Kevin Laura, former president of the Colorado Golf Association, on Thursday was named to the newly created position of chief executive officer of the Colorado Open Golf Foundation, which oversees the three Colorado Open tournaments.
The move was approved Thursday by the foundation’s board of trustees.
Laura recently was also named president of Green Valley Ranch Golf Club, the northeast-Denver host course for the Colorado Open, Colorado Women’s Open and Colorado Senior Open.
In his new role — Laura had been director of sales and marketing for the foundation — he will lead the way in administering the three tournaments and the First Tee of Green Valley Ranch, as well as spearheading the foundation’s efforts to bring a tournament from one of the major pro golf tours to the Denver area.
“The board is the visionary and I am the missionary,” Laura said. “I’m going to make sure to run in the direction they approve. I’m humbled by the board considering me to lead the charge in the growth and well-being of the foundation.”
Foundation founder Pat Hamill, the CEO of Oakwood Homes who revived the Colorado Open in 2004 after it was canceled the previous year, said Laura will be largely “externally focused on raising money and our profile throughout the state. And the ultimate goal is bringing pro golf back to Colorado.”
Kevin Laura Becomes Point Man
for Colorado Open Golf Foundation
One of CEO’s priorities will be luring pro Tour event to Denver area
By Gary Baines
Colorado Golf Journal, Friday, January 25, 2008
Laura, who graduated from the University of Colorado on an Eisenhower-Evans caddie scholarship, has held a multitude of golf-related jobs over the last 25 years, including a stint as director of business development for the International, the PGA Tour event held in Castle Rock from 1986 through 2006.
In fact, it was at the 2007 press conference in which the International exited the PGA Tour schedule that Hamill and Laura saw one another, setting the groundwork for Laura later joining the foundation.
“I thought Kevin could fill a couple of these roles and free up some of my time,” Hamill said. “We brought Kevin in to help fundraising and sponsorship sales and he did a wonderful job. And we’ve just seen it evolve from there.”
While chief operations officer LindaSue Chenoweth will focus largely on Colorado Open tournament operations, Laura will home in on strategic growth and raising money.
“I’ll oversee fundraising and revenue-generation (for the foundation), so we can keep the purses and championships growing,” Laura said. “We’ll try to get more local financial support so we can raise the purses.”
The prize money is guaranteed to be a minimum of $125,000 for the July 24-27 Colorado Open and $50,000 for the Sept. 3-5 Colorado Senior Open, but those figures could rise if Laura’s fundraising efforts are successful. And, with the May 28-30 Colorado Women’s Open going to a pro-am format during championship rounds starting this year, there will be additional money up for grabs for the women pros ($55,000 individually, plus $14,000 for the team competition). HealthOne remains the title sponsor for all three tournaments.
Like other First Tee programs, the one at Green Valley Ranch tries to promote character development and life-enhancing values in young people through the game of golf. The Colorado Open tournaments and the foundation raise funds to benefit the Green Valley Ranch First Tee, and in the short term the plan is to build a First Tee Learning Center at the course, at the far end of the practice range. The goal is to have the facility completed in time for the men’s Colorado Open in late July.
As for luring a pro tour event to Colorado, Laura has been working on that project since the International ended its run on the PGA Tour. With the International’s exit, 2007 marked the first calendar year since 1971 that Colorado didn’t host an event from the PGA, LPGA or Champions tour.
In the near term, Laura will put his priority tour-wise on bringing an event from the LPGA or Champions circuit to the Denver area.
“We’ve got sites interested in hosting, and the tours are interested, but it’s all about getting a sponsor,” Laura said. “At this point, nobody has come to the table.”
“The board is the visionary and I am the missionary,”
Laura said. “I’m going to make sure to
run in the direction they approve. I’m humbled by
the board considering me to lead the charge in the
growth and well-being of the foundation.”
