Mike Farrar asked one of the Passaconaway Golf Club officials last year if the Jenny Fund Golf Tournament held at the Litchfield course was the largest in the region.

“Not quite,” he was told, “but it’s close.”

Odds are, he’ll get a resounding yes if he asks the same question this year.

The fifth annual fund raiser for cancer research set for Friday, Aug. 4, is sold out for the morning session and has only a couple of openings remaining for the afternoon.

Tourney director Farrar says it amounts to 70 teams (foursomes) and a total of 280 golfers.

It’s no wonder Passaconaway will be closed to the public that day.

The event is put on by the Jenny Fund, created in honor of the late Jennifer Gureckis, a former local athlete who passed away a few years ago after a six-year battle with recurring brain cancer.

The golf event, the main fundraiser, has really taken off.

“It really has,” Farrar said. “We do a double session, and it’s almost overbooked. We had to shut down the morning session (entries).”

The tourney is a best ball event, and there are some top local golfers competing on the teams, some of which are co-ed. Winning team scores are in the 15 to 17 under par range.

And, as Farrar said, the golf is highly competitive and with the course so wide open, “It’s got a great tournament feel.”

There are also all sorts of contests – longest drive (separate for men and women), closest to the pin, etc.

How has the event managed to grow this big?

“The family knows so many people,” Farrar said. “But this year also people who belong or live near Passaconaway heard about it and wanted to play.”

If the afternoon session gets filled up, Farrar said it’s likely a waiting list will be formed.

The Jenny Fund gives direct support to the groundbreaking research currently underway at the Translational Brain Tumor Immunology Laboratory at Mass General Hospital (MGH).

In addition to the work with MGH, the Jenny Fund also works with Nashua PAL and the Greater Nashua Boys & Girls Club for youth events, including the Fund’s youth mentorship basketball program.

In combination with previous donations dating back to 2018, the fund to date has raised nearly $275,000, with its main event its annual golf tournament.

According to Farrar, the tourney should raise close to $60,000 this year.

Also, Farrar said, a scholarship is being set up this year in Gureckis’ name at New Hampton School.

“We’re doing our best to preserve the memory of Jen Gureckis,” Farrar said.

For more information, Farrar can be reached vie email at Mike.Jennyfund@gmail.com.