Gene Upshaw Memorial Golf Classic Brings Out the Stars July 13-14

NFL Hall of Fame members Marcus Allen and Mike Haynes will join Cy Young winner Vida Blue and other sports stars at the 6th Annual Gene Upshaw Memorial Golf Classic at Gray's Crossing in Truckee July 13 to 14.

The tournament is held to pay tribute to Hall of Famer and former Oakland Raider and Lake Tahoe resident Gene Upshaw and raise funds for cancer programs and traumatic brain injuries. Upshaw golfed often at the American Century Celebrity Golf Tournament in South Lake Tahoe before his sudden death from pancreatic cancer in 2008, just 3 days after being diagnosed.

Also on the course will be snow sports celebrities like big mountain snowboarder and environmental advocate Jeremy Jones and downhill ski racer Daron Rahlves. The celebrity tournament is the signature fundraiser for the Gene Upshaw Memorial Fund at the Tahoe Forest Health System Foundation.

The fund benefits the Gene Upshaw Memorial Tahoe Forest Cancer Center and the Tahoe Institute for Rural Health Research. Since the inaugural tournament in 2009, the event has raised nearly $700,000 for pancreatic cancer research, quality medical treatment and care for cancer patients and their families, sustainability and advancement of medical technology, and funding for research in areas such as traumatic brain injury.

Celebrity commitments to-date include the aforementioned NFL Hall of Famers along with former Raiders head coach Tom Flores and former NFL players Tim Brown, Raymond Chester, Herm Edwards, and Steve Bono, plus former San Francisco Giants first baseman J.T. Snow, among the field of 23 to 26 celebrities.

Practice rounds begin Sunday, July 13, followed by a VIP pairings party. Tournament play begins Monday, July 14, with a 9 a.m. shotgun start followed by an afternoon awards banquet.

Registration, sponsorship opportunities, volunteer inquiries and a full list of participating celebrities can be viewed at http://www.gu63.org/. Sponsors receive playing spots in the tournament and the opportunity to meet and spend time with players from the Oakland Raiders Super Bowl winning teams of the 1970s and 80s, five-star lodging, VIP tickets to the private pairings party, gift bags, and recognition on all program materials and releases.

The Truckee high school football team will also be there to meet with celebrities, support the Cancer Center, and help with the event.