Mark Simpson had a way of making people believe in themselves, even though he might do it in a roundabout manner.

The longtime University of Colorado men's golf coach, who died 2½ years ago after battling cancer, will be remembered on May 31 at 8 a.m. when the inaugural Mark Simpson Golf Tournament, benefiting HealthLinks, is held at Coal Creek Golf Course in Louisville.

Simpson touched many lives in his 29 years as CU golf coach, and some of those he touched went on to great things.

One of Simpson's first recruits as golf coach, Steve Jones, is a good case in point. Jones had a stellar career at CU, then went on to win eight PGA Tour events, including the 1996 U.S. Open. And Simpson was among those who gave Jones a kick-start to greatness.

"I remember (in 1988), he showed up at Pebble Beach (in California) and I said, 'What are you doing here?' " Jones recalled recently in a phone interview. "He said, 'I'm here to watch you win your first (PGA Tour) tournament. That's the kind of confidence he had in me."

Jones subsequently did indeed win the 1988 Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, leading to eight victories overall in the following 10 years.

"He always had a belief in me that I could achieve great things," Jones said. "He encouraged me to give it my best shot and work hard, and that's what I tried to do. He was a good friend. It was a pleasure to know him, and I miss him."

The tournament in Simpson's name will not only honor him on an annual basis, butwill raise money for the Boulder-based HealthLinks Foundation, whose mission it is to provide "financial support, education and community outreach services to promote healthy, active survivorship for cancer survivors and their families." During his battle with cancer, Simpson participated in some of HealthLinks' programs.

"He couldn't wait to go to HealthLinks," said Simpson's widow, Valorie. "They work with you not like you're sick, but like you're getting better."

People interested in playing in the golf tournament ($125-per-person entry fee) or in a sponsorship role should contact Teddi Dingae at 970-669-5241 or at tdingae@aol.com. The entry deadline is Thursday.

One person who will be a tournament sponsor, though he can't be on hand in person, is Mark Crabtree, who played his final season and a half of college golf under Simpson after the coach took over at CU in January 1977. Crabtree later worked as Simpson's counterpart in Fort Collins, coaching the Colorado State men's golf team through the 1990s.

Crabtree on July 1 will become president of the Golf Coaches Association of America, a position Simpson held from 1999 to 2001. Simpson was inducted into the GCAA Hall of Fame in 2004.

"I'm becoming president because Mark encouraged me," said Crabtree, now the men's coach at the University of Louisville. "He mentored me as a coach and led the way for me in this profession. I have some strong feelings about what he brought college golf and the GCAA. He was a true gentleman."

Dingae, a breast cancer survivor and a "graduate" of HealthLinks, came up with the notion of establishing a tournament in Simpson's name. So she approached Valorie Simpson about the idea after previously knowing the Simpsons socially. And Valorie, the president of Colorado Business Bank Northwest in Louisville, gave her wholehearted support.

"What a great way to use Mark's name," Valorie Simpson said.

"It'll be a really nice tribute to Mark and (CU) and for HealthLinks," Dingae said.

Mark Simpson no doubt would have appreciated a golf tournament being named after him, given that he was such an advocate of the game, even to the last, as Valorie Simpson remembers.

"Even when Mark was in intensive care the last month he was alive, he gave one of the nurses putting tips," Valorie shared in a recent e-mail. "She used a 3-foot ruler for her golf club, and a pair of socks tied in a knot for the golf ball. Everyone was entertained, and I actually think it helped her putting."