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:

Polk Education Foundation

The Polk Education Foundation

$172,000 donated to date

(click here to apply)

The First Tee of Lakeland

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

PCPSAthleticsDept

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

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

  Darrell Brooks 4-Ball Scholarship Winners

2019 Ms Addilyn Koonce

$5,000

2019 Ms Clair Orr

$5,000

2019 Ms Erica Roberts

$5,000

2018 Ms Kaitlyn Harwell

$5,000

2018 Mr Christopher Suryo

$5,000

2018 Ms Loren Perez

$5,000

2017 Ms Baileigh Carlson

$5,000

2017 Ms Isabella Molina-Sanchez

$5,000

2017 Ms Ashlyn Joyner

$5,000

2016 Mr Keegan Schaal

$5,000

2016 Ms TaylorJay Roberts

$5,000

2016 Ms Megan Martinez

$5,000

2015 Ms Haley Lucas

$2,500

2015 Mr Ryan Birt

$2,500

2015 Ms Natalie Santana

$2,500

2015 Ms Monica Santana

$2,500

2014 Ms Crislyn Lucas

$5,000

2014 Mr Joshua Wilson

$5,000

2014 Mr Steven Pike

$5,000

2013 Mr Rocky Hirsch

$3,000

2013 Ms Chloe Allen

$3,000

2013 Mr Jason Huntington

$3,000

2012 Ms Alyssa Martinez

$3,000

2012 Mr Edward Williams

$3,000

2011 Mr Timothy Welch

$3,000

2011 Ms Julia McKendrick

$3,000

2011 Mr Owen Phillips

$3,000

2010 Ms Brooklynne Atwell

$3,000

2010 Ms Jordyn Jones

$3,000

2010 Mr Andrew Williams

$3,000

2009 Mr Taylor Meche

$3,000

2009 Ms Caylyn Gilbert

$3,000

2009 Mr Zachary Sloman

$3,000

2009 Ms Heidi Weeks

$3,000

2009 Ms Jamie Steinberg

$3,000

2008 Ms Alexa Atwell

$3,000

2008 Mr Bradley Bozeman

$3,000

2008 Mr Dylan O’Neill

$3,000

2008 Ms Gretchen Gordin

$3,000

2008 Mr Nicholas Sellars

$3,000

2008 Ms Savannah Sawyer

$3,000

2007 Ms Brenna Schirm

$3,000

2007 Mr Kristopher Conner

$3,000

2007 Mr Brantley Helmich

$3,000

2006 Mr Sagan Skinner

$3,000

2006 Mr Andrew Wiseman

$3,000

2006 Ms Addie-Lee Powell

$3,000

2005 Ms Samantha Van Camp

$3,000

2005 Ms Mackenzie Clark

$3,000

2004 Mr Brian Richey

$2,000

2004 Ms Carla Thompson

$2,000

2003 Mr Shing Woodall

$2,000

2003 Ms Clarissa Sherrouse

$2,000

2002 Ms Melissa Glasscock

$2,000

2002 Mr Richard Peacock

$2,000

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