The Most Unique Event in Professional Golf, Featuring an Unprecedented Format of PGA TOUR Champions, LPGA Stars and Top-Tier Celebrities, Competing Side by Side, Kicks Off January 13, 2017
ORLANDO, FL / ACCESSWIRE / January 7, 2017 / Next week, the second annual Diamond Resorts Invitational™ benefiting Florida Hospital for Children will feature PGA Tour Champions and LPGA players competing alongside sports and entertainment celebrities for separate purses totaling $1.25 million.
All three rounds of the January 13-15 event will be nationally televised on Golf Channel from Tranquilo Golf Club at Four Seasons Resort in Orlando.
Diamond Resorts started this golf tournament in 2013 as a weekend celebrity-am. It was called the Brian Gay Invitational, with the PGA Tour player lending his name.
As the tournament garnered success and the celebrity list grew, Diamond Resorts was approached with an opportunity to televise the event with NBC Golf and did so for the first time in 2016 as a celebrity-only event.
"Surprisingly, the television ratings exceeded all expectations," said Michael Flaskey, Chief Operating Officer, Diamond Resorts International ®; which prompted calls from LPGA, PGA TOUR and PGA TOUR Champions.
Now, a tour sanctioned event, this January there will be 27 PGA TOUR Champions and 3 LPGA stars competing for $750,000 and 48 celebrities competing for $500,000. This will be a unique viewing experience as there will be a professional with two celebrities in each pairing, playing from the same tee but with two different leaderboards.
"This is unique from other Pro-Ams as these celebrities cannot use the pro as a 'crutch,' so to speak. They will be playing an individual golf tournament with the modified Stableford format. So, we think we have bottled something that is going to be very exciting to watch," said Flaskey.
Diamond Resorts International® is a global vacation ownership and hospitality company; with the in-house ability to execute such events without external resources, which is why they decided to launch a large-scale event with an element of philanthropy with Florida Hospital for Children.
"Diamond Resorts does over 2,500 special events a year for their owners called Events of a Lifetime®, and this tournament begins the series. We're very proud of how we built this event from the ground level up to the signature sports property that it has become today," said Mr. Flaskey.
Over the past three years, the Diamond Resorts Invitational’s tournament-related events have raised over $1.7 million for Florida Hospital for Children.