Our Big Day: Bull Run Open

Bull Run Golf Club splits its crew during weekends. Half of superintendent Mike Wyant’s team works one weekend. The other half works the following weekend.

The final Sunday of April represents an exception. Wyant gently asks the entire crew to help put the finishing polishes on the northern Virginia course before the 10 a.m. start of the annual Bull Run Open. “To a man,” he says, “every single person helps out to make the day as good as we possibly can.”

Busy days are the norm at Bull Run, a popular public facility in suburban Washington, D.C. But few days seek — and receive — the internal and external support like Bull Open Sunday.

The Bull Run Open benefits The Els for Autism Foundation, an effort established by World Golf Hall of Famer Ernie Els, his wife, Liezl, and Marvin Shanken in 2009. Els for Autism provides programs for families and individuals affected by the disorder. Golf outings are a major fundraiser for the foundation.

Bull Run created its fundraiser following a suggestion by Wyant, who was involved in a similar event at a previous course. The cause is personal for Wyant: his cousin Lisa Janicke’s 16-year-old son, Ray, has autism.

“I thought it would be a great thing for us to support that foundation and make our donation on Ray’s behalf,” Wyant said, “and they absolutely loved the idea. It’s something everybody across the property has really gotten on board with and has fully supported. I couldn’t be more grateful for the response from our facility.”

The Bull Run Open debuted in 2019 and the club’s staff starts heavily promoting the event in January. Excitement builds as late-April approaches, with the 144-player field selling out in recent years. Wyant views the outing as a purpose-filled beginning to the intense part of the golf and growing season. New course accessories make their debut on Bull Run Open Sunday, as Wyant’s full crew mows and rolls greens, rakes bunkers, blows debris from surfaces and executes other course conditioning details before the mid-morning start.

Bull Run rests in the Transition Zone and Wyant’s team must keep bentgrass/Poa annua greens alive and thriving amid a busy outing and daily-play calendar. Fortunately, the Bull Open is contested six weeks after spring aerification and before the weather turns sultry.

“I love the fact that it’s our first big event,” Wyant says. “Starting the season with our own event just makes us put the exclamation point on starting the season right.”

Golfer enthusiasm is palpable as Wyant begins the tournament with an announcement explaining the cause the event benefits. Wyant’s family frequently visits from upstate New York to participate in the outing, and Lisa’s family, including Ray, have attended previous Bull Run Opens. The event also receives participatory and financial support from area superintendent peers and industry companies.

“We started the event to show support for Ray and his family,” Wyant says. “The fact that we are able to impact so many others is a humbling experience and being able to do something to benefit something bigger than ourselves adds a sense of pride to the event.

“It’s very, very rewarding and it makes those connections a bit stronger. Knowing we are helping in some small way is a great feeling.”

— Guy Cipriano