Charity golf tournaments come and go but the Tapemark, which this year will be played June 10-12 at Southview Country Club in West St. Paul, has staying power. “I think it’s probably the oldest charity golf event in the country with the possible exception of the Bing Crosby,” Bob Jr. said.
The Tapemark is a golf tournament, not a glitzy show featuring the rich and famous. In that regard the tournament reflects the Klas family──low key, hard working and humble Minnesotans. “Almost all the other tournaments are designed around celebrities,” Bob Jr. said. “People (spectators) come out to ours because it is the same as 40 years ago. If people liked what they saw in 1972, they like it now because it’s the same product.
“It’s one of the four majors in the Minnesota PGA Section and has been for decades. It’s arguably the only event on the golf calendar that the fairly serious amateur can play with the pros in a competitive environment.”
Tournament winners have included Don Berry (six times champion), George Shortridge (five times) and Tom Lehman (1990 title). And Bob Jr. offered this trivia question that has Lehman as the answer: “Who is the only man ever to win the Tapemark and the British Open?”
The tournament, although mostly volunteer supported, is a year-round effort and now attracts corporate sponsors including the Anderson Agency and U.S. Bank. About 10,000 man-hours are probably devoted to it and the annual women’s golf tournament in September. “It’s not easy (managing the tournaments),” Bob Sr. said. “It’s very complicated.”
He refers to volunteers as “teammates,” and they do everything from registering golfers to running the scoreboard. Although Pat Cody passed away years ago, the volunteers include sons Tom and Brendan. “We couldn’t put the tournament on without with them,” the elder Klas said.