Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: FRIDAY, August 11, 1995                   TAG: 9508110040
SECTION: SPORTS                    PAGE: B-8   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: RANDY KING STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

BROWN TO PLAY IN CHARITY EVENT

Billy Ray Brown's comeback trail runs through Roanoke next month.

Brown, one of the PGA Tour's up-and-coming stars until injuring his wrist in 1993, will be the guest professional for the 14th Tee Off for Sight Tournament on Sept.26 at Hunting Hills Country Club.

Brown, 32, won two tournaments - the 1991 Canon Greater Hartford Open and the 1992 GTE Byron Nelson Classic - and nearly $1.4 million in prize money in his first five years (1988-92) on the PGA Tour.

Near the conclusion of the 1992 season, Brown injured his wrist while executing a shot and hasn't been the same since. The four-time All-American at the University of Houston has undergone wrist surgery twice in the past two years and is now regaining complete use of the wrist.

Brown, whose paltry $4,254 ranked him 284th on the 1994 PGA Tour money list, failed to make the cut in his first six tournaments this season. He hadn't finished better than 29th in a '95 tournament until two weeks ago, when he tied for 15th in the Ideon Classic. That finish was worth $17,000, Brown's biggest paycheck since 1993.

If Brown wants to get well, coming to Roanoke might be worth a try. Past guests such as Mark McCumber, Fuzzy Zoeller, Peter Jacobsen, Tom Kite and Curtis Strange all enjoyed some of their better success on tour after either signing to appear in the Tee Off for Sight event or following their Roanoke appearance.

Brown will play a round of golf with the champions from area clubs before conducting a clinic for the gallery at 5:30 p.m.

The tournament, which is sponsored by APB Whiting Oil-Shell, begins at 10:45 a.m. Entry fee is $150. The field of 136 players will compete for approximately $2,500 in prizes.

Sponsors may have their names displayed on an individual hole for $450.

A $5 contribution to Prevent Blindness of Virginia ($7.50 at the gate) entitles a spectator to watch Brown's round of golf and gain entrance to the clinic. Tickets will be available at the Hunting Hills pro shop.

The tournament hopes to raise $40,000 to further the sight-saving work of Prevent Blindness.