Extol Magazine Celebrating Southern Indiana is a local publication that covers stories about businesses people places or events throughout the cities of New Albany Jeffersonville Clarksville Sellersburg and Louisville KY
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By Chris Jung All photos courtesy of PGA of America efore there was Larry Bird, there was West Baden. But it is a healthy blend of the two that has positioned French Lick, Ind., as an attractive host site for the 76th Senior PGA Championship presented by KitchenAid, and has the town abuzz with anticipation as a number the world's top golfers prepare to make their descents into the rolling hills of Indiana in mid-May. THE LEGEND OF LARRY It could be argued that French Lick played a signifcant role in forever changing the game of basketball. Te childhood home of a collegiate hoops icon and National Basketball Association legend, French Lick is responsible for launching the round ball career of Larry Bird – an international superstar, Olympic champion, and one of two men (along with Magic Johnson) who is credited with the initial fight of a cultural phenomenon known today as college basketball's "March Madness." Born in nearby West Baden, Bird's heralded tenure at Indiana State, and ensuing rivalry with Michigan State's Johnson, created a ripple efect on the hardwood that not only revolutionized a sport but subsequently gave French Lick a nationwide familiarity and identity as a result. Still, the all-time leading scorer at French Lick's Springs Valley High School, Larry the Legend was, and is, an ambassador for the 1,800 person-populated southern Indiana town. Ever-proud of its most celebrated son, the town – and more specifcally the historically-famous French Lick Resort – has worked diligently for more than a decade to grow that brand, expand the reach that Bird's wingspan helped create and build upon that aforementioned identity by staking claim as a prominent and respected destination for golf. Te long road to reaching that lofty aspiration will fnally culminate next month when French Lick Resort and its renowned Pete Dye Golf Course hosts the Senior PGA Championship, a major tournament on the PGA of America's Champions Tour. Te event that will not only attract thousands of fans and spectators to town during its six-day span, but additionally usher in a worldwide television audience that will give millions of viewers the opportunity to pull back the curtain on one of the country's best kept secrets. 17