The continuing growth of the Bonnie Henrickson Golf Tournament made it necessary to expand the fundraising event beyond playing just the Alvamar Public Golf Course.

With 212 participants registered to compete in the tournament held by Kansas University women’s basketball coach Bonnie Henrickson on Saturday, Alvamar Country Club was also used to keep things running smoothly.

Beyond the fact that the tournament – a benefit for the KU program and the Lawrence Memorial Hospital Breast Center – raised more than the $30,000 generated during last year’s tournament, the increase in golfers and golf courses made for a happy Henrickson since she didn’t have to show off her golf game to each foursome as she did a year ago.

“We’re playing both courses, so for me to stay at one hole I can’t get to everybody,” said Henrickson. “So I get to ride around in a little Jayhawk cart. It’s pretty cool.”

Golfing may not have measured up to some of the things Henrickson and her team did on a 10-day tour of Australia.

Between playing four exhibition games against Australian club teams, the Jayhawks saw some of the typical attractions Down Under: the Great Barrier Reef and the Sydney Opera House and got to climb the Sydney Harbour Bridge.

The players also had a chance to ride on a ninja swing, while some of the staff members went bungee jumping before returning to Lawrence on Wednesday.

“We were the biggest tourists, I bet, in Australia,” Henrickson said. “: It was an unbelievable trip – it really was. Once in a lifetime for most of us.”

On the business side of things, Henrickson said the time gave her the opportunity to see how the women were playing since spring workouts.

“It’s just a competitive advantage for us and really an evaluating advantage for our staff to be able to get eight practices in before we go, then four games over there,” Henrickson said. “We’ve had some growth so we can kind of build on what we saw this summer in practice and the games – and that’s a positive.”

The basketball players also made a showing at Henrickson’s tournament to sell raffle tickets and mingle with the contributors before and after the round of golf.

“I think it gives us more time to interact with people because at the games we can talk to them afterwards, but it’s late (and) we usually need to go home and get ready for the next day of classes,” senior guard Taylor McIntosh said. “So I think it’s important to talk to people and let them know that we appreciate their support.”

Some of the participants were already familiar to the basketball players.

KU athletic director Lew Perkins, associate director of strength and conditioning Andrea Hudy, Kansas women’s tennis coach Amy Hall-Holt and former KU men’s golf coach Ross Randall were among the members of the athletic department who competed in the event.

“I think that shows a lot of what Bonnie’s all about, that people want to come out and support her and the hospital,” Perkins said. “I keep telling everybody what great people we have in the athletic department, and this is just another example of how we feel about each other.”

And, apparently, the community. After all, the LMH Breast Center also benefited from the popular tournament.

“It’s a nice incentive for the committee, the department and the women’s basketball program to have that as an additional thing to push us to get more people raise more money and be able to help out LMH Breast Center a little more,” said Sarah Merriman, chair of the golf committee and president of the Hardwood Club. “It’s a great cause and we’re happy to help it out.”