By MIKE HUTSELL
After 13 years of memories at Covered Bridge Golf Club, Fuzzy Zoeller announced on Thursday he will move the annual Magnolia Health Systems Wolf Challenge to Indianapolis.
“Wow, it’s been a great run,” said Zoeller. “But it got to the point where we had trouble topping the previous year in terms of talent. Each year we said, ‘ok, how do we top that wolf group? They’ve seen everybody.’”
Over the 13-years of the event, the Wolf Challenge has raised more than $1.5 million for children’s charities in Kentuckiana.
“We will need to partner with some children’s (charities) in Indianapolis, but we will certainly do our best to continue supporting local Kentuckiana charities as well,” said Zoeller.
No location in Indianapolis has been selected, but Fuzzy Zoeller Productions President and COO Dave Lobeck sees the switch as an opportunity for growth. Lobeck noted the change in location could lead to the event being televised and included on the Champion’s Tour.
“After a long period of time, change can be good for an event,” said Dave Lobeck, President & COO of Fuzzy Zoeller Productions, Inc. “As the years went by and we took notice of who was buying tournament tickets, and we noticed that we had just as much support from Indianapolis golf fans as Louisville golf fans, which speaks highly of Indianapolis golf fans. Moving the event to Indianapolis could also create some unique opportunities to make ‘The Wolf Challenge’ a televised event on The Champions Tour schedule starting in 2011, contingent of course on Indianapolis sponsorship support.”
Zoeller thanked those that made the Wolf a success — notably the thousands of event volunteers.
“I can't tell you how much we appreciate the support and effort we have received over the years from our volunteers,” said Zoeller. “I am told a number of them plan on helping us in Indianapolis, which is great. We also have some great sponsors from our area who plan on continuing their support of The Wolf Challenge.”
— Sports Editor Mike Hutsell
