Nicklaus, Palmer, and Player raise over $15 million for Mountain Mission

Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer and Gary Player have set many records over the course of their Hall of Fame careers, but what happened on Tuesday at The Olde Farm Golf Club will be hard to top.

"The Big 3" came together to help raise $15,149,183.98 in The Big 3® for the Mountain Mission Kids sponsored by Johnson & Johnson, a 19-hole scramble event in which they competed against 19 different teams of three amateur players for the benefit of the Mountain Mission School.

"The Big 3" won the competition with a 10-under 63 defeating the amateur teams by three strokes, but the real winner was Mountain Mission School. The $15.1 million raised is the most ever by a golf tournament in a single day.

"What happened here today is very special and this is a historic occasion," said PGA TOUR Commissioner Tim Finchem on Tuesday. "The efforts of Jim McGlothin, Johnson & Johnson, the membership of The Olde Farm and especially 'The Big 3' really epitomize what we mean when we say that Together, anything's possible."

The Big 3® for the Mountain Mission Kids, sanctioned by the PGA TOUR, was organized by Grundy native Jim McGlothlin, founder of The Olde Farm and a longtime benefactor of the school.

"To be able to do this is a testament to the hard work of a lot of dedicated people," said McGlothlin. "It is very rewarding to be able to make this donation to the Mountain Mission School. The work they do there is incredible and is making a huge difference in the lives of many kids."

"The day was spectacular," said Nicklaus. "We go to a lot of places and we raise a lot of money, but I have never seen a group that has absolutely been as philanthropic as you.

"I am very happy to thank all of you who have made such a wonderful contribution," said Palmer. "It was a privilege and honor to be here today."

"There was great enthusiasm that took place here today," said Player. "This is a country of giving back. I've been coming back for 55 years and people are always giving back. It's such a fantastic thing."

Historic Mountain Mission School in Grundy, Va., which has sheltered and educated an estimated 20,000 needy children over its 87 years, will receive substantial support from the event. The school operates entirely from private donations and today's efforts will help establish a sustained endowment for Mountain Mission School.

Mountain Mission School is a non-profit institution that has 230 resident students ages 18 months to 20 years, attending a private school made of grades pre-kindergarten through 12. In recent years, more than 90 percent of the schools graduates have enrolled in colleges.

The campus has grown from a single building when it opened in 1921 to the campus it is today, with an educational building, vocational and fine arts building, campus chapel, administration building and three separate residences for girls, four residences for boys and a toddler hall for boys and girls under the age of seven.

A one-hour special about the Mountain Mission School and The Big 3® for the Mountain Mission Kids will air Saturday, July 10 from 2-3:00 p.m. ET prior to the third-round telecast of the PGA TOUR's John Deere Classic on CBS.

-PGA Tour