Jordan Awwad (left) and Bryan Johnston, both with Sonic Rentals, set up a hand-operated scoreboard for the upcoming Simmons Bank Championship at Pleasant Valley Country Club in Little Rock (Karen E. Segrave)

Pro golfer Padraig Harrington’s putt on the 18th green at Pleasant Valley Country Club last October secured his win at the inaugural Simmons Bank Championship and kicked off a yearlong planning process for the 2025 tournament that starts on Friday.

“When the last putt drops” is when Tournament Director Michael Cataldo says the planning starts for the upcoming year’s event. From the teardown of the grandstands to the closing out of the books, it all starts immediately so the organizing team can begin the process again.

“You start from there and then it’s right back into volunteer recruitment, coming up with our hospitality packages, sponsorship packages and getting all the material put together as quickly as possible so you can hit the streets and start selling again for the next year,” he said.

Yearlong Planning

This week’s Simmons Bank Championship marks Cataldo’s first as a tournament director. But at just 29 years old, he’s already a veteran in golf event management. As an assistant director and in other roles, he’s worked more than 50 tournaments, including PGA Tour events, PGA Champions Tour events and USGA events.

Michael Cataldo (right) and Scott Caldwell discuss preparations for the Simmons Bank Championship golf tournament in Little RockTournament organizers Michael Cataldo (right) and Scott Caldwell discuss tournament preparations (Karen E. Segrave | KES Photo)

During a two-hour golf cart tour of the Pleasant Valley course in early October, Cataldo explains how he and his team set the course up for the golfers and the 35,000 fans who are expected to visit the course over three days.

Although he’s planning a golf tournament, Cataldo views his role primarily as helping sponsors get the most out of their investment. For instance, Cataldo and his team of six full-time employees consider the TV audience and local sponsors when contemplating locations for signage.

“We know 30 yards up here is going to get picked up by the camera, so let’s be strategic in where we place things and really elevate that brand value for Simmons Bank,” Cataldo explained.

The Iowa native works for Pro Links Sports of Tequesta, Florida, an event management company that organizes the tournament in collaboration with a hodgepodge of local entities.

The tournament is actually hosted by Arkansas Champions Trust, a nonprofit made up of Simmons Bank executives and other local business officials. The tournament isn’t directly a moneymaker for Simmons Bank, since it’s run through a nonprofit. Instead, the money raised by the tournament goes to charity, such as the $100,000 that Arkansas Champions Trust donated to First Tee of Central Arkansas earlier this year.

The trust hires Pro Links Sports to run the event in collaboration with Simmons Bank representatives, led on the ground by longtime Simmons exec Freddie Black.

Black said Simmons passed on its first chance to host a Champions Tour tournament since the proposed date was during Arkansas’ rainy spring season. Professional golf tournaments are in limited supply, so it’s difficult for interested parties to nab a spot on the calendar — someone has to drop a tournament for someone new to pick one up.

Fortuitously for Simmons, composite decking company TimberTech dropped its Champions Tour event after its 2023 tournament in Boca Raton, Florida, creating an opportunity for Simmons Bank to bring a tournament to Little Rock last year. Cataldo had worked on the TimberTech event but has since moved to Little Rock to lead the Simmons Bank Championship full time.

Cataldo said players felt the “build-out,” as he puts it, and the crowds in Little Rock made them feel like they were back on the PGA Tour. He said Open Championship winner Darren Clarke was still talking about it months later.

Cataldo also sees a win in a business relationship the tournament helped build. According to Cataldo, golfer David Toms played with a Dillard’s Inc. executive in last year’s pro-am tournament. While on the course, Toms made a call on behalf of Dillard’s to a high-ranking executive of his sponsor, luxury sportswear brand Peter Millar. A few weeks later, Peter Millar merchandise was for sale in Dillard’s stores.

“That’s the value that we try to provide to our partners, building those relationships and connections,” he said.

More Than Golf

The Simmons Bank Championship is much more than a three-day golf tournament. From the pro-am tournament to a luncheon for the players’ wives to a first-of-its-kind tournament for caddies, the organizers plan for a week of events.

