Missouri Amateur will visit Dalhousie in 2012

Three Missouri Golf Association tournaments are scheduled for the Cape Girardeau course.

Set aside a weekend in June 2012.

Dalhousie Golf Club has been named the host facility for the Missouri Amateur Championship seven years from now.

That was one of three tournaments announced for Dalhousie earlier this month at a meeting of the Missouri Golf Association.

Dalhousie first will host the 2006 Missouri Mid-Amateur Championship, set for Sept. 15 through 17, and the 2007 Missouri Four Ball Championship, scheduled for Aug. 17 through 19.

"It was pretty exciting to get those major championships for here," said general manager Andy Deiro. "This is a nice first step for us. We want to host events at every level, and to host a high level state championship is fabulous. We're happy about this, and we have a goal of someday hosting a major USGA event."

Dalhousie, designed by Gary Nicklaus and opened three years ago, was ranked No. 2 in the state golf course rankings by Golf Digest earlier this year.

Deiro said the Members Manor clubhouse should be completed by the time golfers come to town for the Mid-Amateur Championship.

"Short of a guarantee that we'll be done, weather permitting, I'd say it looks like we'll be in our building next summer sometime," Deiro said. "That will be exciting when that happens, and give us a sense of completion."

The tournaments also will be a boost for Cape Girardeau, with more than 100 golfers expected to come to town for each event.

The Mid-Amateur is open to golfers 25 and over. The fourball event is an event for two-man teams. The state amateur championship, a match-play event, is the most prestigious of the MGA titles.

"We have several members who may be able to participate in these events, and that makes it a little more appealing," Deiro said.

Of course, some junior members may be in their prime by 2012.

"That was the first date we could request it," Deiro said, "and that's the first date we requested."