Two Kentucky golfers and one Unified partner will head to New Jersey  Oct. 3-5 to compete in the 2023 Special Olympics North America Golf Championship. Florence’s Chris Revay will compete in the 9-hole individual stroke play event, while Tee Salinas and his father Tony of Shelbyville will compete in the 9-hole Unified alternate shot event. All are veterans of major Special Olympics golf competition.

Revay has had some incredible moments representing Kentucky at the national and World Games levels, which he did four times from 1999 to 2006. He was part of Team Kentucky at the 1999 Special Olympics World Summer Games in North Carolina. He competed in the top flight at those Games, earning a silver medal. Revay made history at the 2001 SONA National Invitational Tournament in Port St. Lucie, Fla., where he carded the first hole in one ever in official Special Olympics competition. He drained a sand wedge from 101 yards at on the 17th hole at the PGA Club on his way to another silver medal. He returned to the National Invitation Tournament in 2003. Revay was also part of the Team Kentucky contingent that travelled to the first Special Olympics USA Games, earning a fourth place ribbon at the Games in Ames, Iowa. Mark Staggs a Special Olympics coordinator and parent in Northern Kentucky will caddy for Revay. Staggs was on the bag for Revay at the 1999 World Games. Revay, 48, has been a Special Olympics athlete for more than 30 years. In addition to golf, he competes in track and field, and bowling. He has previously competed in softball, soccer and basketball. He is a member of the 2023 Athlete Leadership Program class.

This will be the second time the Salinases have represented Kentucky in New Jersey. The pair won a silver medal at the 2014 Special Olympics USA Games when they were held in the Garden State. They also competed at the 2016 Special Olympics North America Golf Championship, which was held once again at the PGA Club in Port St. Lucie, Fla. They earned a bronze medal in the event’s top flight. They also carded the lowest score of the tournament in the the 9-hole Unified alternate shot competition with a final-day 33. They were also selected to participate in the 2019 North America Golf Championship, but an injury kept them from competing. Tee, 28, has been a Special Olympics athlete for 20 years. He currently competes in basketball and bowling in addition to golf. He has also competed in track and field. Tee was named the Special Olympics Kentucky Athlete of the Year in 2014.

The Special Olympics North America Golf Championship will be played at Seaview Golf Club in Galloway, N.J. The event will bring together more than 200 athletes from throughout the North America region.

For more information about the Special Olympics Kentucky golf program, contact Kathy Marshall at [email protected] or 502-695-8222.