‘We’re more than a golf tournament’: Wichita Open celebrates 30th anniversary

The Wichita Open is celebrating its 30th anniversary this summer and kicked off its 2019 lead-up to next month’s tournament on Tuesday at the Wichita Boathouse by donating a commemorative flag, autographed by past tournament champions, to the Kansas Sports Hall of Fame.

The Web.com Tour event, which began in 1990 as the Ben Hogan Reflection Open, has continued to soar in popularity, according to tournament director Roy Turner. The tournament, which runs June 20-23, is expected to generate a record-high $7 million in economic impact for Wichita, while also raising nearly a quarter of a million dollars for charity.

“I hope it never stops,” Turner said of the growth. “The town gets more and more excited about it each and every year and we’re looking to grow it every year. Now if Mother Nature will be kind to us this year and keep the rain away, we’re going to have one hell of a tournament.”

After drawing more than 48,000 attendees in 2018, Turner said the Wichita Open is expecting to surpass those numbers this summer. The tournament is also anticipating a record number of people at the No. 17 green, as they have expanded the tents and according to Turner, have been sold out of tickets since January.

It’s creating that type of environment that has been critical to the tournament’s success.

“We’re much more than just a golf tournament,” Turner said. “We’re an event. We bring people out there because we’re the place to be and we’re the place to have fun. I try to make it a tournament I would want to go to. I want to have a good time and help raise money for charity and that’s what we’ve created.”

Rick Nuckolls has been around the tournament since its inception and has marveled at its growth.

Wichita’s event is one of only four original Tour events that remains.

“Who would have believed when we started this thing, 30 years later it’s still going to be going and we’re the No. 1 event on Tour and only one of four left?” Nuckolls said. “It’s a great tribute to the people of Wichita and the sponsors and Roy Turner for making this happen.”

The schedule of events can be viewed at WichitaOpen.com. There is a charity tournament played on June 13, a 30th anniversary birthday dash on Jun 15, a League 42 golf tournament on June 16, and Pro-am events on June 17-19 in addition to the tournament.