ALUM BRINGING THE WORLD TO MISSISSIPPI

by Bill Wagnon
photos by Fred Faulk

George Bryan

For seven days this summer, the eyes of the sports world will focus on the Magnolia State. Just 20 miles up the road from the Mississippi State campus, 150 of the world's best golfers will converge on Old Waverly Golf Club May 31 to June 6 for the 54th U.S. Women's Open Golf Championship.

At stake for the golfers will be more than $1.5 million in prize money and the most coveted title in women's golf. Even more will be at stake for the state of Mississippi.

With 16 hours of live television coverage on ESPN and NBC broadcast to more than 75 countries around the world, the state's image is on the line.

No one knows this more than George Bryan, who is credited with bringing Mississippi its largest-ever sporting event. He understands the recognition that a successful U.S. Women's Open will bring to his hometown. He also understands the notoriety an unsuccessful event can bring to his home state.

"We feel like we can show the world that Mississippi, the Hospitality State, can step forward and put on a great event and attract people from all over the world to come here and see our state," said Bryan, who received his bachelor's degree in business from Mississippi State in 1966. "We want to show the world the Mississippi that we are all so proud of."

George Bryan is no stranger to women's golf. He is senior vice president of Sara Lee Corporation, sponsor of the Sara Lee Classic in Nashville, one of the Ladies Professional Golfer Association's most prestigious tournaments.

In 1986, Bryan, along with the support of 30 founding members, launched construction of Old Waverly Golf Club in West Point. The Jerry Pate and Bob Cupp-designed 18-hole championship course opened in 1988. Now, just 11 years later, the site of the last U.S. Women's Open of the 20th century is ranked as the No. 1 course in Mississippi and has twice been listed by Golf Digest magazine as one of the "100 Greatest Golf Courses in America."

Old Waverly is Mississippi's No. 1 ranked course.

Bryan used his association with the Sara Lee Classic to lure members of the LPGA tour to Old Waverly beginning in 1988 for an annual one-day affair to raise money for a local children's home. Eight years later, he began entertaining thoughts of something larger for his course.

"The women were giving us favorable comments on the course and they loved playing it," said Bryan. "So we started thinking about a major event; we started thinking about the Women's Open as a possibility because it moves to a new course every year."

He first approached the United States Golf Association, which sponsors the U.S. Women's Open, in 1995. At the time, the 2000 championship was available. The USGA makes site decisions five years in advance.

Bryan made a pitch to host in 2000, but while the Old Waverly course generally was considered ready for such a major championship, the USGA wasn't so sure that Mississippi was ready.

MSU alumnus Wilkes Bryan, the general manager at Old Waverly, believes the Women's Open attendance record is within reach.

"We made a brief presentation, but they didn't think much of it at the time," explained Bryan. "They did say that our proposal had promise, and they invited us to the 1996 Women's Open in Colorado Springs to make a proposal to the site committee."

In competition with four or five other potential sites, Bryan's group began to work on another presentation. They decided that contrary to initial concerns, the rural location of West Point would indeed be Old Waverly's strength.

"We found that opens weren't always as successful in urban areas like Chicago and Atlanta and Dallas where there was a lot of competition for things to do," Bryan explained. "They (USGA) had an idea they wanted to go out into the rural areas of the country and try to host some events to see if they could attract people and create a different atmosphere. And we were successful."

Bryan credits part of the success of luring the event to West Point on strong support from the state of Mississippi in marketing dollars and agreeing to make nearly $5 million in improvements to the road system around West Point and Old Waverly.

"The state stepped forward and helped us put together a package because they realized the value of having 16 to 20 hours of world television on the state," said Bryan. "They stepped up to the plate. They were there when we made the presentation and that made a big impact."

Old Waverly originally was chosen for the 2000 U.S. Women's Open, but because of a conflict with the 1999 site in Libertyville, Ill., it became necessary to choose between 1999 and 2001.

"We wanted 1999 over 2001 because we liked the fact that it was the last year of the millenium, but it cut a year off of our preparation time," Bryan explained.

MSU graduate Bill Colloredo has been the course superintendent at Old Waverly since construction began.

