Principal Charity Classic To Benefit Children’s Charities
(Des Moines, IA) — The Champions Tour and Principal Financial Group® announced today that the Champions Tour will return to Des Moines, IA in 2007 with a new tournament. The Principal Charity Classic will be hosted by the Greater Des Moines Community Foundation.
The Classic will be played at Glen Oaks Country Club in West Des Moines June 4 – 10. It will feature a 78-player field and $1.6 million purse in 2007. The Golf Channel will televise all three rounds.
The agreement between Principal Financial Group and the Champions Tour is for two years with a two-year option.
The Bruno Event Team of Birmingham, AL has been hired to manage the tournament. Jeff Starr, former tournament director of the Allianz Championship, will remain in the same role for the new event.
"The theme of the PGA TOUR’s Champion’s Tour is ‘Giving Back’, which makes this an ideal fit for The Principal®," said J. Barry Griswell, chairman and CEO of the Principal Financial Group. "We have a long-standing commitment to give back to the community where our employees live and work. We’re proud and excited to be able to keep this preeminent golf event here in the Des Moines area with a new approach. We hope to increase our giving and focus on charities that have a direct impact on children. It will be a fun event for the whole community, whether you’re a golf fan or not."
The charitable recipients will be Blank Children’s Hospital, BRAVO, Greater Des Moines Community Foundation, United Way of Central Iowa and Variety-The Children’s Charity. The long-term goal of the tournament is to raise $500,000 annually for the five children’s charities.
"We’re thrilled things came together so quickly with the Principal Financial Group and that we are able to make this announcement today," said Champions Tour president Rick George. "The Champions Tour has enjoyed coming to Des Moines every year since 1999 and thanks to The Principal the tradition will continue with this new tournament. We welcome Principal Financial Group to the Champions Tour family. The addition of the Principal Charity Classic certainly enhances an already strong 2007 schedule. "
"The Principal Charity Classic is the only Champions Tour event held in the state of Iowa and gives us the opportunity to showcase our community as a stop on the national tour," said Johnny Danos, president of the Greater Des Moines Community Foundation. "This event not only boosts our local economy, it will provide a lasting impact on the future of our community through financial support for children’s charities."
"I’m excited to work with The Principal to align this tournament with a valuable community partner," said Starr. "With their help we’ll be able to take this charitable event to a new level and increase the involvement of the community and in return what we are able to give back."
The Champions Tour first came to Des Moines in 1999 for the U.S. Senior Open, played at Des Moines Golf & Country Club. Two years later, the Allianz Championship was played at Glen Oaks Country Club, which was home to the event every year except 2005 when it was played at the Tournament Club of Iowa in Polk City. Gil Morgan won the 2006 edition by one shot over Loren Roberts on June 4th.
Additional tournament information can be found at www.principal.com/charityclassic.
About the Principal Financial Group
The Principal Financial Groupï?’ (The Principal ®) is a leader in offering businesses, individuals and institutional clients a wide range of financial products and services, including retirement and investment services, life and health insurance, and banking through its diverse family of financial services companies and national network of financial professionals. A member of the Fortune 500, the Principal Financial Group has $206 billion in assets under management and serves some 16.3 million customers worldwide from offices in Asia, Australia, Europe, Latin America and the United States. Principal Financial Group, Inc. is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol PFG. For more information, visit www.principal.com.
"The Principal Financial Group" and "The Principal" are registered service marks of Principal Financial Services, Inc., a member of the Principal Financial Group.
2 As of June 30, 2006.
About the Greater Des Moines Community Foundation
The Greater Des Moines Community Foundation is Central Iowa’s premiere philanthropic foundation. The Community Foundation works to meet its mission of improving the area’s quality of life through thoughtful investment in community activities, programs, and projects. Established by community stakeholders for the purpose of improving quality of life in Greater Des Moines, the foundation initiates programs, coordinates resources and supporting organizations that enhance education, community betterment, arts and culture, health and human services.
About the Bruno Event Team
Bruno Event Team is a Birmingham, AL-based sports marketing and event management company. It employs a year-round staff of more than 40 people in seven states and has managed a number of professional golf events including the Champions Tour’s Regions Charity Classic in Birmingham, AL, several U.S. Senior Opens and the 2006 U.S. Women’s Open.
About the Champions Tour
The Champions Tour is a tax-exempt membership organization of professional golfers age 50 and older. Conceived in 1980 as the Senior PGA Tour, it started with just four events and purses totaling $475,000. The Champions Tour now has 28 official Charles Schwab Cup events (a 29th, Bank of America Championship, was cancelled in June due to rain) offering $50.95 million in prize money in 2006 and its highest average purse ever of $1.82 million. The Champions Tour’s primary purpose is to provide significant competitive and earnings opportunities for players age 50 and older; to protect the integrity of the game; and to help grow the reach of the game in the U.S. and around the world. In addition to providing competitive opportunities for its membership, Champions Tour events also generate significant sums of money for charity. On October 30th, 2005 the PGA TOUR, Champions Tour and Nationwide Tour and their tournaments announced they had reached the $1 billion milestone in charitable donations dating back to the first recorded donation in 1938. The commissioner of the PGA TOUR is Tim Finchem. Rick George is president of the Champions Tour. TOUR headquarters is in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. Our web site address is PGATOUR.com.
Contact:
Jeff Adams
Director of Public Relations
Champions Tour
Tel: 904-273-3397
Email: jadams@pgatourhq.com
Terri Hale
Principal Financial Group
Tel: 515-283-8858
Email: hale.terri@principal.comJeff Adams
Director of Public Relations
Champions Tour
Tel: 904-273-3397
Email: jadams@pgatourhq.com
Terri Hale
Principal Financial Group
Tel: 515-283-8858
Email: hale.terri@principal.com
