A total of 48 teams participated in Thursday’s 14th annual Surry Community College Foundation Charity Golf Tournament, with proceeds going to supply 12 scholarships to prospective students in 2010.

Sponsored by First Citizens Bank and Woltz and Associates Inc. the tournament brought together a cross section of the area for one common cause — to help those who want an education to get an education.

The tournament featured 86 hole sponsors and included three holes where a hole-in-one would earn a golfer a new car, a new riding lawnmower or $5,000.

With three different sections of competition, Marion Venable, the foundation’s president, said the Surry Community tournament is different than most charity events.

“We don’t give extravagant prizes,” she said. “We give scholarships.”

The top two teams in each of three divisions from both the morning and afternoon tee times become the namesakes of Surry Community Scholarships.

The tournament provides six two-year and six one-year scholarships.

While Venable said the day was a success she admitted the turnout was slightly less than in 2009.

“We are down a few teams from last year and I would chalk that up to the economy,” Venable said. “Last year we netted $53,000 and we hope to be in that range this year.”

Also in conjunction with the poor economy, Venable said the amount of need for scholarships has increased.

On the bright side, the participants had tremendous weather after a string of drab days swept the area over the past few weeks.

“This is a great day and out of nine days of bad weather how did we get this one?” Venable said.