Rock Hill golf event that honors late Clemson grad and gives college scholarships is set
The Brett Ringer Memorial Golf Tournament is set for June 16 at Waterford Golf Club in Rock Hill.
The tournament was established in 2002 by former Rock Hill Bearcats’ football coach Jim Ringer to honor the memory of son, who was killed in a fireworks warehouse explosion in June of 2001.
The tournament is being played this year after a two-year pause because of COVID-19, and Ringer is excited to see it start up again.
“I have missed not seeing the people who have helped us so much over the years,” Ringer told The Herald in a phone interview last week. “The support we have gotten from the area has been overwhelming.“
The tournament is a captain’s choice event with four-man teams competing. The entry fee is $400.00 per team, and there is no limit on the number of teams that can enter. The event will begin with a shotgun start at 9:30 am.
Each year, the tournament proceeds provide scholarships for students who attend Rock Hill High School, Northwestern High School and South Pointe High School. In the beginning years of the event, the tournament provided six scholarships of $500.00 each. This year the tournament proceeds will provide 20 scholarships of $500.00 each. That has been the case for the past 10 years.
Despite the fact that the tournament was not played the past two years, they were still able to provide the 20 scholarships of $500.00 each both years. Since the beginning of the event, the tournament has provided more than $130,000.00 in scholarships.
“Over the years, the people in the area have been very generous,” added Ringer. “It has been truly amazing to see the support we have gotten.”
The scholarships are available to anyone in the three high schools in Rock Hill. These scholarships are awarded on the basis of academics, character and hard work, Ringer said. If a student, who is a senior, wants to apply, all they have to do is contact the guidance counselor at their school to fill out the form.
A committee then takes all of the applications and chooses the ones to receive the awards.
Terri Knotts, who was the guidance counselor at Rock Hill High School prior to her retirement, is the coordinator for the committee. Ringer calls her work a key part of the tournament.
“The committee makes all of the recommendations for the scholarship winners,” added Ringer. “I have nothing to do with that part of the process. Terri does a great job with that.”
Brett Ringer scholarship inspiration
Brett Ringer was working on his masters degree at Clemson when the accident happened in June of 2001. He was also part of the Clemson athletics video service department. After the accident, the athletic department established an internal award in his honor. That award goes annually to the hardest working member of their student support staff team.
The tournament proceeds provide a $500.00 scholarship to the winner of that award in addition to another equal amount for a second scholarship, which is also decided by Clemson. The remaining 18 scholarships are distributed in the local area.
“I started this event to honor my son, Brett, the best way I knew how,” said Ringer. “I just want to continue to help kids in the area. I hope we can continue this for a long time.”
Ringer added that the tournament relies on volunteers for help in many areas. He cited Walt Gainey, the former trainer at Rock Hill High School, as being a key member of the event team. He has been involved since the beginning to help in coordinating in many areas.
In addition to the proceeds raised from the golf tournament, the event gets money from donations and silent auctions.
Want to apply?
Any teams that would like to enter can go online to brettringer.com to get registration information.
This story was originally published May 2, 2022 at 7:00 AM.