University President Michael Adams and Athletic Director Damon Evans will be out of the office today.

Instead of being behind a desk, the two officials will be playing a round of golf at Jennings Mill Country Club as part of a pro-am tournament.

As the Nationwide Tour prepares to tee off the Athens Regional Foundation Classic from Jennings Mill Country Club on Thursday, the golf course will welcome tour professionals and local amateurs.

Tournament Director Cutts Benedict expressed his enjoyment at being able to include such well-known representatives of the University in the Pro-Am.

“Those are people that are very important in the community,” Benedict said. “I think they recognize what this tournament means for the Athens community.”

The proceeds raised by the Pro-Am tournament and the Athens Regional Foundation Classic will go to the Athens Regional Foundation for the purposes of expansion and renovation to the Loran Smith Center for Cancer Support and the Breast Health Center.

“We think that this is an important community event, and this is the sort of thing that the University often participates in,” Adams said.

Evans was attending a conference in Indianapolis and was unavailable for comment.

Benedict stressed that Wednesday’s Pro-Am is no ordinary fundraiser.

“The neat thing about golf versus all the other sports is there is nothing else that you can do where you can go out on the playing field with the players in the tournament,” he said.

Groups of four amateurs will play with one Nationwide Tour professional. Each hits his or her own tee shot. The best tee shot is chosen, and each golfer then plays his or her own ball until the end of the hole.

“Dr. (Arnett) Mace and I are both about 13 handicaps right now, and some days we can play to it, but don’t look for our name on the leader board,” Adams said.

When asked if there might be a friendly office wager on the outcome of the Pro-Am, Adams said, “No, about the last thing I’d ever bet on was my golf game.”

The first session of the Pro-Am begins at 7:45 this morning, and the second begins at 1:30 p.m. Admission is free, and the tournament is open to the public.