Courtesy of Four Seasons Hotel St. Louis
The St. Louis sports scene keeps getting better and better.
On Tuesday at Norwood Hills Country Club, in North County, the PGA announced that the PGA Tour Champions—a group of professional golfers age 50 and older, including 33 members of the World Golf Hall of Fame—will begin a four-year tour in partnership with the nonprofit Catholic health care system Ascension in 2020. According to a release from the PGA, the new Ascension Charity Classic is the first time the PGA Tour has hosted an annual event in the St. Louis region since 2001. The tournament is scheduled September 28 to October 4, 2020. Golfer Phil Mickelson is just one of many stars set to turn 50 in the coming year.
The inaugural tournament will be 54 holes and feature World Golf Hall of Fame members; the PGA Tour Champions includes 27 tournaments in four countries and 19 states. The Ascension Charity Classic will benefit the Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis and Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater St. Louis. Marygrove, a residential facility for children and teens, is also a beneficiary.
The location holds significance. In a release, Nick Ragone, the executive vice president and chief marketing officer of Ascension said: “We wanted to host the Ascension Charity Classic at Norwood Hills because we know that it can serve as a catalyst to support the revitalization of North St. Louis County, including the Ferguson, Florissant and Jennings communities that neighbor the Norwood Hills Country Club. Players may compete, but the real winners will be North County and area charities. All proceeds will go to charitable organizations in the North County area that are working to build a better community. It’s a privilege to be able to be a part of the continued revitalization of our community and our region.”
Norwood Hills hosted the 1948 PGA Championship.
In a release, PGA Tour Champions President Miller Brady said that "the St. Louis area is one of the great sports regions in the United States, known for its passionate, dedicated fans and history of charitable giving and community engagement. This combination of great sports fans, community engagement and charitable giving is what the PGA Tour is all about, and this will quickly become one of our premier events.”
