Cleveland Heights 4-Ball Invitational

Charities

Since 2002, the 4-Ball Invitational has supported junior and collegiate golf in the Greater Lakeland area through charitable donations, scholarship awards and memberships at The First Tee of Lakeland. Recipients have included the following:

The Polk Education Foundation

$172,000 donated to date

The First Tee of Lakeland

$63,000 donated to date

College & High School Teams – $27,000

Junior Citrus Golf Program – $15,000

Polk County Public Schools Athletics

Past 4-Ball President Joe Birkner, left, with 2012 scholarship winners Alyssa Martinez and Edward Williams.

Testimonials

Scholarship Winners

“I would like to express my gratitude for being a recipient of the 4-Ball golf tournament $5,000 scholarship. It means a lot to have a received this scholarship and is a huge relief to me and my family. My goal is to avoid student loans or keep them very minimal, and this scholarship has only furthered that goal. I start this summer at the University of Florida, and I am more than excited to meet new people and accomplish new things. … Any time I am back in town, I will be sure to play a round at Cleveland Heights Golf Course.” – 2016 scholarship winner TaylorJay Roberts, Summerlin Academy

“On behalf of my family and myself, I would like to thank you for your generosity. I cannot put into words how much this means to me. It is an honor to be recognized with such a scholarship, especially from Cleveland Heights which was my home course for the three wonderful seasons of golf I participated in. It’s rewarding in many ways to see the efforts of my coaches, team and myself pay off. I hope that my name up on the board at Cleveland Heights will inspire many more golfers like me to work hard, because every drop of sweat while playing golf is worth it.” – 2015 scholarship winner Natalie Santana, Lakeland High School

“I was both ecstatic and appreciative to learn that I was selected as one of three recipients of your scholarships. I also enjoyed working the tournament that will help future student golfers of Polk County. It was not only a pleasure but also rewarding to be a volunteer at this year’s event. Again, I would like to thank you. This award will lessen my financial burden and help me study accounting so that I can go on to study law in order to reach my dream of becoming a corporate attorney. I hope one day I will be able to be part of an organization like the 4-Ball that gives so much back to the community.” – 2014 scholarship winner Crislyn Lucas, George Jenkins High School

“Being awarded the Cleveland Heights 4-Ball scholarship was a very humbling experience, and I am very grateful for the opportunity I was given. This scholarship will help provide me with a financial opportunity to better myself with my future education. I will be attending the University of South Florida in the fall and will major in engineering. I hope to one day be able to support another young student in their quest for a future education. Your support will be carried far as I take this scholarship with me to college and the rest of my life. Once again, thank you so much for this award!” – 2013 scholarship winner Rocky Hirsch, McKeel Academy

Middle School Golfers

“Thank you for the membership to the YMCA Par 3. I am a student at Resurrection Catholic School, and I look forward to practicing golf.” – Erin

“I am grateful for the membership you gave me to the First Tee. I will enjoy learning golf and playing with my Rochelle teammates.” – Daniel W.

“Thank you for the membership to the First Tee. I am excited to play for the Rochelle golf team. Thank you for the nice place to practice and play.” – Spencer M.

“I am the boys golf coach (formerly girls coach) at Lake Gibson High School. I wanted to thank you for your kind gift to my son, Bryce DeLong that he received yesterday. As a junior golfer, he has come a long way in just a few short years. His back to back victories this past weekend (Central Florida Junior Golf Tour, and Middle School County Tournament) have motivated him to practice harder and to make improvements in his game as he approaches his freshman year of high school golf. Just so you know, Bryce is one of 4 children that we home school. He has played golf since he was 8 years old. His first year playing competitive golf was a successful one, with him winning numerous tournaments, and being named the Player of the year for the 8-10 year old age group. I believe that the golfing community will hear much more about Bryce in the future. With his dedication to the game and to building relationships on the course, he will be successful. I thank you again for the support of junior golf, this support is instrumental in the development of children and their character.” – Bon DeLong