Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. – The Web.com Tour and the Mackenzie Tour – PGA TOUR Canada announced today a joint donation of $20,000 to the relief efforts directed towards the recent wildfires in Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada, which impacted Fort McMurray Golf Club, annual host of the Syncrude Boreal Open presented by AECON.
“We’ve always been touched by the support from the Fort McMurray community, from families billeting players at their homes to volunteers who put hard work and dedication into the event,” said Mackenzie Tour President Jeff Monday. “We look forward to seeing that spirit come through as the community recovers and gets back on its feet.”
Dry conditions and high temperatures in Fort McMurray over two weeks ago sparked a wildfire blaze that forced the evacuation of nearly 90,000 residents – one of the largest evacuations in Canadian history. The fire caused extensive damage to the clubhouse and course at Fort McMurray Golf Club.
“The tragic wildfires in Alberta have impacted many lives in one of the country’s great golf provinces. It is our hope that this joint donation between the Web.com Tour and the Mackenzie Tour will inspire others to follow suit, helping not only Fort McMurray, but the region as a whole, in an extreme time of need,” said Web.com Tour President Bill Calfee.
In addition to the donation put forth by the Web.com Tour and the Mackenzie Tour, players will show their support over the next two weeks by pledging a donation amount for each birdie they make, and asking fans to do the same. All donations put forth by the Tours and raised by players and fans will be directed towards the United Way of Canada, through the PGA TOUR Charities, Inc. Fans wishing to support the cause can do so through the TOUR’s Together, anything’s possible charity website at www.Together.PGATOUR.com.
The Web.com Tour is in Greenville, S.C. this week for the BMW Charity Pro-Am presented by SYNNEX Corporation, while the Mackenzie Tour will kick off its 2016 season with the Freedom 55 Financial Open, to be contested May 26-29 in Vancouver, British Columbia. Participating players at each event will set a dollar amount to donate for each birdie made, and fans will be able to match that number or contribute a set amount to pledge their support.
“I’m really pleased that the Web.com Tour and the membership are coming together to support such a worthy cause. A lot of us are Mackenzie Tour alums, and thus played in Fort McMurray. As well, many of us stayed with host families there, in homes we can only assume are now gone or badly damaged,” said Web.com Tour member and Alberta native Brad Fritsch. “What we are doing this week is a small token of our gratitude towards the Fort McMurray community. They support professional golf and golfers, so it is incumbent upon us to step up and help them in their time of need. Hopefully we can raise a whole lot of money and help with the process of rebuilding their lives.”
The city of Fort McMurray has been a tremendous host for the Mackenzie Tour for the past five years, welcoming players in the community and rallying around the event to raise support for local charities. The Syncrude Boreal Open presented by AECON has played host to a number of current PGA TOUR players through the years, including Nick Taylor, Tony Finau, Adam Hadwin, Mark Hubbard, Tyler Aldridge and Lucas Lee.
“The people in Fort McMurray have been so supportive of Mackenzie Tour players and always welcomed us into their community with open arms. Hopefully we can make some birdies and help raise a bunch of money to support and give back to a place that’s given us so much over the years,” said 2015 Syncrude Boreal Open presented by AECON champion Kevin Spooner.
For more information on the relief efforts, or to make a donation, please visit www.Together.PGATOUR.com.
ABOUT THE WEB.COM TOUR
Founded (1990), owned and operated by the PGA TOUR, the Web.Com Tour continues to identify those players who are ready to compete and win on golf’s biggest stage. In 2013, the Web.com Tour became The Path to the PGA TOUR with all 50 available PGA TOUR cards coming through the Web.com Tour and the season culminating at the four-event Web.com Tour Finals. Web.com became the Tour’s umbrella sponsor on June 27, 2012. A 10-year agreement (through 2021) is in place. The Tour is in its 26th year of competition in 2015. Three out of four PGA TOUR members are Web.com Tour alumni. Tour alumni have won 425 PGA TOUR titles, including 21 majors and five PLAYERS Championships. The PGA TOUR, through the efforts of its tours and their tournaments, sponsors, players and volunteers, surpassed $2 billion in charitable giving in Jan. 2014. 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, Facebook and Instagram.
ABOUT THE MACKENZIE TOUR – PGA TOUR CANADA
The Mackenzie Tour – PGA TOUR Canada is a series of tournaments played across Canada each summer – it’s where tomorrow’s stars begin their path to the PGA TOUR. The leading five money winners at the end of each season earn status on the Web.com Tour for the following season. The Mackenzie Tour’s mission is to deliver a PGA TOUR experience for our members, fans, volunteers and our partners in order to develop the future stars of professional golf and enrich the communities we visit. Twitter: Mackenzie Tour @PGATOURCanada. Facebook: Facebook.com/MackenzieTour.
ABOUT WEB.COM
Web.com Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: WWWW) provides a full range of Internet services to small businesses to help them compete and succeed online. Web.com is owner of several global domain registrars and further meets the needs of small businesses anywhere along their lifecycle with affordable, subscription-based solutions including website design and management, search engine optimization, online marketing campaigns, local sales leads, social media, mobile products, eCommerce solutions and call center services. To get more information, visit web.com; follow Web.com on Twitter @webdotcom or on Facebook at facebook.com/web.com. For additional online marketing resources and small business networking, please visit Web.com’s Small Business Summit.
