes rolling just past the edges of the cups, 116 golfers spread out among 29 teams played a round at Glen Arven Country Club on Monday, all for the Archbold Foundation.

Each team was matched up with a professional. The field of golfers included Mark Love, brother of former PGA Championship winner Davis Love III, and Sam Barrett, one of the highest-ranked junior amateurs. 

The proceeds from Monday’s Archbold Classic, now in its 25th year, will go toward scholarships, said Vann MIddelton, president of the Archbold Foundation. 

“It will help fund scholarships for those students looking to pursue a degree in a health care-related field,” he said. 

The pros included David Morland IV, a two-time winner on what is now called the Korn Ferry Tour, and Paul Claxton, the first player to eclipse $1 million in earnings on the former Nationwide Tour and the two-time defending Georgia PGA Championship winner. Fellow pros Sonny Skinner and Craig Stevens, each a two-time Georgia PGA champ, were among those playing alongside their amateur brethren Monday at Glen Arven.

“It’s a testament to Thomasville and the golf course at Glen Arven. They love coming,” Middleton said.

The pros enjoy the course and event so much that Don Demsher “hardly has to make a phone call,” Middleton said.

“He usually gets texts before summertime,” he said. “We’re very blessed to have 29 pros out here and a really good amateur field as well. I think everyone is having fun.”

It’s not just Glen Arven’s history that draws such a field — the course is also in immaculate condition, Middleton pointed out.

“Bill Connally and his staff have been excellent to us every year,” Middleton said. “I think this is the best the course has looked in the six or seven years I’ve been out here running the tournament. It’s fantastic.”

For this fiscal year, the Archbold Foundation will provide Archbold Medical Center with $2.8 million, where it will support such efforts as programs and equipment purchases.

“The relationships that are made with these sponsors and these donors, those are lasting relationships,” Middleton said. “We’re very fortunate to have a platform like the Archbold Classic to showcase what our hospital is all about and what the foundation does.”

Editor Pat Donahue can be reached at (229) 226-2400 ext. 1806.