Mayor Steve Bach’s fundraising abilities are right on par.

The inaugural Mayor’s Cup golf tournament at The Broadmoor on Thursday brought in about $55,000 – $15,000 more than the goal set by organizers.

The money will be used for the mayor’s Spirit of the Springs initiatives, including college scholarships for aspiring police officers and firefighters.

“One of the great things that will come from this is we want to create scholarships for young people in Colorado Springs who need financial help to go to college and who will consider a career in city government, especially in public safety,” Bach said Thursday.

“I’d like to see us grow our own city government (with Colorado Springs residents), and this will help us do that,” he said.

The money will be held by the Pikes Peak Community Foundation, and a citizen panel led by retired businessman Dave Munger will oversee the spending.

Munger, who ran for mayor against Bach, said the panel will announce more details in the next couple of weeks, if not sooner.

“We’ll have some specifics about how organizations can apply for this and how the kids that the mayor is talking about can be able to use this money,” Munger said.

Bach thanked another former mayoral candidate, Buddy Gilmore, for initiating the golf tournament.

“This could not have happened without Buddy Gilmore. This was his idea,” Bach said.—Contact Daniel Chacón: 476-1623Twitter @danieljchaconFacebook Daniel Chacon