Event aims to expand diversity and bring greater inclusion to the sport through the most culturally significant championship in collegiate golf
(PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla.) – American International Group, Inc. (AIG), and its Life & Retirement business, today announced its charitable support of the 33rd PGA WORKS Collegiate Championship, the most culturally significant Championship in golf. AIG is the Official Insurance Partner of the PGA of America.
The 33rd PGA WORKS Collegiate Championship (formerly the PGA Minority Collegiate Championship) will be held on the Ryder and Wanamaker Courses at PGA Golf Club in Port St. Lucie, Florida, May 9-12. The Championship provides top-level golf competition in concert with the PGA WORKS Career Expo for student-athletes.
These events cultivate the next generation of golf industry and business leaders as participating student-athletes are introduced to internships and employment opportunities with leading companies and organizations dedicated to an inclusive golf industry.
“We are thrilled that AIG has chosen to help us elevate the PGA WORKS Collegiate Championship and Career Expo,” said Loritz “Scooter” Clark, PGA WORKS Collegiate Championship Manager. “AIG’s support and on-site career mentoring will help deliver an amazing experience for the student-athletes and support the overall growth of golf in an inclusive way. This donation, significant portions of which will be designated for travel offset, will expose more schools and student-athletes to our Championship programming. All this aligns perfectly with our mission to provide inclusive opportunities to the student-athletes far beyond the Championship.”
"We’re delighted to partner with PGA REACH to deliver a first-class event for the student-athletes competing at the PGA WORKS Collegiate Championship, while continuing our collective commitment to greater diversity and inclusion in the game of golf and in the workplace,” said Kevin Hogan, Executive Vice President and Chief Executive Officer, AIG Life & Retirement.
The 54-hole PGA WORKS Collegiate Championship is a stroke-play event contested across six divisions: NCAA Men’s Division I, Men’s Division II, Men’s NAIA, an overall Women’s Division (team), Men’s Individual and Women’s Individual.
While many of the participating teams represent historically black colleges and universities, the individual competition is open to all underrepresented men and women student-athletes playing collegiate golf at the Division I, Division II or NAIA levels, or participants who are enrolled in one of the PGA of America’s PGA Golf Management University Programs. In 2018, 74% of the student-athletes who competed in the event were non-Caucasian, while 14% of the field’s home countries were outside the United States.
The PGA WORKS Collegiate Championship was created to elevate the game at minority colleges and universities by providing student-athletes with the opportunity to compete on a championship stage during an era when they were excluded from many collegiate golf events. The inaugural Championship was conducted in the spring of 1987 at Highland Park Golf Course in Cleveland.
Since 1998, PGA Golf Club has hosted the Championship, and in 2006 the PGA of America was granted ownership and management of the Championship by the National Minority College Golf Scholarship Fund.
In 2019, the Championship was renamed the PGA WORKS Collegiate Championship and moved under the umbrella of PGA REACH, the 501 (c)(3) charitable foundation of the PGA of America.
AIG’s charitable support of PGA WORKS deepens their existing relationship with the PGA of America and its members. AIG is an Official Partner of the PGA Championship, KPMG Women’s PGA Championship and KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship, and AIG Retirement Services is the exclusive retirement plan provider for PGA’s Golf Retirement Plus Program, serving the PGA of America’s Member Professionals.
For more information, visit PGAREACH.org.
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