The Bruno Event Team out of Birmingham was hired to run the championship at Old Waverly. With less than two months before the world's best golfers arrive, everything appears to be in place, says Karen Cheshire, championship director and a member of the Bruno Team.

"Preparation is going extremely well," noted Cheshire, who has worked two previous major golf championships. "The plans are in place. We will use the remainder of the time to implement the plans and fine tune each detail."

Most of the initial concerns about holding such a major event in rural Mississippi have been resolved.

Parking. "The USGA said we needed parking for 8,000 cars and we can accommodate 12,000," said Cheshire, who added that unlike last year's Women's Open held at Blackwolf Run Golf Club in rural Kohler, Wis., the parking at Old Waverly will be on-site, allowing spectators to walk to the course instead of riding shuttle buses.

Accommodations. "The misconception was that there is insufficient housing," said Cheshire, who established a housing bureau to help accommodate visitors. She said that most rooms in West Point were reserved for the golfers and championship officials, but that rooms still were available in nearby Starkville, Columbus, and Tupelo.

Weather. "The USGA moved the event up one month from July to help some with the weather," Bryan said.

Some 1,500 volunteers will help the Women's Open run smoothly.

Volunteers. Some 1,500 volunteers are needed to help with things ranging from parking to player registration to scoring to course evacuation. "We already have 1,200 volunteers from 22 states, including as far away as New York and North Dakota," noted Cheshire. The volunteers will fill spots on 27 committees.

Transportation. In addition to the new road system, Delta and Northwest airlines will fly larger aircraft in and out of the Golden Triangle Regional Airport before and after the championship. Normally only commuter planes fly into the area.

Bryan and his group have been thorough in making sure that Mississippi is ready for the 54th Women's Open. Bryan has been to four straight U.S. Women's Opens, and he took a group of 30 to last year's event in Kohler, Wis., won in a sudden death playoff by Se Ri Pak of Seoul, Korea.

"Since 1995, George and Marcia Bryan have attended the U.S. Women's Open to gather ideas and information to make this year's championship the best," said Betse Hamilton, the USGA's director of women's championships. "They tried to find what worked and what didn't.

"I think that the players, officials, media, and out-of-state spectators will be impressed by the hospitality of this area," she added. "Personally, I'm very excited for the people unfamiliar with Mississippi to get the opportunity to come here and experience Southern hospitality at its finest. Although there is still work to be done, we're on schedule and West Point is ready."

Among the work yet to be done is ticket sales, which is the main focus now of those preparing for championship week. Attracting a large turnout has been a main concern since Old Waverly was selected as the 1999 host site.

"We want to prove that the state of Mississippi and the South can more than handle what we have been so graciously given," said Cheshire.

"Our concern is getting a big turnout," echoed Bryan. "That was the USGA's major concern, could we get the crowds into Mississippi that they had at the last three opens, which each attracted well over 100,000. And we told them that we could. We hope we can make that statement stand."

The Mississippi championship already has set Women's Open records for corporate supporters and for advertisements sold for the souvenir program. Breaking the attendance record of 109,000 set last year at Blackwolf Run is within reach.

"Ticket sales are on target," said 1995 Mississippi State interdisciplinary studies graduate Wilkes Bryan, son of George and general manager of Old Waverly. "Activity is picking up. The record is achievable, and we think we can set it here.

"We need people lining the fairways all week long," he added. "This is the first time Mississippi has had an opportunity to show it can do something of this magnitude, and we want to show that we can do it well."

Ticket orders already have been received from 32 states, including California, Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, Oregon, and Pennsylvania.

When the spectators arrive and when the television lights go on, there will be no mistaking where the tournament is being held. George Bryan and his crew are giving the 54th U.S. Women's Open a distinct Mississippi flavor.

A "Mississippi Homecoming" event during the week will bring home 30 of the state's most recognized celebrities. A Mississippi Block Party in downtown West Point following Saturday's (June 5) play will feature nationally and locally known bands playing Mississippi music. Mississippi companies will set up booths to display their products and services.

Bryan's wife, Marcia, who is his co-chair for the championship, is coordinating a Mississippi Pavilion tent at the front entrance that will feature the wares of the state's finest artisans and craftsmen during the week.

