Multi-year agreement extends BMW’s support of WGA, Evans Scholars Foundation
MEDINAH, ILLINOIS – The PGA TOUR, BMW of North America and Western Golf Association (WGA) announced today that BMW has extended its title sponsorship of the BMW Championship. BMW has sponsored the penultimate FedExCup Playoffs event since 2007, the year the FedExCup was introduced.
“We are happy to remain the title sponsor of the BMW Championship,” Bernhard Kuhnt, President and CEO of BMW of North America,said in advance of today’s final round at Medinah Country Club, site of the event for the first time in more than 50 years. “For 13 years, we have been proud partners alongside the Evans Scholars Foundation, helping to provide opportunities for students to follow their dreams. We are looking forward to continuing those efforts in support of these deserving young caddies.”
“BMW has been a tremendous partner of the PGA TOUR and Western Golf Association and a loyal supporter of the Evans Scholars Foundation since signing on as title sponsor of the BMW Championship in 2007,” said PGA TOUR Commissioner Jay Monahan. “The Western Golf Association’s PGA TOUR event, dating back 120 years, continues to flourish through BMW’s support, positively impacting the communities where it has been played and the caddies who have received Evans Scholarships. Our thanks to Bernhard and the leadership at BMW for their continued support of the BMW Championship, the PGA TOUR and the FedExCup Playoffs.”
All net proceeds from the BMW Championship, conducted by the WGA, benefit the Evans Scholars Foundation. Since 2007, the tournament has raised more than $30 million for college scholarships for deserving caddies. It was named the PGA TOUR’s Tournament of the Year in 2008, 2012, 2013 and 2014.
“Over the past 13 years, BMW has been a valued partner of the Western Golf Association, providing strong support for both our championships and scholarships,” said John Kaczkowski, President and CEO of the WGA. “BMW has gone beyond the traditional role of title sponsors and fully embraced our charity, helping us send more caddies to college through the Evans Scholars Foundation. We’re excited and honored that BMW has extended its partnership with us.”
Dating back to 1899 when it debuted as the Western Open, the BMW Championship is the third-oldest tournament on the PGA TOUR schedule, behind only The Open Championship and U.S. Open. This week marks the first time the tournament has been played at Medinah Country Club since 1966, when it was known as the Western Open. The event is being played on the famed Course No. 3, which has hosted five major championships and the 2012 Ryder Cup, as well as the U.S. Senior Open.
Once it became the penultimate FedExCup Playoffs event in 2007, the BMW Championship converted from a full-field event to an elite field of 70 players, which determines the field of 30 players for the FedExCup finale at the TOUR Championship in Atlanta.
Keegan Bradley won last year in a sudden-death playoff against eventual FedExCup Champion Justin Rose at Aronomink Golf Club in Newton Square, Pennsylvania, marking his first victory since 2012. He joined a sterling list of winners under the FedExCup format, including two-time champions Tiger Woods and Dustin Johnson, as well as Justin Rose, Rory McIlroy and Jason Day.
The 2020 BMW Championship will be held at Olympia Fields Country Club outside of Chicago.
BMW Group In America
BMW of North America, LLC has been present in the United States since 1975. Rolls-Royce Motor Cars NA, LLC began distributing vehicles in 2003. The BMW Group in the United States has grown to include marketing, sales, and financial service organizations for the BMW brand of motor vehicles, including motorcycles, the MINI brand, and Rolls-Royce Motor Cars; Designworks, a strategic design consultancy based in California; technology offices in Silicon Valley and Chicago, and various other operations throughout the country. BMW Manufacturing Co., LLC in South Carolina is the BMW Group global center of competence for BMW X models and manufactures the X3, X4, X5, X6 and X7 Sports Activity Vehicles. The BMW Group sales organization is represented in the U.S. through networks of 348 BMW passenger car and BMW Sports Activity Vehicle centers, 148 BMW motorcycle retailers, 123 MINI passenger car dealers, and 38 Rolls-Royce Motor Car dealers. BMW (US) Holding Corp., the BMW Group’s sales headquarters for North America, is located in Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey.
About Western Golf Association
The Western Golf Association conducts six national golf championships and sponsors the nationally acclaimed Evans Scholars Foundation. Headquartered in Golf, Illinois, the organization was founded in 1899 by 11 Chicago-area golf clubs to promote their interests in golf. In addition to the BMW Championship, the WGA conducts four prestigious amateur championships, the Western Amateur, the Western Junior, and the Women’s Western Golf Association’s Amateur and Junior championships. Starting in 2019, the WGA also is conducting the Evans Scholars Invitational on the Korn Ferry Tour. To learn more, visit www.wgaesf.org.
About Evans Scholars Foundation
The WGA champions education through golf by sponsoring the Evans Scholars Program, the sole charitable beneficiary of the BMW Championship. Established by famed amateur golfer Charles “Chick” Evans, Jr., the program provides full housing and tuition scholarships to deserving caddies across the country. This fall, 1,000 caddies will be attending 18 leading universities on Evans Scholarships. The Evans Scholars Program is funded by contributions from more than 32,500 donors across the country, including many Evans Alumni, and by proceeds from the BMW Championship.
About PGA TOUR
By showcasing golf’s greatest players, the PGA TOUR engages, inspires and positively impacts our fans, partners and communities worldwide.
The PGA TOUR co-sanctions more than 130 tournaments on the PGA TOUR, PGA TOUR Champions, Korn Ferry Tour, PGA TOUR Latinoamérica, Mackenzie Tour-PGA TOUR Canada and PGA TOUR Series-China. Members on the PGA TOUR represent the world’s best players, hailing from 27 countries (90 members are from outside the United States). Worldwide, PGA TOUR tournaments are broadcast to 226 countries and territories in 23 languages. Virtually all tournaments are organized as non-profit organizations to maximize charitable giving. In 2018, tournaments across all Tours generated a record $190 million for local and national charitable organizations, bringing the all-time total to $2.84 billion.
The PGA TOUR’s web site is PGATOUR.COM, the No. 1 site in golf, and the organization is headquartered in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida.
