Tournament will continue as Finals event at The Ohio State University Golf Club – Scarlet Course
Columbus, Ohio – Tournament Officials announced a three-year extension of the agreement between the Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship and the PGA TOUR that insures the tournament will continue as a Web.com Tour Finals event through 2021. Additionally, a three-year agreement with The Ohio State University Golf Club was announced, confirming the Scarlet Course—redesigned by Ohio State alumni Jack Nicklaus in 2006 for only $1.00—will continue to host the tournament.
“Since the first tournament in 2007, the Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship has developed into one of the Web.com Tour’s finest events, setting high standards in tournament hosting, corporate community involvement, and most importantly, the impact of charitable dollars to Nationwide Children’s Hospital,” said Dan Glod, President of the Web.com Tour. “The three-year extensions with Champions of the Community and The Ohio State University ensure the community impact will remain in place and the Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship will play a pivotal role in determining who earns PGA TOUR cards through 2021.”
“We are thrilled that this tournament will continue to be played in Columbus at The Ohio State University Golf Club,” said Mike Boyd, president of the tournament’s host organization, Champions of the Community. “This event allows central Ohio golf fans to see the future stars of the PGA TOUR play in their hometown. It also brings awareness about the work being done at Nationwide Children’s Hospital and raises much-needed funds which allow the hospital to fulfill its mission of providing world-class health care for every child that walks through the door, regardless of the family’s ability to pay.”
Since its inception in 2007, the Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship has been a leader in generating charity dollars on the Web.com Tour. Through 2016, the event has raised more than $7.3 million in support of the pediatric cancer program for its primary beneficiary, Nationwide Children’s Hospital.
The tournament proudly announced record-high donations to Nationwide Children’s Hospital the past four years, topping the one million dollar mark for the first time in 2014. Donations the past years have grown from $1,003,769 in 2014, to $1,253,322 in 2015, to $1,604,500 last year. Thanks to the continued corporate and community support, the Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship is poised yet again to raise the charity bar and significantly increase the donations to the Hospital.
“Nationwide Children’s Hospital is thankful that the Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship, PGA TOUR and The Ohio State University have again decided to continue to bring a highly competitive golf tournament to central Ohio,” said Steve Allen, MD, chief executive officer of Nationwide Children’s Hospital. “The tournament and community’s support of our pediatric cancer program for more than a decade has been evident with the record-breaking donations during the past four years of play. The tournament’s ongoing commitment plays a significant role in helping to raise vital awareness of the hospital’s mission to help children from all over the world.”
Together with the tournament’s charity focus, the other constant for the event will be the host venue, The Ohio State University Golf Club – Scarlet Course. The Scarlet Course, a Jack Nicklaus Signature Golf Course design, has played host to the Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship from its inception and remains one of the truest tests of golf on the Web.com Tour. The Ohio State University Golf Club is also the only site to have hosted a Finals event since the Web.com Tour initiated the four-tournament Finals in 2013.
“We congratulate the Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship on the tournament’s new agreement,” said Gene Smith, vice president and director of athletics at The Ohio State University. “We are proud that The Ohio State University Golf Club and the Scarlet Course will continue to serve as host site, not only for the exposure the tournament provides to what we believe are the best golf facilities in the collegiate community, but most importantly because we enjoy being partners with an event that does so much for charity, principally Nationwide Children’s Hospital, an organization that has enjoyed a longtime academic relationship with The Ohio State University Medical Center. It is a privilege to be a part of such a great cause.”
After Nicklaus’ renovations to the Alister MacKenzie design debuted in 2007, Golf Digest included the layout on its list of the Best New Private Remodels. For the past seven years, Golfweek has consistently ranked the Scarlet Course in the top-10 Best Campus Courses nationwide. Buckeyes who have played the course and gone on to achieve success on Tour include Nicklaus, John Cook, Chris Perry, Joey Sindelar, Ted Tryba, and Tom Weiskopf.
The Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship is managed by HNS Sports Group, a full-service event management company headquartered in Dublin, Ohio.
The Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship was played as an invitational from 2007 to 2012. The tournament debuted as a Finals event in 2013 when the Web.com Tour became the path to the PGA TOUR and began awarding all 50 cards for the following PGA TOUR season. Previously, 25 cards were awarded to the leading money winners on the Web.com Tour at season’s end and 25 more cards via the PGA TOUR Qualifying School in December. The PGA TOUR Qualifying School is no longer in existence, having been replaced by the Web.com Tour Qualifying School, which provides a first step on the path to the PGA TOUR.
The 11th playing of the Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship begins this Thursday, August 31, as the first of four Finals events and will feature a blended field of the top 75 players from the Web.com Tour this year and players from the PGA TOUR finishing Nos. 126 – 200 on the regular season FedExCup points list, less those with exemptions.
The exempt player from the Web.com Tour Regular Season top 25 will be identified at the conclusion of the four Finals events, using combined Regular Season and Finals money. Therefore, any top-25 player can earn the coveted No. 1 position if he performs well enough in all four Finals events. A second full exemption will be awarded to the highest cumulative earner based on the four-event Finals’ money list.
The ordering of all 50 players after the Web.com Tour Finals will be done on an alternating basis, using the two lists of card earners.
The field for the Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship will compete over 72 holes of stroke play, with a cut to the top-65 players and ties after 36 holes. Golf Channel will broadcast tournament coverage from Thursday’s opening round to the trophy presentation on Sunday in high definition. The Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship’s Charity Ticket Program, now entering its 10th year, allows for participating charity organizations to receive donations based on the number of “charity tickets” redeemed at the tournament. For a list of participating charities and information about how to join the program please visit ncc-golf.com.
General admission for this award-winning stop on the Web.com Tour is free. For details and to print free tickets, visit ncc-golf.com/tickets.
For Tournament information please visit ncc-golf.com or call (614) 764-GOLF.
Your Privacy Choice