The caddie shoot-out will take place Tuesday night, and Cataldo is bringing in 40 light towers to illuminate several holes where the caddies will play. What started as an idea pitched by a caddie last year has grown into a featured event on the schedule this year.

The caddies will also receive hotel rooms donated by Arkansas businessman Frank Fletcher, which Cataldo said is “unheard of.”

Caddies “play a critical role in what these guys do and, unfortunately, oftentimes they don’t get enough credit,” Cataldo said. “They are kind of overlooked at times.”

‘A Small City’

The organizing team also sells sponsorships, beginning only a few months after last year’s event ended. From a sponsorship standpoint, Cataldo said, the tournament is easier to sell in its second year when there’s a track record from last year. “You’ve got the word of mouth and the story behind it now,” he said.

Bryan Johnston has a tough job as he helps set up for the golf tournament. The 51-year-old works for Orlando-based Sonic Tournament Services, which is responsible for erecting manual leaderboards and about 8 miles of rope around the course.

The setup requires Johnston to swing a sledgehammer and send 2,000 metal spikes into the hard, rocky terrain of west Little Rock. “I don’t like this place. I don’t like the ground,” Johnston said.

The work has a few risks too as Johnston recalled once hitting a water line at a course in Michigan. Fortunately, the burst water line was repaired and the tournament was not disrupted, he said. “You’d be amazed at what’s under the ground out here,” Cataldo said, referring to lines for water and fiber.

The course build-out includes skyboxes around the 18th green, other luxury boxes on the course for different levels of sponsors, concession stands, a merchandise tent and more than 100 portable toilets.


Left to right: Yender Grimaldo, Rafael Soto and Luis Soto start building the foundation of what will be the family and kids fun zone at the Simmons Bank Championship at Pleasant Valley Country Club in Little Rock )Karen E. Segrave | KES Photo)


Members of the ground crew apply fertilizer to the 17th green at Pleasant Valley Country Club in Little Rock (Karen E. Segrave | KES Photo)


Members of Pleasant Valley Country Club in Little Rock hit the driving range before it closes next week to host the Simmons Bank Championship (Karen E. Segrave | KES Photo)


Members of the grounds crew apply fertilizer to the 17th green at Pleasant Valley Country Club in Little Rock (Karen E. Segrave | KES Photo)


The Simmons Bank Championship, which is the second of three PGA TOUR Champions playoff events, will be held October 20-26, 2025 at Pleasant Valley Country Club in Little Rock (Karen E. Segrave | KES Photo)


The Simmons Bank Championship, which is the second of three PGA TOUR Champions playoff events, will be held October 20-26, 2025 at Pleasant Valley Country Club in Little Rock (Karen E. Segrave | KES Photo)


The Simmons Bank Championship, which is the second of three PGA TOUR Champions playoff events, will be held October 20-26, 2025 at Pleasant Valley Country Club in Little Rock (Karen E. Segrave | KES Photo)


The Simmons Bank Championship which is the second of three PGA TOUR Champions playoff events will be held October 20-26, 2025 Pleasant Valley Country Club. Pleasant Valley Country Club has been preparing for months to host the nearly 35,000 spectators who are expected to attend the nearly week-long event.

The setup also includes a temporary kitchen, since the kitchen at Pleasant Valley Country Club can’t meet the needs of 35,000 visitors.

There’s also a shuttle service to move spectators from satellite parking lots since parking won’t be allowed in the surrounding neighborhood. Cataldo also has to coordinate with the Little Rock Police Department and private security.

“We’re basically building a small city out here,” Tournament Operations Director Scott Caldwell said. “It’s a lot of moving pieces. But it’s something that’s a lot of fun to create.”

The tournament also relies on the help of more than 900 volunteers, and Cataldo says the tournament wouldn’t be possible without them.

Caldwell, who also works for Pro Links Sports, splits his time between Little Rock and Houston, where he dealt with a tournament that got 15 inches of rain in four days. “That’s the one thing we can’t control is Mother Nature,” he said. “And, unfortunately, we can’t dome the golf course.”

Tournament events start today and the golf tournament begins on Friday, but Cataldo said the hardest part is already done.

“It’s really the lead-up, all the coordination” that is the hardest, Cataldo said. “When you get to tournament week, in a perfect world, everything’s done. You’ve just got to make it happen.”