VFW to sponsor veterans for Golf Classic

The Veterans of Foreign Wars will sponsor eight Purple Heart recipients who served in the Persian Gulf, Iraq or Afghanistan wars in the Annual Veterans Golf Classic in Myrtle Beach, S.C.

The trip, May 17-20, will include free airfare, hotel accommodations and the tournament entry fee for each winner. Players must have a U.S. Golf Association slope handicap or be able to validate five or six of their most recent scores to be eligible.

Meals will not be included, and family members may attend at their own expense.

This will be the first year the veterans organization has sponsored veterans to this golf tournament through its Kahle Fund, Steve Van Buskirk, VFW director of programs, said in a Department of Defense release.

In addition to the golf event, veterans will enjoy several opportunities to meet other players and an awards dinner the final night of the trip. Golf courses for this event include Black Bear, Crown Park, Founder's, Indigo Creek, International, Leopards Chase, Lion's Paw, Panther's Run, River's Edge, Sandpiper's Bay, Tiger's Eye and Wachesaw Plantation East.

For a chance to win one of the eight free trips, Purple Heart recipients from the Gulf, Iraq or Afghanistan wars must submit an entry form by mail in time for the April 1 drawing.

An entry form can be found at http://www.vfw.org/pdf/Golf%20Trip%20form_web.pdf