Golf Championship to Drive Local Spending
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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowEvents surrounding the largest golf event in the state this year begin today. PGA Tour officials anticipate the Hotel Fitness Championship will inject up to $5 million into the Fort Wayne area economy. The organization says 800 volunteers are expected to help with the Web.com Tour event. Our partners at WPTA 21Alive report local businesses are preparing for thousands of event visitors and sponsors. Visit Fort Wayne tells Inside INdiana Business organizers with the Hotel Fitness Championship and the PGA estimate 30,000 attendees throughout the week.
News Release
Originally Posted March 26, 2013
FORT WAYNE, Ind. – Sycamore Hills Golf Club in Fort Wayne, Ind., will host the debut of the “Web.com Tour Finals” on Aug. 26-Sept. 1, Western Golf Association and PGA TOUR officials have announced. The Hotel Fitness Championship will be the biggest golf tournament played in the Hoosier state in 2013 and will bring an estimated $4-5 million in economic impact.
The Hotel Fitness Championship is one of four newly created Web.com Tour Finals events for 2013 that will determine the 50 players who earn cards for the 2013-14 PGA TOUR season under the TOUR's enhanced qualifying system.
“Hotel Fitness is proud to sponsor this prestigious PGA TOUR event here in Fort Wayne,” said Bruce Dye, CEO of Hotel Fitness. “We are excited to showcase Fort Wayne’s many fine assets, especially the warm people who make up this community. We are equally excited to join with the PGA TOUR in bringing a whole new level of competition and excitement to the golfing community of Indiana. This sponsorship is also a unique and powerful tool to increase fundraising for local charities.”
Players who are eligible for the Hotel Fitness Championship include the top-75 money winners on the Web.com Tour at the conclusion of the Regular Season; players who finish 126-200 on the PGA TOUR's FedExCup points list at the end of the TOUR's Regular Season; and, any non-members who earn enough points to place them among 126-200 on the FedExCup points list at the end of the Regular Season.
All proceeds from the 2013 Hotel Fitness Championship will benefit the Evans Scholars Foundation, which awards full tuition and housing college scholarships to caddies from modest means, and Fort Wayne charities.
“We're very excited that Sycamore Hills Golf Club and Fort Wayne will be the first stop on the inaugural Web.com Tour Finals,” said Duke Butler IV, tournament director, on behalf of the WGA. “As the official proving ground of the PGA TOUR, three out of every four PGA TOUR members have played on the Web.com Tour. Patrons of the Hotel Fitness Championship are guaranteed to see world-class golf that week.”
Hotel Fitness Championship facts:
-The Championship will be a first-time event on the Web.com Tour in 2013.
-Host Sycamore Hills Country Club was designed by Jack Nicklaus and opened for play in 1989. It has hosted numerous events, including the Indiana State Amateur, Junior PGA Championship, and USGA Open and Amateur qualifiers.
-The course plays to a par of 72 at 7,275 yards.
-Approximately 800 volunteers are needed to help during Championship week.
-The Western Golf Association, host organization of the BMW Championship on the PGA TOUR, will be the host organization.
-Beneficiaries of the tournament will be the Evans Scholarship Foundation, one of the country's largest privately sponsored scholarship programs, and Fort Wayne charities.
For more information on hospitality or tickets, visit http://www.hotelfitnesschampionship.com or contact the Championship staff at info@hotelfitnesschampionship.com. To learn more about the WGA and the Evans Scholars Foundation, visit www.wgaesf.org.
About Western Golf Association
Founded in 1899 to serve golfing interests in the growing Midwest, the WGA now has more than 400 member clubs. The WGA conducts championships for professional and amateur golfers, promotes the use of caddies and oversees the Evans Scholars Foundation, which awards college scholarships to caddies with limited financial means. The WGA is a driving force in the game, a respected charitable cause for thousands of supporters and a distinguished leader in the nation's golf community. Its premier golf event is the BMW Championship, the second-oldest tournament on the PGA TOUR. For more information on the WGA and ESF, call (847) 724-4600 or visit: www.wgaesf.org.
About the Web.com Tour
Founded (1990), owned and operated by the PGA TOUR, the Web.Com Tour identifies those players who are ready to compete and win on golf's biggest stage. As the official proving ground of the PGA TOUR, three out of four PGA TOUR members are Web.com Tour alumni. Tour alumni have won 345 PGA TOUR titles, including 17 majors and five PLAYERS Championships. Twenty-five PGA TOUR cards for 2013 were awarded in late October at the conclusion of Tour's 27-event season. Web.com became the Tour’s umbrella sponsor on June 27, 2012, replacing Nationwide Insurance. A 10-year agreement (through 2021) is in place. Beginning in 2013, the Web.com Tour becomes the path to the PGA TOUR with all 50 PGA TOUR cards coming through the Web.com Tour and the season culminating at the four-event Web.com Tour Finals in September. The PGA TOUR, through the efforts of its three tours and their tournaments, sponsors, players and volunteers, supports over 2,000 local charities and has surpassed $1.7 billion in charitable giving. To learn more about the PGA TOUR and Web.com Tour and to follow the season-long quest for a PGA TOUR card, visit PGATOUR.COM, Twitter and Facebook.
About Hotel Fitness
Hotel Fitness (www.HotelFitness.com) is a global leader in designing and supplying quality commercial products to the hotel, resort and multi-family marketplace. Hotel Fitness, a Brigadoon Fitness Company, provides state-of-the-art fitness equipment, sports flooring, accessories and knowledgeable facility design & planning services. Partnering with leading global manufacturers, their design and product sales team works with many of the largest and most recognized hoteliers and global developers. Headquartered in Fort Wayne, IN, Hotel Fitness has assisted 30,000 commercial developers and hoteliers over 20 years with the design, development and fulfillment of high performing on-site fitness facilities. The World’s Leader in Hotel & Resort Fitness.
Source: The Hotel Fitness Championship