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Seniors PGA Event Signals Return Of Professional Golf To Ventura County

Professional golfer Duffy Waldorf gives reporters, fans tips on chip shots during an event announcing details of a new PGA tournament at Ventura County's Sherwood Country Club

Professional golfer Duffy Waldorf is standing on the edge of a green at Ventura County’s Sherwood Country Club, giving a group of reporters, and a handful of lucky fans a crash course on how to improve chip shots.

There’s a lot of excitement here at Sherwood, because professional golf is returning to the course, and the county for the first time in three years.

The Thousand Oaks will be home to the Powershares QQQ Tournament, part of a trio of tournaments which will decide the winner of the men’s professional golf senior tour.

Stewart Moore, with the PGA, says the new tournament will give golf fans in the region to see some top notch professionals in a close-up environment. The tournament, which will be telecast on the Golf Channel, will be a major showcase for Sherwood.

The event will not just be a golf lover’s fantasy, but a fundraiser for some local charities. Stephanie Hunter is with Sherwood Cares, a non-profit formed by country club members which has already given out about $150,000 to 15 local charities. Hunter says the hope is the tournament will help them do even more in the future.

Professional golfers like Duffy Waldorf say the Sherwood tournament should be a good show for golf fans. Waldorf says while he lives in the LA area, and has played Sherwood more than two dozen times, it’s still a challenging course.

The tournament is a capper to a year long, $10 million dollar plus update of the course, which was designed by legendary golfer Jack Nicholas. Nicholas oversaw the update to the facility.

The Powershares QQQ event has a three year deal with Sherwood, for tournaments in 2016, 2017, and 2018. This year’s tournament will take place October 28th-30th.

Lance Orozco has been News Director of KCLU since 2001, providing award-winning coverage of some of the biggest news events in the region, including the Thomas and Woolsey brush fires, the deadly Montecito debris flow, the Borderline Bar and Grill attack, and Ronald Reagan's funeral.