Harry Dall Memorial Open

This year's beneficiary of the Harry Dall Memorial Open is Nancy Olds-Bohm of Walnut, a longtime player in the tournament. She is pictured with her husband, Ron, and children Samantha and Molly and Timothy.

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WALNUT — The first time Nancy Olds-Bohm was asked to play in the Harry Dall Memorial Open, she said she didn’t know how to golf, but was laughed off and told she didn’t need to know how.

After playing one time, she was hooked and has rearranged her summer plans around the Harry Dall day ever since.

This year, Olds-Bohm will have the event in her behalf. She has been diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer at age 38 on Nov. 1, 2005. She has undergone two surgeries, two rounds of radiation hormone therapy and chemotherapy therapy.

“I never once thought I would be a beneficiary of the event,” she said. “My golf game has not improved over the years either. I just enjoy the day supporting the Dall Family and playing in the sun with my friends from the PI. There is no one nicer in Bureau County than the Dall Family. They always welcome you when you walk in and thank you for coming when you walk out.”

The tournament was established in 1985 by family and friends of the late owner of the Princeton Inn. It is conducted in the fun-loving spirit of its namesake to benefit someone in need of financial assistance due to a medical condition or other extenuating circumstances.

This year’s tournament will be held July 15 at Hidden Lake Country Club in Sheffield with tee times of 7 a.m. and 2 p.m. Registration fee is $40 if you pay in advance, which includes 18 holes of golf, buffet dinner and prizes. Registration forms are available at the Princeton Inn, Hidden Lake or by contacting Becky Dall at (815) 303-6596.

Olds-Bohm lives in rural Walnut with her husband, Ron, the former Fighting Illini football player, and their three children, twins Samantha and Molly, age 5, and son, Timothy, 3. She works part time as a lead coordinator for Bead Retreat Ltd, a home gathering where she teaches the hosts and guests in the art of making beaded jewelry. She said her customers and co-workers have been every supportive of her breast cancer diagnosis.

Olds-Bohm has golfed with Karen Russell in the Harry Dall for the past 17 years, being on the winning team in 1994. It was the first year a team ever won with the highest gross, and lowest, after the Peoria Handicap was applied, and she said, “I have climbed numerous times to point out my name on the plaque hanging in the PI to out-of-town friends and relatives.”

She thought she’d missed the tournament in 1997 when she and Ron went to Atlanta for the Summer Olympics, but it poured rain back home and postponed the tournament for a week until they returned.