Member Clubs
A Cup of Their Own
The Commanderin-Chief ’ s Cup will give service academy golf a welcome spotlight
Navy is seeking its first NCAA regional appearance since 2018 .
The idea came to Robert Trent Jones Golf Club member Jeff Renzulli in 2020 , as he was sitting at home watching the annual Army-Navy football game . America ’ s three Division I service academies have played each other in football annually since 1972 , with the winner of the threeway competition claiming the Commander-in-Chief ’ s Trophy . Renzulli thought to himself : Did the three academies have something similar to play for in golf ?
They did in the past . A fall event that began as the Tri-Service Golf Tournament in 1993 morphed into the Service Academy Classic , which ran through 2006 , took a two-year hiatus before returning for four more years , then disbanded for various reasons after the 2012 competition .
Renzulli immediately became enamored with the idea and reached out to Jim Bruyette , a friend and member at Belle Haven Country Club who happened to be connected to PGA Tour champion , twotime VSGA Amateur champion and past Naval Academy player Billy Hurley III .
Soon , the wheels were in motion to create the Commander-in-Chief ’ s Cup , which will make its debut April 16-18 at RTJ .
“ Once they explained the general concept , I jumped right in to make it a marquee event ,” Hurley said .
Hurley suggested creating the Service Academy Golf Foundation , a 501 ( c ) ( 3 ) non-profit organization designed to support the golf programs at the three service academies . Net proceeds from the Commander-in-Chief ’ s Cup , merchandise sales , and donations will benefit each program equally .
“ My aim as part of SAGF is to ensure that we are keeping the idea of running a top-notch Division I golf tournament at the forefront ,” Hurley said . “ Many times , service academy athletes can be thought of as athletes second or third to their military rank and duties . And certainly , that is proper in most every situation — except when they step onto the field of play .
“ At that point , they become competitors and ambassadors for the military service but must be allowed the freedom to compete . We see this done beautifully at the Army-Navy football game each year . We will do the same thing at the Commander-in-Chief ’ s Cup .”
The event will begin on Sunday with a collegiate-am that features three amateurs and a player from one of the service academy rosters . Each four-member team will compete in an 18-hole shamble with
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10 V IRGINIA G OLFER | M ARCH / A PRIL 2023
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