Maridoe Golf Club is ready for an encore.
After raising more than $20,000 for its caddies during last month’s Maridoe Samaritan Fund Invitational, the Carrollton, Texas, club is planning a second tournament. The May 19-21 event, called the MSFI 2.0, will feature an even better field than the first, too, with major winner Jordan Spieth headlining the list of competitors.
Other names in the 76-player field include defending champion Scottie Scheffler, Viktor Hovland, Abraham Ancer, Ryan Palmer, Doc Redman, Beau Hossler, Austin Cook, former Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo, reigning U.S. Amateur runner-up John Augenstein and defending U.S. Junior winner Preston Summerhays.
“It's very easy to see that we're able to do this in a social-distancing kind of way and most importantly be able to raise money for the caddies out here so that they can get through these tough times until we can get back to normal,” Spieth said after the inaugural fundraiser, which he played in the final day as a marker. “We had fun in the same process of being able to kind of help out, and all in all, that's a win-win for all.”
The list of competitors also features more than a dozen of the best college golfers in the country, including Augenstein, Pepperdine's Sahith Theegala and Oklahoma State's Austin Eckroat. This was made possible by the NCAA, which on Friday made an exception to a recent COVID-19-related ruling that prevented college players from playing until the scheduled end of the spring season, which, of course, was canceled in March.
Many collegians, including Eckroat, played in Maridoe's first event and were unaware of the rule at the time. Eckroat, who was low amateur at the tournament, and Oklahoma's Quade Cummins were then forced to withdraw from another event just days later at Oak Tree National. But now, thanks to the NCAA's decision, it appears there will be no issues moving forward.
Scheffler won last month’s tournament, beating Will Zalatoris by a shot. Hovland, who finished third, was one of the strongest pushers for a second event, saying, "I'm coming for you, Scottie."
After Scheffler donated his entire $9,000 first-place check to Maridoe's caddies, this month's winner will have $10,000 to give to the charity of his choice.
The PGA Tour is set to restart June 11 at Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, less than an hour from Maridoe.