The PGA TOUR announced today that charitable donations in 2014 were a record $140.5 million. This total includes donations made by tournaments on the PGA TOUR, Champions Tour, Web.com Tour, PGA TOUR Canada, PGA TOUR China and PGA TOUR Latinoamérica.
With the announcement, the all-time total donated to charity is $2.14 billion since the first-ever charitable contribution of $10,000 at the 1938 Palm Beach Invitational. Of that total, more than $1 billion has come since the TOUR surpassed the $1-billion plateau in 2005. The $2-billion mark was passed in January of last season.
“This record charitable output is a testament to the hard work and tireless efforts of our tournaments, sponsors, players and, especially, our volunteers,” said PGA TOUR Commissioner Tim Finchem, who made the announcement during this week’s World Golf Championships-Cadillac Championship. “This achievement is remarkable and reflects the tremendous impact that is being felt in communities all over the world.”
Earlier this year, it was announced that the Waste Management Phoenix Open had surpassed $100 million in charitable donations in its history, becoming the third PGA TOUR event to have generated that much for charity, joining the AT&T Byron Nelson Championship and the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am. Expected to join that illustrious grouping in three weeks is the Valero Texas Open, which has donated more than $95 million to charity in its history, including more than $90.5 million since Valero became title sponsor of the event in 2002.
In 2014, five PGA TOUR events generated more than $7 million for charity, including three – Valero Texas Open, AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am and Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial – that donated more than $9 million. There were six Champions Tour events that donated more than $1 million to charity, including the Shaw Charity Classic which was over $2 million. The Albertsons Boise Open presented by Kraft led the Web.com Tour with donations of more than $1.45 million.
The World Golf Championships, a series of four international championships, have surpassed a significant milestone with the series generating more than $50 million for charitable causes since their debut in 1999.
Unlike other professional sports organizations, the PGA TOUR relies on more than 100,000 volunteers annually to run its tournaments, and the vast majority of its tournaments are structured as non-profit organizations designed to donate 100 percent of net proceeds to charity. Community beneficiaries include a wide variety of organizations including hospitals, youth development organizations, growth-of-the-game programs and food banks.
