Hawkeye flair to Johnson Classic

The University of Iowa will have a considerable presence Aug. 1 at the Zach Johnson Foundation Classic.

Several celebrities in the pro-am golf event at Elmcrest Country Club have Hawkeye ties. Included are former men's basketball coach Tom Davis and one of his best players, NBA veteran Ryan Bowen.

The man who hired Davis, former athletics director Bump Elliott, is also a participant.

Hawkeye football greats and NFL vets Marv Cook and Tim Dwight are entered, as is Mike Boddicker, a former Iowa baseball pitcher and 134-game winner in the major leagues.

Boddicker's fellow Norway native, ex-major league catcher and manager Bruce Kimm, will be on hand.

From the Northern Iowa family comes head football coach Mark Farley. Ex-UNI quarterback Kurt Warner, a Cedar Rapids Regis alum like Johnson, is also a participant.

The field of PGA Tour pros in the event includes Johnson, Davis Love III, Stewart Cink, Jonathan Byrd, Rickie Fowler and Kyle Stanley. They will be joined by Nationwide Tour pro Shawn Jasper and LPGA Tour player Taylor Leon.

Johnson's caddie and swing coach will play. Caddie Damon Green is an accomplished player himself. He qualified for this weekend's Senior British Open and next week's U.S. Senior Open. Mike Bender, an Iowa native, coaches Johnson and Byrd and was voted Golf Digest's 2010 Instructor of the Year.

Tickets to the event are available at all Guaranty Banks for $20. They won't be sold at Elmcrest the day of the event.

There will be no parking at Elmcrest. Free parking and shuttle buses are provided for ticket holders at Washington High School, Kennedy High School and Mount Mercy University lots. The shuttles will operate from 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., about every 6 to 10 minutes.

KCRG 9.2 will telecast the golf tournament starting at 10 a.m. It will stream live on KCRG.com.

Proceeds will go to the “Kids on Course” pilot program designed by the Zach Johnson Foundation in concert with the United Way of East Central Iowa and the Cedar Rapids Community School District.