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The Rotary Club of Harlan’s Tommy Lee Memorial Golf Scramble was held recently, pulling in golfers from around the area to help make the charity event a success.

Rotary Club President Elect Ashley Bledsoe provided information on this year’s event during a recent interview.

“This year’s Tommy Lee Memorial golf scramble will be our 34th year with proceeds going to local high school graduates to assist in college expenses,” Bledsoe said. “Approximately $100,000 has been awarded by Harlan Rotary in honor of long time County Court Clerk Tommy Lee.”

Tommy Lee was a barber whose shop was located across from the Harlan Courthouse.  He first ran for Harlan County Court Clerk in 1969, and was re-elected to the office until his death in the 90’s.

“Tommy Lee was a beloved figure in Harlan County,” Bledsoe explained. “When he passed, they created a scholarship to memorialize him. The way it is funded is through the golf scramble.”

A student from each high school in Harlan County is selected to receive a $2,500 scholarship, Bledsoe said. The recipients are picked by a scholarship committee based on the student’s performance.

Bledsoe noted this year’s scramble marks the 34th anniversary of the event, which began when the Harlan Rotary Club hosted a golf tournament to raise funds for Polio research.

She also went over the format for a golf scramble.

“With a scramble, the teams are assigned the hole at which they begin rather than all starting at hole one,” Bledsoe said. “Everybody plays the whole course twice, but that’s how they know where to start.”

This year’s event had five teams of four players each competing, Bledsoe said.

The winning team consisted of John Estep, Eli Estep, Brendan Rutherford, and Payton Wilder. The winner of the closest to the hole contest was Danny Caudill, and Mike Howard won the putting part of the competition.

According to the Rotary Club of Harlan’s social media, this year’s recipients of the Tommy Lee Memorial Scholarship are Brian Greene from Harlan County High School and Abbi Jones from Harlan High School.