Callaway PGA Tour Stars Ernie Els and JJ Henry Headline 2009 Golf Town Invitational
(TORONTO) – Golf Town – Canada’s largest golf retailer with unequaled selection and competitive prices at 47 locations coast to coast – announces the 2009 Golf Town Invitational charity tournament will be headlined by Callaway PGA Tour stars Ernie Els and JJ Henry at Toronto’s Magna Golf Club on Monday, August 31.
Benefiting the McEwen Centre for Regenerative Medicine – home to one of the world’s largest concentrations of stem cell researchers – the 2009 Golf Town Invitational will raise funds for its groundbreaking research toward the treatment and cure of diabetes. The event is limited to 20 foursomes and more information is available at www.golftown.com/gti.
“Over the past two years the Golf Town Invitational has become one of the highest profile annual golf events in Canada, and as Golf Town celebrates its 10th anniversary, we’re proud to continue our practice of charitable giving,” said Stephen Bebis, President and CEO of Golf Town. “This event not only supports tremendously worthy causes like the McEwen Centre, but also brings some of the game’s top players to the country and offers a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for passionate golfers to share an intimate day with them.”
Sponsored in part by U.S. Gold and Callaway Golf Canada, the event’s highlights will include participant pictures with the headlining professionals, a clinic conducted by Els and Henry, and a nine-hole exhibition match. The day will conclude with an 18-hole tournament in which participants will have the opportunity to hit a shot with one of the PGA Tour stars.
Attendees will have the unique opportunity to interact with Callaway Golf staff players Els and Henry, both PGA Tour winners and Ryder Cup participants. Els is a three-time major championship winner (British and U.S. Open twice) who finished eighth earlier this month at the Open at Turnberry Resort in Scotland, shooting a 68 on the final day. Henry already has two top-five finishes on the PGA Tour this year.
“We are very excited to help Golf Town continue its tradition of bringing top level tour professionals to Canada for great charitable causes,” commented Callaway Golf Canada Managing Director Scott Reid. “Both Ernie and JJ are not just elite-level golfers, but elite-level people as well. Ernie’s work with autistic youth has been well documented while JJ’s Henry House Foundation provides healthcare and well-being for families in Texas and southern New England.
Among the largest charitable givers in the Canadian golf industry, Golf Town has donated more than $2 million since opening its first store in 1999, including more than $1 million to the Prostate Cancer of Canada. Together, the Annual Golf Town Invitational and Golf Town Charity Classic raise hundreds of thousands of dollars each year.
Golf Town offers an unbeatable selection of clubs, bags, balls, apparel, footwear, accessories, gifts, logo merchandise, promotional services and more from the world’s leading golf brands.
For more information, please visit www.golftown.com.
About Golf Town
Canada’s largest golf retailer, Golf Town was founded in 1999 and has grown from one location in Scarborough, ON, to 47 superstores coast to coast. At an average size of nearly 18,000 square feet, these retail centres feature all the major name-brand products at the best price, ensuring customers find what they want, when they want it.
A centre of the Canadian golf community for individuals and organizations, Golf Town locations serve as sanctuaries where players of all ages and abilities try, buy, learn about and improve their games. The largest employer of CPGA professionals, Golf Town offers on-site lessons tailored to an individual’s needs through its In-Store Academy.
The retailer has also established Canada’s leading customer advantage initiative via its LeaderBoard Membership Privileges Program. Benefits of this free membership include the chance to win a $500 gift card in a national monthly drawing; timely e-newsletters; members-only special offers on equipment, accessories, golf lessons, in-store events; and more.
Golf Town was acquired by OMERS Private Equity, the entity responsible for private equity investments of the OMERS pension fund, in September 2007. For more information: www.omerscapital.com.
Already a leader in logo products for golf events and other programs, Golf Town purchased Accolade Reaction Promotion Group, Inc., in May 2008 and has created a one-stop-shop for the promotional needs of businesses, meeting planners, sales and marketing executives, and human resource professionals. Named a 2008 Top 40 Distributor by the Advertising Specialty Institute (ASI), ARPG is the first Canadian corporate merchandise services firm to achieve ASI Top 40 Status. For more information: www.arpg.ca.
About the McEwen Centre for Regenerative Medicine
Based in the heart of Toronto’s Discovery District at the MaRS Centre/Toronto Medical Discovery Tower, the McEwen Centre’s vision is to be a world-renowned facility for stem cell biology and regenerative medicine. It is home to one of the world’s largest concentrations of stem cell researchers, who are working to accelerate the development of more effective treatments for conditions such as heart disease, diabetes, respiratory disease and spinal cord injury.
Today, teams of McEwen Investigators are committed to finding a way to recreate the complex metabolic functions of the human pancreas. By harnessing the power of stem cells to repair, regenerate or replace diseased cells, tissues and organs, they are able to challenge conventional approaches to treatment, and bring new hope to the more than 170 million diabetes sufferers worldwide.
About Callaway Golf
Through an unwavering commitment to innovation, Callaway Golf Company creates products and services designed to make every golfer a better golfer. Callaway Golf Company manufactures and sells golf clubs and golf balls, and sells golf accessories, under the Callaway Golf®, Odyssey®, Top-Flite®, Ben Hogan® and uPro™ brands in more than 110 countries worldwide. For more information: www.callawaygolf.com/ca.
Contact:
Mark Dottori
Callaway Golf Canada
905.760.6540
mark.dottori@callawaygolf.com
Kevin Satz
Buffalo Communications
703.891.3394
ksatz@buffalocommunications.com