TPC Las Vegas

TPC Las Vegas supports PGA TOUR's charity initiative

LAS VEGAS

The PGA TOUR is heads and tails above all other major sports when it comes to giving back. Charity: It is the way to people's hearts. It is the way to people's smiles. Giving back is the way of the PGA TOUR.

The TOUR, its players, tournaments, volunteers and sponsors are united in making an indelible mark in each community they visit, leaving it better off than before they came. The PGA TOUR has generated more than $910 million in charitable giving since the first donation was made in 1938. It is a commitment unparalleled in professional sports.

Within the next 12 months, the PGA TOUR expects to reach $1 billion in charitable giving. The TOUR launched its "Drive to a Billion" at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am. It will conclude at the FBR Open in 2006. To add perspective to this staggering number, the PGA TOUR provides more charitable contributions than professional baseball, football, hockey and basketball combined.

In the modern sports world this is an incredible accomplishment. But how does the TOUR manage to be so successful in this capacity? Here are some statistics:

According to Market Tools 2003, 93.3% of Americans feel the PGA TOUR's image is a positive one. This percentage leads all major sports, including NASCAR.
According to Market Tools 2003, 95.1% of Americans say the PGA TOUR provides good role models. This percentage also leads all major sports, including NASCAR.
According to American Demographics, 79% of Americans believe that companies have a responsibility to support charity.
According to American Demographics, 81% of Americans will even switch brands (assuming equal quality and price) to support a charity.
According to American Demographics, 77% of Americans feel that corporate charity commitment is important in deciding what to buy and where to shop.

In a nutshell, the intrinsic qualities of golf are regarded so highly by the public and business world that it forms a symbiotic relationship that is unequalled in the sports arena. People enjoy watching golf and the principles it promotes. As a matter of fact, according to 2003 Nielsen Media Research, an average PGA TOUR event has the second highest household reach behind an average NFL game. Due to this popularity, major networks purchase the rights to televise PGA TOUR events. In turn, the networks sell air time to advertisers.

At a different level, corporations properly align their product by purchasing sponsorship of PGA TOUR events. They receive exposure to a valued demographic and their sponsorship packages directly correlate to the charitable contribution of an event. With the PGA TOUR being a non-profit entity, the major benefactors are the numerous charities around the country.

On a local scale, golf facilities like the TPC Las Vegas and the TPC at Summerlin are owned and operated by the PGA TOUR. The "no cost" use of these facilities during the Fry's.com Open at Las Vegas allows for greater charitable contributions because the TOUR is not paying a facility to hold their event.

TPC Las Vegas also partners with the First Tee of Southern Nevada to provide a low cost fund-raising venue for the youth of our area. TPC Summerlin, TPC Las Vegas and PGA TOUR Charities put on an annual area-wide Junior Clinic in November. Hundreds of elementary school children are provided a great show and an introduction to the game of golf.

So, please keep in mind the next time you are attending a PGA TOUR event, playing golf at a TPC property or patronizing any one of the PGA TOUR's business sponsors, you are really supporting charity in a huge way.