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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tJordan 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)\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
Pro golfer Padraig Harrington\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen the last putt drops\u201d is when Tournament Director Michael Cataldo says the planning starts for the upcoming year\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou start from there and then it\u2019s 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,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Yearlong Planning<\/p>\n
This week\u2019s Simmons Bank Championship marks Cataldo\u2019s first as a tournament director. But at just 29 years old, he\u2019s already a veteran in golf event management. As an assistant director and in other roles, he\u2019s worked more than 50 tournaments, including PGA Tour events, PGA Champions Tour events and USGA events.<\/p>\n
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Tournament organizers Michael Cataldo (right) and Scott Caldwell discuss tournament preparations (Karen E. Segrave | KES Photo)<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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Although he\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe know 30 yards up here is going to get picked up by the camera, so let\u2019s be strategic in where we place things and really elevate that brand value for Simmons Bank,\u201d Cataldo explained.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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\u2019t directly a moneymaker for Simmons Bank, since it\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Black said Simmons passed on its first chance to host a Champions Tour tournament since the proposed date was during Arkansas\u2019 rainy spring season. Professional golf tournaments are in limited supply, so it\u2019s difficult for interested parties to nab a spot on the calendar \u2014 someone has to drop a tournament for someone new to pick one up.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Cataldo said players felt the \u201cbuild-out,\u201d 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.<\/p>\n
Cataldo also sees a win in a business relationship the tournament helped build. According to Cataldo, golfer David Toms played with a Dillard\u2019s Inc. executive in last year\u2019s pro-am tournament. While on the course, Toms made a call on behalf of Dillard\u2019s 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\u2019s stores.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s the value that we try to provide to our partners, building those relationships and connections,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
More Than Golf<\/p>\n
The Simmons Bank Championship is much more than a three-day golf tournament. From the pro-am tournament to a luncheon for the players\u2019 wives to a first-of-its-kind tournament for caddies, the organizers plan for a week of events.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
The caddies will also receive hotel rooms donated by Arkansas businessman Frank Fletcher, which Cataldo said is \u201cunheard of.\u201d<\/p>\n
Caddies \u201cplay a critical role in what these guys do and, unfortunately, oftentimes they don\u2019t get enough credit,\u201d Cataldo said. \u201cThey are kind of overlooked at times.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2018A Small City\u2019<\/p>\n
The organizing team also sells sponsorships, beginning only a few months after last year\u2019s event ended. From a sponsorship standpoint, Cataldo said, the tournament is easier to sell in its second year when there\u2019s a track record from last year. \u201cYou\u2019ve got the word of mouth and the story behind it now,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
The setup requires Johnston to swing a sledgehammer and send 2,000 metal spikes into the hard, rocky terrain of west Little Rock. \u201cI don\u2019t like this place. I don\u2019t like the ground,\u201d Johnston said.<\/p>\n
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. \u201cYou\u2019d be amazed at what\u2019s under the ground out here,\u201d Cataldo said, referring to lines for water and fiber.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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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)
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\n Members of the ground crew apply fertilizer to the 17th green at Pleasant Valley Country Club in Little Rock (Karen E. Segrave | KES Photo)
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\n 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)
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\n Members of the grounds crew apply fertilizer to the 17th green at Pleasant Valley Country Club in Little Rock (Karen E. Segrave | KES Photo)
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\n 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)
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\n 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)
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