The 2015-16 season just finished and the 2016-17 has begun. Hard to believe, but great for the golf fan.

After my finish of 175th on last season’s FedEx Points list, I went back to the Web.com Finals events to try to improve my PGA TOUR standing. I didn’t finish in the top 25 so I will be playing out of the past champion category on the PGA TOUR. Basically I am after the prior year’s top 125, the 50 players from the web.com Tour and the 126-150 FedEx finishers from last season.

What does that mean? Well, I will likely get into about eight to ten tournaments on that standing, including this Fall’s Sanderson Farms Championship in two weeks. I also was thrilled to receive a sponsor’s exemption into the OHL Classic at Mayakoba in November and January’s Career Builder Challenge in the Palm Springs area has a ten year exemption into their event. So I’ll be playing in that one at least through 2022! I’ll keep my schedule posted on www.markwilsongolf.com as up to date as possible.

As I have said many times before, if a player plays well they can’t keep you off the TOUR. I can play my way into the invitationals, FedExCup playoffs and the majors with some good play. I am excited for a new start this season and with my category I know that I need to be ready to play when given a chance. Know that I am up for the challenge and feel very close to some great play.

On some other news, how about that Ryder Cup! What an exhibition of golf under pressure. The Sunday front nine by Patrick Reed and Rory McIlroy, along with the halved match by Phil and Sergio were things that stood out to me. Congratulations USA.

I also am about to roll off from my three year term on the PGA TOUR policy board. It has been an educational ride to hear the great minds in the room think many years in advance to do their best to guarantee continued success for the PGA TOUR. In return, I was able to put my two cents worth in as a player to help make sure the decisions also would make sense for the golfers. I was truly honored to have that role.

So if you are in the Midwest, get those last few rounds in and if you are in the South, I wish you all the best in your upcoming golf season. Watch for me this Fall beginning October 27th in Jackson, MS.

Happy 2016! I hope everyone is excited to get back into their daily routine after the holidays.

I am excited to get back to competing on the PGA TOUR. It is time to leave the snow in Elmhurst and head for the sunny beaches on Oahu. It is hard to believe that this will be my tenth time playing in the SONY Open. It doesn’t seem that long ago when I was a rookie on the PGA TOUR and made my debut at Waialae in 2003. This was before I was married to Amy, as a matter of fact, we had only been on one date at that time. Now 13 years later, we have been married for 10 years and have three energetic boys to care for.

Ping has some new equipment out this year and I am thrilled to tee it up with the G Driver and i irons. I played the i irons at Mayakoba and Sea Island last year but the G Driver is totally new.

This is my third and final year as one of the four player directors on the PGA TOUR Policy Board. It has been an educational journey of the inner workings of the PGA TOUR and how decisions are made. I am thrilled to have been a part of voting in the new rule to help strengthen PGA TOUR fields where most players will need to either play more events in a year or choose to play in a tournament they haven’t participated in for the last four seasons. The goal is to have more sponsors get to see those marque names play their tournament. The PGA TOUR is full of incredible talent so just go watch anyone play, however, if you want to see the flair of a Rickie Fowler or Bubba Watson, this rule will make players spread the wealth to other events.

Thanks again to everyone who supported the 2015 Mark Wilson Charity Classic. The final numbers are in and $175,000 was donated to the Blessings in a Backpack program at Blackhawk Elementary and Hall Elementary in Glendale Heights, IL. We are working on the date and location for 2016 and I will let you all know when we have it booked.

Have a great 2016, filled with lots of one putt greens.

Mark Wilson

Check out the story by Helen Ross recapping the 2015 Mark Wilson Charity Classic.

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Monday, September 21, 2015. 9 a.m. Shotgun Start

Royal Melbourne Country Club - Long Grove, Illinois
Hosted by Amy and Mark Wilson
Benefitting Blessings in a Backpack (501c3)

Join us on September 21 for the Mark Wilson Charity Classic - hosted by Amy and Mark Wilson. The Classic will benefit Blessings in a Backpack - People Magazine’s Charity of 2012. Blessings in a Backpack is a results-oriented program designed to feed elementary school children whose families qualify for the federally-funded National School Lunch Program and have little to no food on the weekends.

Blessings in a Backpack contributes to better test scores, improved reading skills, positive behavior, improved health, and increased school attendance. As little as $100 feeds one American school child for an entire 38-week school year. Blessings in a Backpack currently feeds over 76,000 children in 780 schools, spanning 44 states and the District of Columbia. To learn more, please visit www.blessingsinabackpack.org.

Charity Classic Highlights:

• 18-hole golf scramble where foursomes will be joined by a PGA Tour professional golfer or a celebrity.
• Player gift bags, pro-clinic warm-up, medalist prizes, hole prizes, and a $1 MILLION shot opportunity.
• Mix and mingle with all the attendees at a private, players-only breakfast.
• Opportunity to participate in silent and live auctions
• Share stories and celebrate victories at an end-of-day award luncheon.
• Sponsorships and donations are tax-deductible. They will be paid directly to Blessings in a Backpack - a 501c3 organization.

REGISTER NOW

Questions? Please contact Ann Spilker at [email protected] or (617) 460-6411

Not being at this year’s U.S. Open gave me a chance to play with the future of the game at a future U.S. Open site, Erin Hills. For the ninth year in a row, I played with a bunch of Wisconsin high school golfers who raised money for the MACC FUND this Spring in the Lake County Charity Invitational. Tomah and Kettle Moraine told me they went door to door to raise funds, and Port Washington ran a drive, putt and chip contest. I had a blast laughing with these young golfers as they have their whole career in front of them. I wish them the best of luck in whatever they choose to do.

From the look of Erin Hills last week, I think it will be greener than Chambers Bay looked this year for its Open, but we’ll have to wait and see how much rain Milwaukee gets in the Spring of 2017. That was some exciting U.S. Open, wasn’t it? Congrats to Jordan.

Have a great week everyone.

Happy Summer everyone! I am excited to play a bunch of PGA TOUR events coming up, including Memphis, Hartford, Greenbrier and John Deere. Sadly I couldn’t get it done to join the others at Chambers Bay for the U.S. Open so I’ll be an interested spectator like the rest of you.

Last week, I received word that I will be inducted into the Wisconsin Golf Hall of Fame this Fall, which has made me nostalgic, thinking about my golf days in Wisconsin. Some examples include being so excited to tell my Mom the first time my Dad and I played 18 holes in one day. Maybe we should all be so grateful for the simple things like that. I also recall how I used to hit Driver off the deck regularly as a fourteen year old maybe because I couldn’t reach some par fours back then. For the record, I no longer have that shot. I also remember getting pulled over for speeding in high school in early April when it was a sunny day and I was racing to the only open driving range I could find. The policeman understood and let me off with a warning. I miss the excitement I felt when the snow would melt…now I just get on a plane and go somewhere warm.

Amy and I are still working hard on the upcoming Mark Wilson Charity Classic in September. We have over half of the teams purchased and plenty of pros and celebrities committed to help us raise money for Blessings in a Backpack.

Thanks for all your cheers and enjoy your summer.

- Mark

I am truly honored to share that I’ve been elected to the Wisconsin Golf Hall of Fame along with Joellyn Crooks. Thanks to everyone who helped make this possible!

Check out the full article in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

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