ABOUT THE BIG ROOSTER GOLF CLASSIC
What started with 16 friends, a few tee times, some Rooster stickers, and a reason to remember Dad has grown into something none of us could have imagined.
The Big Rooster Golf Classic was created in memory of John J. “Big Rooster” Cornell Jr., who passed away unexpectedly from a massive heart attack on June 12, 2015, while watching his son, Johnny, race at Bridgeport Speedway.
Five years later, Johnny decided he wanted to do something positive with a day that had come to represent the worst moment of his life.
The result was the first Big Rooster Golf Classic.
On June 12, 2020 — exactly five years after Big John's passing — Johnny booked several tee times at Morgan Hill Golf Course in Easton, Pennsylvania, and invited 16 of his closest golfing buddies to spend the day together in Dad's memory.
There was no plan to create a major charity golf tournament.
There were no sponsors, no volunteers, no giant raffle and certainly no expectation that someday 144 golfers would be waiting for registration to open.
It was simply a group of friends playing golf and remembering Big John.
A friend designed Rooster stickers for the day. The winners received a Rooster club cover and a trophy. They took some pictures, shared them on Facebook and figured that was that.
Instead, the response was overwhelming.
Friends wanted to play the next one. Family wanted to participate. Racing buddies, coworkers and even childhood friends of Big John's reached out wanting to be part of a day celebrating his life.
Sixteen golfers had started something.
From 16 Friends to 144 Golfers
What began as several tee times at Morgan Hill quickly grew into an annual tradition.
As the outing expanded, so did the community surrounding it. Friends became sponsors. Local businesses stepped up to support it. Volunteers donated their time. New golfers joined people who had known Big John for decades.
By 2023, just three years after those original 16 friends teed it up, the Big Rooster Golf Classic had grown into a sold-out field of 144 golfers at Heron Glen Golf Course.
The growth hasn't stopped.
Today, registration for the BRGC can fill the entire 144-player field within minutes.
But while the size of the outing has changed dramatically, the reason behind it hasn't.
It's still about Dad.
Where It Started
More Than 18 Holes
The Big Rooster Golf Classic has never been interested in being just another charity golf tournament.
We want people to look forward to this day all year.
That means continually putting money, time and effort back into the outing itself — golfer giveaways, food, drinks, contests, on-course activities, prizes, raffles, entertainment and new experiences that make each year's event better than the last.
The goal is to create an experience where 144 people can spend a day with friends, compete, laugh, tell stories and make memories.
In a strange way, that's incredibly fitting.
Racing was the center of Big John and Johnny's life together. They missed parties, weddings and just about anything else that happened to interfere with a race. Their weekends revolved around being together at a racetrack.
Big John, ironically, wasn't much of a golfer. His most famous contribution to the sport may have been accidentally sending a golf club through a third-floor window at Rahway High School in 1973.
Yet somehow, golf became the vehicle for carrying his name forward.
And maybe that's because the BRGC isn't really about the game itself.
It's about the people you're spending the day with.
Big John would have understood that part perfectly.
From the very beginning, Johnny wanted the outing to accomplish more than keeping his father's memory alive.
Because Big John was lost to a heart attack, the American Heart Association became the natural cause for the tournament to support.
From that first outing forward, 100% of the Big Rooster Golf Classic's net proceeds have been donated to the American Heart Association in John J. Cornell Jr.'s memory.
That distinction is important to us.
The generosity of our golfers and sponsors allows us to both create the experience the BRGC has become known for and generate a meaningful charitable contribution. After the expenses of putting on the outing and providing those experiences are covered, every dollar of net proceeds is donated.
In 2023, the Big Rooster Golf Classic became an official nonprofit organization, further establishing what had grown from a simple day among friends into something with a lasting purpose.
And in 2026 alone, the BRGC donated more than $20,000 in net proceeds to the American Heart Association.
A Community Built Around a Memory
Perhaps the most meaningful part of the BRGC's growth isn't the number of golfers or dollars donated.
It's the people.
Some knew Big John for most of their lives. Some raced with the Cornells. Some were childhood friends. Some are family, coworkers or friends who heard the stories over the years.
And many of the people who now attend the Big Rooster Golf Classic never had the opportunity to meet him at all.
Yet every June, they show up wearing the Rooster.
They know his name. They know why they're there. They hear the stories. And through their participation, they become another part of a legacy that continues to grow long after Big John's passing.
Every golfer who plays, every business that sponsors the event, every volunteer who gives their time, every person who buys a raffle ticket and every individual who contributes helps make that possible.
The BRGC started with 16 friends at Morgan Hill who simply wanted to make a difficult day a little better.
Today, 144 golfers come together to do the same thing — while helping make life a little better for someone else.
That's what the Big Rooster Golf Classic has become.
A day for Dad.
An experience for everyone who joins us.
And an opportunity to turn loss into impact.
From 16 friends to 144 golfers — and we're just getting started.
Turning Loss Into Impact
