Fort Dodge Ford Lincoln Toyota became the title sponsor 20 years ago. The company is owned and operated by Casey, Deb, Matt and Abigail Johnson — all long-time supporters of and philanthropists in the community.

Full Swing Financial Planning of Fort Dodge took over as the closest to the pin contest promoter last year. Three leaders of the company’s staff — co-CEO and financial advisor Kole Petersen, co-CEO and financial advisor Cole Jaeschke, and financial planner Eddie Doyle — are veteran tournament participants and active community members in their own right.

The Messenger has been hosting the weekend event since 1980. And, of course, many employees from all three businesses will be on the course on Saturday and Sunday.

The 45th annual event is this weekend at both the Fort Dodge Country Club and Lakeside Golf Courses. This year, residents from a nine-county area — Webster, Humboldt, Calhoun, Pocahontas, Hamilton, Wright, Greene, Story and Boone — are eligible to participate, strengthening both the quality and quantity of the nine championship fields.

The men’s divisions will crown winners in the open, senior (age 50-59), super senior (60-69) and legends (70-plus) brackets, with the women offering the same individual stroke play competitions as well as a two-player, 18-hole best shot on Saturday at the FDCC.

Trophies and cash prizes will be awarded for each division.

Shotgun starts at 7:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. are available for men’s participants on Saturday at Lakeside.

The men will have their times flipped the next day at the FDCC. Women’s tee times start at 8 a.m. on Saturday at the Country Club.

Cost is $85 per player for the 36-hole, two-day tournament, or $40 per player for the women’s two-person best shot. Everyone must pay via check or cash before their round on Saturday to speed up and complete registration.

Each player must either live or work in the designated nine-county area.

The championship nine for both the men’s open and senior divisions will be at approximately 5:30 p.m. on Sunday evening at the FDCC.

There will be $100 winners at each of the par-3s during Saturday’s action in the Full Swing Financial Planning closest to the pin contest.

Groups are asked to sign up either by phone or in person at the FDCC. Online sign-up is also available at www.golfgenius.com/ggid/apugy9/register.

For more information or to register for the tournament, please call the FDCC (515-955-8551) or Lakeside (515-576-6741).