The 20th annual Karl Potach Memorial Golf Tournament may have been a washout on the golf course at Austin Country Club last week, but the tournament’s biggest goal was still achieved.

The golf outing was rained out on the 11th hole, but plenty of community members stuck around for the cause. According to Kurt Potach, the tournament surpassed the one million dollar milestone for funds raised to battle cancer as it led to a donation of $71,500 to The Hormel Institute and a $10,000 donation to the Children’s Cancer Research.

“We never dreamt it would become something of this magnitude,” Kurt said. “It’s great to know we put a dent in it and they are making progress.”

Kurt’s wife Brenda said she could feel the impact of the funds raised at the check presentation at The Hormel Institute.

“It was very moving and it was pretty emotional,” Brenda said.

The tournament drew a total of 135 golfers and even more people showed up to the evening event, where most of the fundraising takes place.

“It was really impressive that people stuck around. The golfers realized why they’re here,” Kurt said. “The golf is fun, but the fundraiser is what matters. The community support is great and it’s been a real blessing for us.”

Before the tournament, Minneapolis golf pro
Ryan Paulson held golf clinic.

The tournament honors the memory of Karl Potach, who passed away in 1997 at age 4 from a rare form of pediatric cancer called Wilms’ tumor, or nephroblastoma. Wilms’ tumor most often affects children from ages 3 to 4, usually in one of the kidneys.