About Know Your Score
Myrtle Beach, recognizing the opportunity it has with the large number of male visitors to area golf courses, has formed the Know Your Score – Fight Prostate Cancer effort to make a difference in battling this disease. The Myrtle Beach Golf community has formed a steering committee, and along with ZERO – The Project to End Prostate Cancer, we intend to raise $250,000 for research and to educate men on the importance of early detection of prostate cancer.
Legendary college basketball coach Jim Boeheim is a prostate cancer survivor and will serve as the 2009 National Chairman for Know Your Score. Jim is very active in the campaign and is a perfect example of how early detection can save your life.
The initial inspiration for the Know Your Score campaign was provided by long-time Myrtle Beach businessman Tom Quinn, who is battling prostate cancer. Recognizing that target audience for prostate cancer screening - men over 40 - coincided with the Myrtle Beach's core golfer, Quinn provided the impetus for a program that hopes to save lives across the country.
Know Your Score's Golf and Gala brings out the Celebrities
A sun-soaked afternoon, an outstanding golf course, big-name celebrities and a great cause made for a memorable day at the second annual Know Your Score: Fight Prostate Cancer Celebrity Golf Tournament & Gala.
Syracuse basketball coach Jim Boeheim, Know Your Score’s national spokesman, actor Craig T. Nelson, NFL Hall of Famer Dan Hampton and former Major League Baseball All-Star Tony Womack were just a few of the names that helped attract a full field to Long Bay Club, a 4.5-star Jack Nicklaus design.
Following the golf tournament, there was a silent auction and gala at Kingston Plantation. Proceeds from the day’s events aid the fight against prostate cancer.
While talk of cancer generally elicits a somber response, the Know Your Score event was full of laughs. Participating celebrities and event participants had an equally good time, sharing laughs and a couple cold drinks on a warm Saturday in the Golf Capital of the World.
The captain’s choice event was won by team captained by Dan Hampton with a score of 52.
The most common non-skin cancer in America, prostate cancer afflicts 1 in 6 men, the majority of that total over the age of 40. As the world’s most popular golf destination, that demographic is Myrtle Beach’s core audience. As a result, Myrtle Beach Golf Holiday teamed up with Zero: The Project to End Prostate Cancer to launch the Know Your Score: Fight Prostate Cancer campaign.
Know Your Score is a multifaceted effort that also includes closest-to-the-pin contests and out-of-market fundraising tournaments. Money raised by Know Your Score is dedicated to improve research, early testing and education.
Celebrity Golf Tournament and Gala - August 23, 2008
The sun was shining, the stars came out and the first annual “Know Your Score: Fight Prostate Cancer” Celebrity Golf Tournament enjoyed a spectacular launch. Played August 23 at Long Bay Club, the Know Your Score tournament attracted a host of celebrities, including honorary chairman and prostate cancer survivor Ken Griffey, Sr., nationally renowned comedian Henry Cho, NBA Hall of Famer Sam Jones and 2001 World Series hero Tony Womack and many others.
After an idyllic day at Long Bay, a silent auction and gala were held in conjunction with the PGA TOUR Superstore World Amateur Handicap Championship that evening at Kingston Plantation. The gala was highlighted by a performance from Cho that had the crowd howling in laughter and an emotional speech by ESPN personality Mitch Laurance, a prostate cancer survivor and one the event’s driving forces.
The tournament and silent auction generated $45,000 for the fight against prostate cancer and just as importantly, laid the groundwork for even bigger things in the future. The Know Your Score campaign is still in its infancy, but the success of this year’s tournament has buoyed its dreams of becoming a national leader in the fight to eradicate prostate cancer.
About ZERO – The Project to End Prostate Cancer
ZERO – The Project to End Prostate Cancer sets the standard for rapidly reducing the burden of prostate cancer
on American men and their families through awareness, outreach, and advocacy. Their publicity campaigns and partnerships educate men and their families about the risks of prostate cancer and the importance of early detection.
ZERO – The Project to End Prostate Cancer boasts the nation’s only mobile prostate cancer screening program, The Drive Against Prostate Cancer, which has tested more than 65,000 men during stops in at-risk and underserved communities while the website, FightProstateCancer.org, and weekly e-newsletters, aware, are America’s leading sources for information about prostate cancer. Further, ZERO – The Project to End Prostate Cancer also actively works with government officials to increase federal funding for prostate cancer research. Since ZERO – The Project to End Prostate Cancer was founded in 1996, annual federal funding for prostate cancer research has increased five-fold, to $469 million.
