PGA Professional and decorated military aviator Dan Rooney to receive Donald Ross Award from ASGCA

BROOKFIELD, Wis. - Maj. Dan Rooney, founder of the Folds of Honor Foundation and Patriot Golf Day, and majority owner of The Patriot Golf Club, Tulsa, Okla., has been selected by the American Society of Golf Course Architects (ASGCA) as the 2014 Donald Ross Award recipient. The award will be presented May 5, 2014 during the 68th ASGCA Annual Meeting in Tulsa, Okla. The award is named for ASGCA's honorary first president, and is presented to an individual who has made a positive contribution to golf and golf course architecture.

A native of Stillwater, Okla., Rooney began his military career as an Air Force pilot. As a member of the Oklahoma Air National Guard he served three combat tours in Iraq, and has received many decorations, including the Distinguished Service Medal, Air Force Commendation Medal, Air Medal, Anti-Terrorism Medal, Combat Readiness Medal and Air Expeditionary Medal.

A Class A PGA Professional golfer, Rooney devotes himself to assisting the families of those killed or disabled in service to the U.S. in Iraq, Afghanistan and Vietnam. Funds raised during Patriot Golf Day support the scholarships awarded to military families through the Folds of Honor Foundation. Since 2007, the Folds of Honor has raised more than $38 million and awarded nearly 5,500 scholarships.

** Spirit of Golf: Folds of Honor helps a family heal **

"Maj. Dan Rooney's focus and dedication to helping the families of fallen heroes and wounded veterans through golf is inspirational," ASGCA President Rick Robbins said. "We in the industry know what the beauty of golf layouts and the challenge and fun of the game can do for players. Dan's dedication puts that inherent good of the game to work by giving back to those who have sacrificed so much for our country.

"Dan has taken the next step in using the game of golf for good by developing a golf course dedicated to helping our military members and their families. Making The Patriot Golf Club a reality shows how far that dedication goes. Donating a portion of the joining fee to Folds of Honor, placing the foundation's headquarters there and creating programming for wounded warriors shows that the development of the club was really for a higher purpose."

The Patriot Golf Club motto, "Great Golf for the Greater Good," is affirmed daily at 1300 hours. Bells toll 13 times in honor of the 13 folds that bring the American Flag to its triangle shape. The Patriot is the host site for The Patriot Cup held annually on Memorial Day and televised on the Golf Channel.

The Donald Ross Award was established by the ASGCA Board of Governors in 1976. For more information on ASGCA, visit www.asgca.org, call (262) 786-5960 or e-mail info@asgca.org.

Past Donald Ross Award Recipients
2013 Rees Jones, ASGCA Fellow, golf course architect
2012 Bill Kubly, golf course builder
2011 James Dodson, golf writer/editor
2010 Tim Finchem, PGA Tour Commissioner
2009 Ron Dodson, sustainable golf advocate
2008 George Peper, golf writer
2007 Dr. Michael Hurdzan, ASGCA, golf course architect
2006 Jim Awtrey, chief executive officer, PGA of America
2005 John Singleton, irrigation pioneer
2004 Thomas Cousins, philanthropist, urban golf developer
2003 Bill Campbell, president, USGA, captain, Royal & Ancient Golf Club
2002 Byron Nelson, professional golfer
2001 Jack Nicklaus, ASGCA, professional golfer, golf course architect
2000 Jaime Ortiz-Patino, owner and president, Valderrama Golf Club
1999 Arnold Palmer, professional golfer
1998 Judy Bell, president, USGA
1997 Gene Sarazen, professional golfer
1996 Ron Whitten, golf writer
1995 Pete Dye, ASGCA, golf course architect
1994 James R. Watson, agronomist
1993 Brent Wadsworth, golf course builder
1992 Paul Fullmer, ASGCA executive secretary
1991 Michael Bonallack, secretary, Royal & Ancient (St. Andrew's)
1990 John Zoller, executive director, Northern California Golf Association
1989 Dick Taylor, editor, "Golf World" magazine
1988 Frank Hannigan, executive director, USGA
1987 Charles Price, "Golf World" magazine
1986 Deane Beman, commissioner, PGA Tour
1985 Peter Dobereiner, "London Observer" columnist, author
1984 Dinah Shore, sponsor of women's golf tournaments
1983 Al Radko, director, USGA Green Section
1982 Geoffrey Cornish, ASGCA, golf course architect, historian
1981 James Rhodes, governor of Ohio
1980 Gerald Micklem, captain, Royal & Ancient
1979 Joe Dey, executive director, USGA
1978 Herb and Joe Graffis, founders, National Golf Foundation
1977 Herbert Warren Wind, "The New Yorker" columnist, author
1976 Robert Trent Jones, ASGCA, ASGCA founding member

ASGCA Background

Founded in 1946 by Donald Ross, Robert Trent Jones and 12 other leading architects, the American Society of Golf Course Architects is a non-profit organization comprised of experienced golf course designers located throughout the United States and Canada. Members have completed a rigorous two-year long application process that includes the peer review of four representative golf courses. ASGCA members are experienced golf course architects, able to counsel in all aspects of golf course design and remodeling and comprise many of the great talents throughout the golf industry.

For more information about ASGCA, including a current list of members, log on to the ASGCA website at //www.asgca.org or call (262) 786-5960.