Local country club comes together to raise money for cancer

Every year, William Bowman plays golf for his Uncle Art.

“[He was] A cool guy. As soon as you met him you liked him. He was a just a real guy,” Bowman said.

Everyone in the Oasis Country Club loved Art – through his struggle with prostate cancer and afterwards, creating the Art Bowman Memorial Golf Tournament.

“I was kind of blind to everything until my uncle got sick. Obviously you’re aware of it then,” Bowman said.

People from the club and all over the valley, including KESQ General Manager, Mike Stutz, and CBS Local 2 Anchor Kris Long, participated to help raise funds for the tournament benefiting the Arnold Palmer Prostate Cancer Center at the Eisenhower Luci Curci Cancer Center.

“A lot of our members and friends have been affected by it. We thought it’s a great cause for the club and the desert. Last year we raised $30,000 and hopefully this year it’s more,” Steve Toth of the Oasis Country Club said.

It all started with a community that greatly loved one man. Just take a walk through the Oasis Country Club and you can see and feel the support. You’ll find baby blue ribbons tied on balcony posts, trees and sponsor signs.

When Art got sick, his family told him they would start a tournament in his honor someday.

“When we told him this was going to happen for him, it was the biggest thing that ever happened to him. We could see it in his eyes, he didn’t believe it, didn’t think it was real,” Bowman said.

Every player, donor and kind word is as real as the ribbon is blue.