Philanthropic Standard on the Champions Tour Adds Beneficiary To Stable of Orange County Charities it Supports
NEWPORT BEACH, Calif., March 6, 2009 – Keeping its long-standing tradition of supporting Orange County charities, the Toshiba Classic donated $25,000 to the fledgling Cal State University at Fullerton golf program.
The donation, made in a brief ceremony midway through Friday’s first round of the 2009 Toshiba Classic, helps Fullerton re-establish a golf program that was disbanded in 1988. The women’s golf program was disbanded in 1986. Under the direction of Director of Golf Jason Drotter, both programs will resume this fall for the 2009-2010 season.
The donation will supplement the extensive fund-raising duties engineered by Paul Folino, the executive chairman of Emulex, one of the Platinum Sponsors of the Toshiba Classic. Folino realized to his surprise that the Titans were without a golf program and began raising money to re-start the program.
“There is a certain level of pride that comes with helping to build something from the ground up and we couldn’t be more proud of helping Cal State Fullerton build a golf program. We are pleased and honored that the Toshiba Classic would make this kind of gesture on behalf of Cal State Fullerton,” Folino said.
“As we continue into the second decade of the Toshiba Classic and our sponsor family grows, we have been able to fulfill our goals and reach tremendous successes,” Toshiba Classic Tournament Chairman Ira Garbutt said. “At this time, we would like to start to share some of our success with a handful of other local Orange County charities. Cal State Fullerton touches all of Orange Countyand many of those people are responsible for our success.”
The $1.7 million Toshiba Classic will be televised on Golf Channel (tape delay) on Friday, March 6 from 3:30-5:30 p.m. PT and Saturday and Sunday, March 7-8 from 3:30-6 p.m. PT.
Bernhard Langer – the Champions Tour’s reigning Player of the Year, Rookie of the Year, Arnold Palmer Award (money list champion) winner and Byron Nelson Award (low scoring average) winner – is joined in the race to the Toshiba Classic’s $255,000 winner’s check by a field representing 11 World Golf Hall of Famers, 20 PGA TOUR major champions and 25 Champions Tour major champions. All told, the Toshiba Classic field accounts for 442 PGA TOUR titles (53 majors) and 390 Champions Tour titles (54 majors).
Daily tickets are $25 at the gate. Season clubhouse badges providing admission to the grounds and clubhouse for practice rounds and the tournament are $100. All tickets, including corporate ticket packages, can be obtained by calling 949-660-1001 or visiting www.ToshibaClassic.com.
The 2008 Toshiba Classic raised $1 million for Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian and other local Orange County organizations. In the past 11 years, the Toshiba Classic has raised more than $11.1 million for charity, the most on the PGA Champions Tour.
The Toshiba Classic
Hoag Hospital Foundation produces the annual Toshiba Classic. During the last 11 years, the Toshiba Classic has raised more than $11.1 million for charity, the most on the Champions Tour. In the PGA Champions Tour’s 29-year history, only nine out of more than 600 tournaments have raised $1 million in net proceeds from an event in a single year. The Toshiba Classic has reached the $1 million mark nine consecutive years out of those 10. Televised to an international audience on Golf Channel, the Toshiba Classic enables millions of viewers to see some of Orange County’s greatest attractions. The tournament generates an estimated $20 million in annual economic impact for the county and state. For more information, please call 949/660-1001 or log onto ToshibaClassic.com.
Contact:
Toby Zwikel/Brian Robin/Damian Secore
818-462-5599/5610/5614
Jessica Roswell
949/660-1001
