CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Insurance underwriters filed suit Wednesday against a nonprofit group associated with the PGA Tour’s Greenbrier Classic golf tournament.
The underwriters say they shouldn’t be responsible for the money The Greenbrier resort owner Jim Justice handed out for holes-in-one during the tournament — because the golfers who hit the holes-in-one weren’t far enough away from the hole.
According to the lawsuit filed in federal court in Beckley, Old White Charities agreed to have the golfers try to make a hole-in-one from a distance of at least 170 yards. The lawsuit alleges the two golfers who made the holes-in-one hit them from a distance of 137 yards.
During last month’s Greenbrier Classic, Justice promoted a “Hole-In-One Fan Jackpot” and promised that if a golfer made a hole-in-one on a designated hole during the tournament, fans seated in the grand stands would receive $100. If a second was made, fans would receive $500 and a third would result in $1,000 payments.
On July 2, the first day of the tournament, George McNeil and Justin Thomas hit a hole-in-one on the designated hole — the 18th. The men made the shot from a distance of about 137 yards, according to the lawsuit — not the agreed-upon longer distance…
