New Scholarship Named after Late Writer Ron Balicki


A college scholarship is being set up for the late golf writer, Ron Balicki. The longtime Golfweek scribe passed away in April just days shy of his 66th birthday when he lost his eight-month bout with cancer.

For more than 30 years Balicki was a mainstay on the golf scene. His focus for much of the time was on college golf, writing stories not only about the players who would become future stars on the PGA Tour but chronicling amateurs who simply loved to compete.

The Ron Balicki Scholarship will be given annually at the NCAA Championship, honoring and encouraging a student who, in pursuing his or her interest in journalism, exemplifies dedication by writing about college and/or amateur golf.

"To me, Ron Balicki was the ultimate college and amateur golf writer," said Denny Glass, former tournament director of the Northeast Amateur and chairman of the scholarship fund's steering committee. "It was always so inspiring to be around Ron while he was working and witness his enthusiasm and dedication to his craft."

Balicki won several state and national awards, including the Golf Writers Association of America's Best Column in 1998 for a piece he wrote on Scottish amateur Barclay Howard. "His best stories," Debbie Balicki said of her husband, "were always people stories."

Balicki wrote about college coaches and gave readers insight into their programs. A fixture at college and amateur events throughout the country, he touched many lives. The coaches thought so much of him that, in 2010, Balicki became the first non-coach inducted into the Golf Coaches Association of America's Hall of Fame.

Phil Mickelson called Balicki when Balicki was hospitalized in March and left him a voicemail to thank Ron for his integrity. When Rickie Fowler decided he was leaving college early to turn pro in 2009, he stopped in the middle of a practice round and made the one call he knew he needed to make: to Balicki.

"He had written so much about me, about Oklahoma State, and I didn't hesitate," Fowler said. "So I called him that day, right in the middle of my practice round."

Added former Georgia Tech standout Matt Kuchar, "For Ron Balicki to come out and do a proper story on your college tournament, it was a big deal."

A website for the Ron Balicki Scholarship Fund is under development. Tax-deductible contributions for the fund can be made payable to "Ron Balicki Scholarship Fund" and mailed to: Ron Balicki Scholarship Fund, GCAA, 1225 West Main, Suite 110, Norman OK, 73069.

For further information, contact the GCAA at 866/422-2669 or visit www.RonBalickiScholarship.com.