Spirited 9-Hole Golf Match Serves as Annual Kick-Off to PGA Championship Week
Paramus, N.J., – The New Jersey Golf Foundation, the charitable arm of the New Jersey PGA, today announced that The Ridgewood Country Club in Paramus New Jersey will host the 2021 PGA HOPE Secretary’s Cup. PGA HOPE (Helping Our Patriots Everywhere), the flagship military program of PGA REACH, the charitable foundation of the PGA of America, has helped thousands of military Veterans recover from disabilities through the game of golf. In 2020 alone, PGA HOPE positively impacted 2,500 Veterans nationwide with the help of 350 PGA Professionals.
The PGA HOPE Secretary’s Cup, which debuted in 2016, is named after the Secretary of Veteran Affairs in recognition of the Memorandum of Understanding between PGA REACH and the Department of Veteran Affairs. This annual event, run in conjunction with PGA Championship week, is a 9-hole golf tournament featuring four military Veterans and one PGA or LPGA Professional. Based on travel restrictions due to the pandemic, the Carolinas PGA Section teams will compete at Osprey Point Golf Course on Kiawah Island – host venue for the 2021 PGA Championship, while New Jersey and teams representing the Metropolitan, Kentucky, South Central, Western New York, Northern California, PGA Sections will compete remotely at local venues in their respective markets.
Team New Jersey, winner of the 2017 and 2018 Secretary’s Cup, has participated in every Secretary’s Cup since inception in 2016. This year, Team New Jersey is represented by U.S. Navy Veteran and PGA WORKS Fellow in New Jersey, Jose Renderoskieffer; U.S. Marine Corps Veteran Jim Csigi; U.S. Army Veteran David Ryden, and U.S. Army Veteran Josh Sears. The Team is joined by PGA Member and Head Golf Professional at Hawk Pointe, Pete Stefanchik who has been an active part of the PGA HOPE program in New Jersey for the past six years.
The Host venue will be live streaming both the opening ceremonies and post-event awards reception with a two-way component so that Team New Jersey and all remote teams will be able to see one another and provide some interaction.
“I am looking forward to competing in the 5th Annual Secretary’s Cup while representing my fellow New Jersey Veterans that participate in the PGA HOPE program,” said PGA WORKS Fellow and team member, Jose Renderoskieffer. “I also want to thank The Ridgewood Country Club for hosting the 5th Annual Secretary’s Cup, what a treat for our team of Veterans to tee it up at a world-class championship venue.”
Originally founded in Ho-Ho-Kus in 1890, Ridgewood was designed by A.W. Tillinghast in 1927 at its current location (Paramus, NJ). The Ridgewood Country Club shares similar course designs to Baltusrol Golf Club, Somerset Hills Country Club, and Essex County Country Club. Ridgewood, known as one of the oldest country clubs in America, is one of eight A.W. Tillighast’s original course design.
Ridgewood will add to their rich history of championship golf in 2022 when they also play host to the U.S. Amateur Championship. The 27-hole facility has previously hosted the Northern Trust (formerly The Barclays), the first round of the PGA Tour Fedex-Cup Playoffs in 2008, 2010, 2014, and 2018 crowning champions such as Vijay Sing (2008), Matt Kuchar (2010), Hunter Mahan (2014), and Bryson DeChambeau (2018). The renowned private country club has also hosted the 2001 Senior PGA Championship, 1990 U.S. Senior Open, 1981 LPGA Coca-Cola Classic, 1974 U.S. Amateur, 157 U.S. Senior Amateur, 1935 Ryder Cup, and 1933 New Jersey PGA Championship. Tom Waltson, Lee Trevino, Kathy Whitworth, Johnny Kinder, and Walter Hagen are just a few professionals who have won a tournament at Ridgewood.
About PGA HOPE
PGA HOPE (Helping Our Patriots Everywhere) is the flagship military program of PGA REACH, the charitable foundation of the PGA of America. PGA HOPE introduces golf to Veterans with disabilities to enhance their physical, mental, social and emotional well-being. The program introduces the game of golf through a developmental 6-8 week curriculum, taught by PGA Professionals trained in adaptive golf and military cultural competency. All programs are funded by PGA REACH and supplemented by PGA Section Foundations, so the cost of programming is free to all Veterans.
PGA HOPE has a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), which enables Recreational Therapists to refer Veterans to the PGA HOPE program as a form of therapy. Through a robust program strategy, PGA HOPE aspires to create a physically and emotionally healthier Veteran community by shaping lives, changing lives, and possibly saving lives through the game of golf.
For more information on PGA HOPE please visit www.pgareach.org/services/military or follow on social media: Instagram, Twitter, & Facebook.
Contact:
Dave Miller (dmiller@pgahq.com)
New Jersey Section, PGA of America | 732.596.0909
Jared Minski (jared@mastrocomm.com)
Mastro Communications, Inc. | 732.546.4325
