Another The Rollie golf tournament is in the books. We had a full field of over 150 players on a beautiful 80-degree afternoon May 20 at the Brickyard Crossing.

Our friends at IZOD provided a great gift bag for all the celebrities, and players and Jug’s Catering provided us with the traditional fried chicken and biscuits dinner.

I want to thank all the drivers for playing. We had about six current drivers, such as Graham Rahal, A.J. Foyt IV, Tomas Scheckter, Darren Manning and Ryan Hunter-Reay. We also had two former Indy 500 winners in Al Unser Jr. and Bobby Rahal, plus Jerry Sneva, a former Indy Rookie of the Year. I also want to thank our friends from NHRA, drivers Brandon Bernstein, Morgan Lucas, Shawn Langdon, Tommy Johnson Jr. and Melanie Troxel. Thanks to all the drivers for making The Rollie the golf happening of the month.

One big thanks goes to all the players for supporting the tournament every year. Check out the photos here on our Web site.

The biggest thanks goes out to the Hulman-George family for naming the tournament after my father, Rollie Schroeder, for his years of service here at the Speedway as their golf professional. Thank you Mari, Tony, Nancy, Josie and Kathi.

This Memorial day weekend is big here at the Brickyard. Friday was Miller Lite Carb Day, and the course is closed except for our Pace Car driver this year, Josh Duhamel. He is getting in a little golf before he goes back to practicing for the race Sunday.

Come Monday, it is back to usual business here at the Brickyard with golf starting at about 11:30 a.m. So after the weekend is over the course reopens for regular play, and I have to say our golf course is in the best shape ever. Thanks to Jeff Stuart, our course superintendent.

Remember the Brickyard is open for play starting Monday, and we will be coming up with some new promotions besides our daily Twilight Golf after 4 p.m.  Lots of cool events scheduled here this summer, so stay tuned.

Jeff Schroeder

PGA Head Professional

Brickyard Crossing

May is in full swing here at the Brickyard. The first weekend of qualifying is over, and congrats to the Penske organization for winning the prestigious pole for the Indianapolis 500 set to run May 24.

The Players Championship finished last week. Pretty shocking that Tiger did not win. As a matter of fact, Tiger never threatened as he got off to a bad start and never recovered.

Tiger was interviewed after the round and explained how he was hitting these “high right spinners,” which means there is something new in the swing that isn’t working. Some people are saying the bulking up of his upper body is hurting him. I think maybe a new swing will be brought out at the U.S. Open next month. You can’t play the U.S. Open at Bethpage Black with a high slice and ankle-deep rough.

Here at the Brickyard, we have enjoyed some good golf activity although the weather has not been the greatest. But we have been getting by.

Next week is a big week leading up to the race. The big event of the week for us is the annual The Rollie golf tournament. This tournament is in honor of my father, who was the professional here for 39 years. He just rolled into town last weekend and will spend the summer here and then head south when the weather turns cool around October.

We are pleased to announce that this year’s tournament is being sponsored by IZOD. There are also a few associate sponsors that help out with food and beverage, such as Jug’s Catering and IMS Food and Beverage. The tournament couldn’t be a success without them, and a big thank you goes out to all of them.

A sad part of this month is that two of the biggest supporters and participants of The Rollie, and also when it was known as the annual Race Drivers tournament, are not with us anymore. Those two gentlemen are Jug Eckert and Lloyd Ruby.

Jug always supplied the food and drink for the after golf party and awards. Lloyd always worked behind the scenes getting other drivers to play, getting the accessory companies to donate items and basically made sure that everyone had as good as time as he did. Those two will be sadly missed.

Until next week, keep it down the middle and don’t forget the Brickyard is open during qualifications this weekend.

Jeff Schroeder

PGA Head Professional

Brickyard Crossing