DARIEN, Conn. (June 11, 2019) – The 97th Westchester Open Championship Presented by Callaway, hosted by the Country Club of Darien, crowned a champion Frank Bensel of Century Country Club. The birdie Bensel made on the 18th hole of a sudden-death playoff against Greg Bisconti of The Saint Andrews Golf Club was significant: it was a birdie that clinched the title and it was a birdie that will support an education.
In celebration of hosting this significant championship unique to the area, the altruistic and forward-thinking leadership of the Country Club of Darien initiated an additional way to give back to the game. During the three-days of championship play there stood a tee sign behind the 18th green and in front of the bleachers upon which many local golf enthusiasts watched the top players from Westchester finish their rounds.
The sign read: “Birdie for their Future!”
For every birdie made on the 18th hole during play of the Open, the Country Club of Darien pledged to make a donation the Westchester Golf Association Caddie Scholarship Fund. Frank Bensel’s winning bird rounded out the count; as a result, Mrs. Betsey Haggerty-Ross, President of The Country Club of Darien, presented WGACSF Senior Director, Johanna Gavin, with a check in the amount of $3,500.
With this contribution, the Club will support a scholarship award for a deserving caddie or young person who works in “service to golf” from the Country Club of Darien. For the 2019-20 academic year, there are six young men from CCD who are receiving a scholarship from the Fund.
The Country Club of Darien is also the host club of the annual Christopher C. Hickey Invitational which directly benefits the Christopher C. Hickey Memorial Scholarship, a named award at the WGACSF.
The Country Club of Darien has demonstrated, again, why it is an exemplary leader in the Metropolitan Area.