"It's a coming home to Mississippi event," said George Bryan. "Mississippi is famous for certain arts and crafts and we want to showcase those to the fans and to the world."

The 54th U.S. Women's Open also has a distinct Mississippi State University flavor. Bill Colloredo has been the course superintendent at Old Waverly since construction began. The 1982 graduate of Mississippi State's Sports and Turf Management program believes that Old Waverly is ready for its first major.

"We feel good about the course," said Colloredo. "We got the Open for what Old Waverly was, not what it could be. We just had to prepare the course for Open play."

Colloredo said the biggest challenge will be the construction projects that await in May, including corporate tents, concession stands, scoreboards, and television camera stands. The second biggest challenge, if not the biggest, he says, is the weather.

"It will be hot, but not like the end of June," Colloredo noted. "Everybody who has hosted such an event has told us that if the weather is good, then it will be a very fun week. If thunderstorms come through, then that's when we will really have to kick it in."

TICKET INFORMATION To order tickets for the 54th U.S. Women's Open Golf Championship, call 662-495-1999 or toll-free 1-888-495-1999. Tickets for the practice rounds, May 31 to June 2, are $10 per day. Championship round tickets, June 3 to June 6, are $18 per day. Season passes for the entire week are $75 each. Through the "Kids Get a Front Seat" promotion, children 15 and under are admitted free daily when accompanied by a paying adult. The front rows in all on-course grandstands will be reserved throughout the championship for children.

Colloredo will have ample help on the course during the championship. His staff will grow from 28 to near 60 during championship week. Most will be volunteers, including many of the turf management majors at Mississippi State.

Jon Crane graduated from Mississippi State's Professional Golf Management program in 1998. The university is home to one of only four Professional Golfers' Association-sanctioned PGM programs in the country, where students learn about inventory control and retail sales in addition to golf.

"We are in charge of merchandising for the championship, including a 6,000-square-foot tent, a satellite tent on the course, and the golf shop, said Crane, assistant golf professional at Old Waverly the past three years.

"We expect to bring in more than $600,000 in sales during the week. The game of golf is a lot more of a business than just golf itself. And that's something you learn through the PGM program's marketing degree."

Crane will have several PGM students working the merchandising areas during the championship.

Mississippi State also is supporting the championship by providing vans for transportation during championship week; housing volunteers and support staff in campus residence halls; creating detailed maps of the Old Waverly course using a global positioning system to help make grounds keeping more effective; designing mixers for the course's main lake that will evenly mix the cold and warm lake water during summer rains to more effectively distribute the oxygen in the water and prevent fish kill; developing an activity plan to help the Old Waverly course superintendent know the optimum work times and locations for grounds personnel; creating and maintaining the championship's world wide web site; promoting the event through various means, including announcements at sporting events; distributing ticket information through athletic mailings; and sponsoring a Vince Gill/Patty Loveless concert in Humphrey Coliseum on Friday night, June 4, among other things.

For seven days this summer, West Point, Miss., will be the dateline on thousands of newspaper articles and will be the lead-in of television sports reports around the world. Some 100,000 spectators will converge on the Golden Triangle area of West Point, Starkville, and Columbus, and millions more will be watching on television. More than 400 media representatives are expected. The economic impact to the area is anticipated to top $15 million. George Bryan has brought the world's most prestigious women's golf championship to Mississippi. And he hopes that Mississippi lives up to its theme of "The South's Warmest Welcome."

"It was a matter of pride in the state of Mississippi more than anything," said Bryan. "We wanted to bring a major event to our state, where we are all proud to be from, and to hopefully give the world an image of our state that can help future growth."

Very seldom are major golf championships played in the Deep South. This is a first for Mississippi. George Bryan's No. 1 goal from the beginning was to show the rest of the world what Mississippi could accomplish. He appears to be on target. And if he's successful this time, more such ventures could follow.

"Obviously we want to put on a very successful U.S. Women's Open," said Bryan. "If we do that, we will sit down a year from now and say, 'What can we do next? What is the next step for Old Waverly?'"

You can find the U.S. Women's Open Championship website at http://www.99uswomensopen.org.