BOSTON, Mass – After a one-year hiatus the Francis Ouimet Scholarship Fund will honor three-time Emmy Award winner and five-time National Sportscaster of the Year Jim Nantz with the 2021 Francis Ouimet Award for Lifetime Contributions to Golf at its annual fundraising banquet scheduled Thursday October 14 at Encore Boston Harbor.
“We are thrilled to have Mr. Nantz as the 2021 Banquet Honoree, as his contributions to golf have been immense throughout his nearly forty-year career,” said Ouimet Fund Executive Director Colin McGuire. “We look forward to hosting nearly 1,600 guests for this special evening at Encore, who will hear directly from the legendary Jim Nantz about his amazing broadcasting career and his impact on the game of golf. This banquet is our largest fundraiser each year.”
The Ouimet Fund’s purpose is to help deserving young men and women, who have worked at golf courses in Massachusetts, obtain a college education. Since 1949, The Fund has awarded over $42 million in scholarships to more than 6,200 deserving men and women.
Jim Nantz has had a legendary career spanning forty years. He joined CBS Television Network in 1985, and has served as the lead anchor of CBS’s golf coverage, including the PGA Tour, Masters, and the PGA Championship. He also currently serves as the lead play-by-play announcer for THE NFL ON CBS, including the Super Bowl and the lead play-by-play announcer for college basketball, including the NCAA Men’s Final Four.
In 2007, Mr. Nantz became the first commentator in history to complete the rare broadcasting trifecta – calling the Super Bowl, NCAA Men’s Final Four and the Masters all in a span of 63 days. Mr. Nantz once again repeated this trifecta in 2010, 2013 and 2016. In 2019 and 2021, Mr. Nantz completed an even rarer quintet, calling the AFC Championship, Super Bowl, Final Four, Masters and PGA Championship in a span of 120 days.
Nantz will be inducted into the National Sports Media Association Hall of Fame in December 2021. He was honored in 2019 with the Arnie Award, presented to golfers who give back to the game and reflect the values and generosity of Arnold Palmer, who was the first Ouimet Award Honoree at the Annual Banquet in 1997. In December 2018, Mr. Nantz was inducted into the Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame and in August 2018, Mr. Nantz received the 2018 Ambassador of Golf Award presented by the PGA Tour.
The Francis Ouimet Banquet is the largest golf dinner in the United States and has become a fixture in the New England golf community, attracting upwards of 1,600 guests each year! Previous honorees include Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, Greg Norman, Gary Player, Tom Watson, Johnny Miller, President George Bush, Nancy Lopez, Annika Sorenstam, Ben Crenshaw, Chi Chi Rodriquez, Tom Kite and more.
The Banquet is always a special evening and a wonderful opportunity to hear directly from Banquet Honorees, who represent so much of the history of the game of golf. Guests also hear from the Student Speaker, whose personal story embodies that of so many Ouimet Scholars. The Ouimet Scholarship Fund expects to award $2.75 million in need-based scholarships for the 2021-22 school year.
https://www.ouimet.org/annual-banquet/
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