Golfers gear up for the 78th Tom Hoover Ozark Invitational

The most prestigious golf tournament in Southeast Missouri returns this weekend.

Joshua Rhodes kicked off last year’s tournament as No.1, and the Kentucky native will look to raise the trophy once again as the winner of the Tom Hoover Ozark Invitational.

Rhodes returns to defend his title at the 78h annual tournament at Westwood Hills Country Club this weekend, with a chance to enter the prestigious class of a three-time champion. Last year, he became the 15th player to win the Ozark title a second time following his win in 2016.

On championship Sunday, Rhodes’ 1-under-par 141 score was the highest winning score for a two-round event since 1983, when Jim Hotgrieve won at even-par 142. He shot three birdies, 12 pars and three bogeys.

Jimmy Vernon, the club professional at Westwood Hills and the tournament director, said he is excited about the weekend of action on the greens.

“We’re looking forward to hosting the tournament this year,” Vernon said. “We’re going to be full this year because we had a waiting list for people eager to get in. We’re going to have players from numerous states, but most of them will be from Missouri because we're a Missouri points event. The championship division and our senior 50 and over division will take center stage. The weather is probably the heaviest this time of the year, so we’re going to have to deal with it the best way we can. Hopefully, we’ll miss most of it, but I think the tournament will be fantastic.”

A weekend filled with nonstop action will kick off with the annual Ozark Shootout, where the top 10 from last year will compete. The event starts at 3 p.m. Friday. Following is the 36-hole Tom Hoover Ozark Invitational, which starts at 8 a.m. Saturday with the Senior Division players teeing off.

With the Invitational reaching its 78th year, Vernon said it’s amazing to see this event become such a long-standing tournament. He’s seen many champions crown from the Poplar Bluff area and has enjoyed watching a few of the greats from Kentucky, Tennessee, Florida and Akranasa compete for top honors.

Vernon said Mr. Hoover ran the tournament forever and that they continue doing it the way he did to keep his legacy going. He said they will have the same sponsors covering the tournament, and he appreciates that they have continued throughout the years. On Friday, the participants can look to have a little fun before the tournament begins.

“We will have a patio party on Friday afternoon, with the shootout, which is our top 10 player from the previous year playing a little horse race. We start with 10 and eliminate one person on each hole. Friday is about having a good time. That's a time when our members can come out and watch and enjoy. And then the tournament. We will have a field full of great players with plenty of college players coming in from all over, so that'll be great.”

Poplar Bluff’s Jerrod Murphy and Brad Thielemier finished in the top 10 of the senior division. As for the championship division, no Poplar Bluff native has won the invitational since 2015, when Carr Vernon won for the second time in a playoff.

Jeff Eiserman of Springfield, Missouri, won the 2023 Tom Hoover Ozark Invitational’s senior division and will try to defend his title against some stiff competition.

As golfers prepare to make their way to the Tom Hoover Ozark Invitational, Vernon said they put a lot of prep into getting the course ready, and the players should expect nothing but the best.

“We’ve got some of our local players that have always done well in the tournaments and hopefully will continue to do so,” Vernon said. Last year, the game was quite close, and when you have something like that, it really makes the game exciting. Hopefully, we’ll see it again.”