Athens, Ga. – The Web.com Tour professional golf tournament will be returning to the UGA Golf Course in 2013 and Stadion Money Management has extended its title sponsor agreement, the University of Georgia and the PGA TOUR announced Wednesday.
“I am pleased that the Stadion Classic will return to the UGA Golf Course in 2013,” UGA President Michael F. Adams said. “This is a great event for a great cause, and it has been embraced by the Athens community as one of the highlights of the spring. I am grateful to the PGA TOUR for its partnership and support of this event.”
The Stadion Classic at UGA will take place April 29 to May 5, according to the PGA TOUR.
This will mark the fourth straight year that UGA has hosted the Stadion Classic. The tournament was known as the Athens Regional Foundation Classic from 2006-09. Watkinsville-based Stadion Money Management has been the title sponsor since the event moved to the UGA Golf Course in 2010.
The Stadion Classic at UGA continues to be the only PGA TOUR sanctioned event that is owned and operated by an institution of higher education. The South Georgia Classic in Valdosta is the only other Web.com Tour event played in Georgia.
The tournament will be operated by UGA’s Auxiliary Services Division. Net proceeds from the event will benefit the University’s need-based scholarship program. Additionally, the Stadion Classic at UGA supports TICKETS Fore CHARITY, which benefits non-profit organizations in communities where PGA TOUR and Champions Tour tournaments are held.
“Stadion is proud to once again serve as the title sponsor for the Web.com Tour’s tournament at the UGA Golf Course,” said Jud Doherty, the president of Stadion. “The Stadion Classic at UGA has been a tremendous success and a great opportunity to see some of the best golfers in the world compete right here in Athens. The best part is through the TICKETS Fore CHARITY program almost $310,000 over the last three years has been invested in the Athens community. We hope this year local charities will be able to raise even more.”
The Stadion Classic at UGA has developed into a showcase for the success of the UGA men’s golf program. Twenty-five players with connections to the Bulldogs have teed it up in Athens over the past three years. On the final day the last two years, a Bulldog-Russell Henley in 2011 and Hudson Swafford in 2012-has held the Stadion Classic at UGA trophy. Henley won the 2011 event as an amateur, becoming just the second man in Web.com Tour history at that time to do so. He had secured his place in the field with one of the two sponsor’s exemptions given to current members of the UGA team with the season’s best scoring averages. Swafford won the 2012 tournament by ending with three consecutive birdies, including a hole-out from a greenside bunker with his final shot.
“The Web.com Tour is delighted to announce its return to the University of Georgia,” Web.com Tour president Bill Calfee said. “We’ve enjoyed a wonderful partnership with the University since making the move to UGA in 2010 and, with their leadership and the support of Stadion Money Management, the tournament continues to grow. The UGA Golf Course has become a real favorite among the players. Having Russell and Hudson win the last two years made for some great storylines and did a lot to energize everyone involved with the Stadion Classic at UGA. We think the Web.com Tour has a very bright future in Athens.”
Former Bulldogs Henley and Justin Bolli finished third and ninth, respectively, on the 2012 Web.Com Tour money list to earn PGA TOUR cards for 2013.
ABOUT THE WEB.COM TOUR
Founded (1990), owned and operated by the PGA TOUR, the Web.Com Tour identifies those players who are ready to compete and win on golf’s biggest stage. As the official proving ground of the PGA TOUR, three out of four PGA TOUR members are Web.com Tour alumni. Tour alumni have won 345 PGA TOUR titles, including 17 majors and five PLAYERS Championships. Twenty-five PGA TOUR cards will be at stake over the course of 27 events in 2012. Web.com became the Tour’s umbrella sponsor on June 27, 2012, replacing Nationwide Insurance. A 10-year agreement (through 2021) is in place. Beginning in 2013, the Web.com Tour becomes the pathway to the PGA TOUR with all 50 PGA TOUR cards coming through the Web.com Tour and the season culminating at the four-event Web.com Tour Finals in September. The PGA TOUR, through the efforts of its three tours and their tournaments, sponsors, players and volunteers, supports over 2,000 local charities and has surpassed $1.7 billion in charitable giving. 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 and Facebook.
ABOUT WEB.COM
Web.com (Nasdaq: WWWW) is a leading provider of online marketing services that make it fast, easy, and cost-effective for small businesses to attract and convert new customers on the web. Web.com offers a complete range of web services, including domain registration, website design, online marketing, search engine optimization, lead generation, and e-commerce solutions for every stage of the small business lifecycle. In fact, more than 15 million successful websites have been created with Web.com tools and services. Headquartered in Jacksonville, Fla., Web.com has nearly three million customers. With the acquisition of Register.com in 2010 and Network Solutions in 2011, Web.com is now a leading domain registrar focused on the small business market.
ABOUT THE PGA TOUR
The PGA TOUR is the world’s premier membership organization for touring professional golfers, co-sanctioning more than 100 tournaments on the PGA TOUR, Champions Tour, Web.com Tour, PGA TOUR Latinoamérica and PGA TOUR Canada. The PGA TOUR’s mission is to entertain and inspire its fans, deliver substantial value to its partners, create outlets for volunteers to give back, generate significant charitable and economic impact in communities in which it plays, and provide financial opportunities for TOUR players. PGA TOUR tournaments are broadcast to approximately 715 million households in 225 countries and territories in 29 languages. Virtually all tournaments are organized as non-profit organizations in order to maximize charitable giving. In 2011, tournaments on the three Tours generated more than $121 million for local charitable organizations, bringing the TOUR’s all-time total of charitable contributions to more than $1.7 billion., The PGA TOUR’s web site is PGATOUR.com, the No. 1 site in golf, and the organization is headquartered in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.
ABOUT STADION MONEY MANAGEMENT
Since 1991, Stadion Money Management has been managing investors’ “serious money”-the money that absolutely must be there for important long-term goals like retirement, education and future family legacy. Stadion Money Management offers separate account management services, proprietary mutual funds and one of the leading retirement account investment advisory services in the nation. For more information, please visit www.stadionmoney.com.
ABOUT THE UGA GOLF COURSE
The University of Georgia Golf Course is as beautiful to look at as it is challenging to play. Renovated by Love Golf Design, Inc., in 2006, this par-71, Robert Trent Jones layout is physically demanding, not only because of the hilly terrain, but also because of its typical Jones design — strategically placed bunkers which guard the landing areas and large, undulating greens. The exciting layout requires forced carry approach shots on five holes and the challenging greens provide a variety of hole locations and a certain test on every putt. Originally developed in 1968 to serve the university community, the course operates under the Department of Auxiliary Services and is self-supporting. Set on the beautiful campus of the University of Georgia, the 18-hole public course provides affordable, first-rate facilities and services to students, staff, alumni, and guests. The facility also serves as host to numerous competitions throughout the year, including the Web.com Tour’s Stadion Classic at UGA and the annual Liz Murphey Collegiate Classic. The University Golf Course has hosted several SEC and NCAA Championships for men and women and will be the site of the 2013 Women’s NCAAs.