Pierce Arnholt
Nearly 40 years ago, the Andy Critzer Memorial golf tournament was started as a way to honor Critzer, a former Columbus North golfer.
The 39th Annual Critzer Memorial, which is scheduled for June 21 at Otter Creek, will be the final one.
“Now, it looks like Otter Creek is going to start their renovation a little earlier than expected,” said longtime tournament committee member Bill Schroeder. “Andy’s dad didn’t want to do it somewhere other than Otter Creek, and we’re all getting a little long in the tooth, so we just decided this would be the last one.”
Critzer earned a varsity letter as a freshman at Columbus North. Then as a sophomore, he helped lead the Bull Dogs to a sixth-place finish in the 1985 state tournament.
That summer, Critzer was killed in a car accident. James Euler and the late former North golf coach Chuck Grimes got the tournament off the ground the next year.
The tournament committee has awarded a total of $382,875 to 46 scholarship winners over the years, beginning with Jerry Henderson in 1986. Although the tournament is ending, scholarships still will be given each year going forward.
Alex Clark
Columbus East senior Pierce Arnholt and North senior Alex Clark are this year’s Critzer Scholarship recipients. Both are headed to Purdue.
Arnholt plans to major in biology on the pre-med track.
“It’s unbelievable,” Arnholt said. “I’m eternally grateful for everything that’s been provided for me and just the memorial of Andy Critzer and everything he had done for the community and his legacy. It’s hard for me to put into words how proud I am and how excited I am to be able to have the opportunity to do so and to attend the school of my desire with the fiscal opportunity that I’ve been provided. I’m forever indebted to the Critzer family and just thankful for everything.”
Clark plans to study finance in the Mitch Daniels School of Business.
“It was a blessing when I heard I won,” Clark said. “I didn’t figure I was in the running because I wasn’t as much of a contributor to the team. But it shows the hard work I put in, and I’ve been able to support my teammates, so I was really happy to get this scholarship.”
Registration is open for the final Critzer Memorial tournament, which will begin with a shotgun start for the four-player scramble at noon June 21. Registration begins at 11 a.m. Cost is $125 per player and includes lunch, dinner, golf package raffle and a car for a hole-in-one. Silver ($150), Lunch ($300), Gold ($650) and Platinum ($1,000) Sponsorships are available. For more information, contact Taylor Gohn at 812-344-8855.
