{"id":389598,"date":"2025-11-19T09:18:23","date_gmt":"2025-11-19T09:18:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/389598\/"},"modified":"2025-11-19T09:18:23","modified_gmt":"2025-11-19T09:18:23","slug":"springfield-golfer-raising-money-during-national-championship-run","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/389598\/","title":{"rendered":"Springfield golfer raising money during national championship run"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cIt\u2019s really cool just to honor Team Ohio and be a part of this,\u201d Zitzner said. \u201cGoing to the national championship is just really cool.\u201d<\/p>\n

The group of nine golfers ages 10 to 13 will partner with PGA REACH Southern Ohio, the section\u2019s 501(c)(3) foundation dedicated to supporting veterans, youth and underserved communities through golf, during the national championship in Texas.<\/p>\n

Chaz\u2019s father Brad Zitzner said he\u2019s looking forward to the golfers having \u201ca chance to get excited together.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of the things I\u2019m excited about is to get the word out that PGA REACH exists,\u201d Brad Zitzner said. \u201cI think that people should know that if golf is something they want to get into and they don\u2019t have the financial resources that PGA REACH can help make that happen. So they provide lessons, grants for lessons. They provide clubs, and in some cases, bags, so hopefully they can capture kids who really want to get into golf that otherwise couldn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n

Team Ohio is asking for monetary pledges for every birdie made during the national championship to be donated benefitting PGA REACH Southern Ohio.<\/p>\n

According to a release<\/a>, \u201cwith four two-player teams competing over 36 holes, the group expects to make between 50 and 65 birdies, with each one turning into a donation toward programs that remove barriers to the game.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery birdie we make will help someone right here in Southern Ohio,\u201d head coach Chris Yoder stated in a release. \u201cOur kids are not only great players, they\u2019re learning how golf can be a force for good.\u201d<\/p>\n

Chaz Zitzner said preparation for the national championship began when Team Ohio qualified in September.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re playing on the simulator a lot as a team,\u201d Chaz Zitzner said. \u201cWe\u2019ve done a lot of playing with our partner and just getting more team chemistry with them, and just practicing a lot with the team.\u201d<\/p>\n

In addition to competing for a national championship, Team Ohio wants to extend its community outreach.<\/p>\n

\"Springfield's<\/p>\n

Credit: Kieran Cleeves\/Augusta National<\/p>\n

\"icon<\/p>\n

Credit: Kieran Cleeves\/Augusta National<\/p>\n

With each donation, initiatives such as \u201cClubs Fore Kids,\u201d which provides new golf equipment to students in need, and PGA HOPE Southern Ohio, which introduces golf to veterans and active duty military, will benefit.<\/p>\n

Chaz Zitzner said he enjoys volunteering and giving back to others through the game of golf.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe also volunteer at Nationwide Children\u2019s Hospital,\u201d Chaz Zitzner said. \u201cWe set up like mini-golf courses and stuff, and when kids walk by we kind of get them and teach them how to play golf and it\u2019s really cool.\u201d<\/p>\n

The national championship represents the latest challenge in Chaz Zitzner\u2019s young golf career. It also symbolizes what the game means to him.<\/p>\n

For Team Ohio, the PGA Jr. League National Championship will give them a chance to compete on a national stage while making an impact at home.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s awesome for this opportunity,\u201d Chaz Zitzner said. \u201cHopefully make a lot of birdies and donate a lot of money.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201cIt\u2019s really cool just to honor Team Ohio and be a part of this,\u201d Zitzner said. \u201cGoing to…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":389599,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[47],"tags":[1444,59618,185562,185563,27229,1430,1442,1571,62,1443,67,132,68],"class_list":{"0":"post-389598","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-golf","8":"tag-1444","9":"tag-augusta","10":"tag-chip-and-putt-national-finals","11":"tag-dcp","12":"tag-drive","13":"tag-golf","14":"tag-masters","15":"tag-national","16":"tag-sports","17":"tag-tournament","18":"tag-united-states","19":"tag-unitedstates","20":"tag-us"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115575620110581837","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/389598","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=389598"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/389598\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/389599"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=389598"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=389598"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=389598"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}