Memorial Health Foundations receive donation from 2021 event Ticket Sales Open for 2022 tournament
SPRINGFIELD, IL – Community health efforts supported by Memorial Health foundations will receive a $50,000 donation from the proceeds of the 2021 Memorial Health Championship presented by LRS, tournament officials and sponsors announced Wednesday.
Kate Peters, the tournament’s executive director, made the donation announcement during a ceremony at Panther Creek Country Club, which hosts the annual Korn Ferry Tour event. “The 2021 tournament was a great success, and we expect it to grow even more this year,” Peters said. “We’re thrilled to host an event that provides an exciting entertainment option for golf fans, and also generates a positive charitable impact on our community.”
“We are just about ten weeks away from this year’s event and interest in the tournament and golf in general is at an all time high,” Peters continued. “Just this morning we finalized an agreement with Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Illinois to sponsor a Ladies Pro-Am – to be held on Monday of tournament week. We are thrilled to say we are hosting the only Pro-Am for ladies only on the Korn Ferry Tour.”
Ed Curtis, president and CEO of Memorial Health, said the tournament’s donation will have a significant positive impact for the local communities where Memorial’s five hospitals are located. The $50,000 donation will be divided equally among the five foundations that serve Springfield, Decatur, Jacksonville, Lincoln and Taylorville, Curtis said.
“At Memorial Health, our mission is to improve lives and build stronger communities through better health,” Curtis said. “Our five foundations’ initiatives assist patients in need, promote wellness and support scholarships and other education and training opportunities for frontline health care workers. This donation from the Championship will go directly to those efforts to improve community health and have a significant impact.”
Curtis and other tournament sponsors also praised the tournament’s positive community impact. “We love sharing our hometown with these up-and-coming golfers and feel it is a privilege to watch them at this stage in their career,” said Greg Matthews, vice president, Levi, Ray & Shoup, Inc. “The impact the tournament has in our community and for local charities makes us so honored to be part of this event.”
Scott Dahl, director of Springfield Convention & Visitors Bureau, also noted the event’s economic impact. “Visit Springfield recognizes the Memorial Health Championship presented by LRS as a summer destination event,” Dahl said. “The Korn Ferry Tour stop at Panther Creek Country Club drives countless hotel room nights and has generated millions of dollars for the Springfield economy since 2016.”
Ryan McCrady, president and CEO of Springfield Sangamon Growth Alliance praised the tournament as a signature event that contributes to an outstanding quality of life in our community. “It gives our community an opportunity to show visitors all it has to offer as a destination to live, work and play,” McCrady said.
Ticket sales for the 2022 event have opened. Official rounds run from July 14 to July 17. Practice rounds, GAMEDAY presented by CEFCU, the Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Illinois Ladies Pro-Am, and the LRS Pro-Am will occur from July 11-13.
For more information, including sponsorship, ticket sales or to register to volunteer, visit MemorialHealthChampionship.com or call (217)670-2910.
About the Memorial Health Championship presented by LRS
The Memorial Health Championship presented by LRS, a PGA TOUR-sanctioned event on the Korn Ferry Tour, is conducted annually at Panther Creek Country Club in Springfield, Illinois. This four-day, 72-hole competition features 156 players from around the world vying for a total purse of $750,000. As the path to the PGA TOUR, the Korn Ferry Tour features some of the most talented professional golfers who are ready to compete and win on golf’s biggest stage. Since the inaugural year in 2016, the tournament has continued to grow with an expected economic impact of over five million dollars on the central Illinois region.
About Korn Ferry Tour
Founded (1990), owned and operated by the PGA TOUR, the Korn Ferry Tour identifies and develops golf’s next stars, preparing them to compete and win on the game’s biggest stage. The Korn Ferry Tour, which has served as a path to the PGA TOUR since its inception, began providing 50 PGA TOUR cards annually in 2013. Each season, the top twenty-five players secure PGA TOUR cards via the Korn Ferry Tour’s regular season and an additional 25 players secure promotion through the Korn Ferry Tour Finals. With more than 595 PGA TOUR titles, 25 major championships and six FedEx Cup Champions, Korn Ferry Tour alumni make up over 80 percent of the PGA TOUR’s current membership. To learn more about the PGA TOUR, the Korn Ferry Tour and to follow the season-long quest for a PGA TOUR card, visit PGATOUR.COM or follow the Korn Ferry Tour on social media.
Six Korn Ferry Tour events are televised annually on GOLF Channel in the United States, with tournament programming also available via 22 linear TV partners in 170-plus countries and territories. Over 70 hours of live coverage is available in 130-plus countries and territories. Programming is also available via the OTT platform GOLFTV powered by PGA TOUR in every market outside of the United States (240-plus countries and territories), excluding China, Korea, and Russia, with live coverage distributed in 130-plus countries and territories.
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