CENTER VALLEY, Pa. — Penn State Lehigh Valley hosted its largest golf outing to date at its sixth annual golf tournament on Monday, June 4, at Northampton Country Club in Easton. In all, 110 golfers participated in support of student scholarships at the campus. The event raised enough money to endow the newly established Penn State Lehigh Valley Golf Tournament Open Doors Scholarship.

At the dinner following the golf scramble, Rich Fatzinger, Penn State Lehigh Valley athletic director, announced that moving forward the tournament will be named the “Penn State Lehigh Valley Howard Kulp Invitational Golf Tournament” in honor of Howard Kulp, a longtime donor and past chair of the Penn State Lehigh Valley Advisory Board.

"We wanted to show our appreciation and gratitude to Howard for his many years of service on our board and especially for his generosity in supporting our golf tournament and the many other initiatives on our campus," said Chancellor Tina Q. Richardson. "He has played a large part in the success of this tournament, which raises money for scholarships benefiting our students, and we thank him for his dedication."

The lead sponsors of the 2018 tournament included FC Steel, the Lehigh Valley’s newest premier soccer organization, which served as the title sponsor. Alvin H. Butz Inc. served as the on-course refreshment sponsor, and Fitzpatrick Lentz & Bubba P.C. served as the golf cart sponsor. For a full list of sponsors and corporate foursomes, visit the tournament webpage.

The 2018 co-chairs for the tournament were Kassie Hilgert (class of 1997) and Mike Guman (class of 1980). Hilgert is president and CEO of ArtsQuest, one of the largest nonprofit arts organizations in Pennsylvania. Guman is a senior adviser consultant for the eastern Pennsylvania area for OppenheimerFunds. He starred as a member of the Nittany Lion football team before playing for the Los Angeles Rams from 1980 to 1988.

Both co-chairs spoke at the dinner.

“I used to think of Penn State as just University Park, but now since getting involved at Penn State Lehigh Valley, I realize how much the Lehigh Valley campus has going on and all of the great work going on there,” said Guman.

“Being a part of Penn State opens doors for you, just like it did for me,” said Hilgert. “Thanks to everyone for coming out to support the Penn State family at Penn State Lehigh Valley.”

The day began with breakfast and registration at 7 a.m., followed by shotgun start at 9 a.m. The foursomes played a scramble format with Yocco’s hot dogs and other refreshments offered on the course. Upon completing the round of golf, a cocktail hour was held followed by dinner and the awards program, which included a silent auction and raffle prizes.

First place for Flight I went to the Boyle Construction foursome: Ed Flowerdew, Derek Zerfass, Dave Kepler and Nick Damm. First place for Flight II went to the IronPigs foursome: Tom Bendetti, Ryan Hines, Chris Dunham Jr. and Brian DeAngelis. 

Prizes were offered for hole-in-ones at the fourth, sixth, 13th and 16th holes; closest to the pin on the 13th hole; the longest drive for men and the longest drive for women; a putting contest; a Pot O’ Gold of $250 at the 16th hole; and a greenie hole at the fourth.

For photos from the event, visit the Penn State Lehigh Valley Golf Tournament Flickr photo album.