Charleston, S.C. – The National Golf Course Owners Association (NGCOA) is pleased to announce eight-time major champion, World Golf Hall of Fame Inductee, and founder of Watson Links Tom Watson as the recipient of its 2025 Award of Merit, the organization’s most prestigious award, which recognizes long-term and significant contributions to the game of golf. Tom will accept the award and then sit down with NGCOA CEO Jay Karen for a conversation and audience Q&A during the NGCOA’s Golf Business Conference 2025 Closing Luncheon.*
Tom’s record includes eight major championships, 39 total wins on the PGA Tour and five PGA Tour money titles – but it is his personal characteristics that endear him to fans and fellow golfers alike. He has raised vast amounts of funding for medical research and children’s hospitals and inspired his peers to do the same. Throughout his career Tom has been committed to giving back to the sport, particularly focusing on the next generation of golfers, most recently through Watson Links, his youth golf mentoring initiative. He has also provided ongoing support to First Tee and Youth on Course, and designed and created a junior golf course in Kansas City. Tom’s work on and off the course demonstrates the powerful vehicle golf can be for personal development and community engagement. Read more about Tom.
“Fifty years ago this year, Tom bursted on the scene with his win at the Western Open, and he’s been impacting the game on a global scale ever since,” said Jay Karen, NGCOA CEO. “The nation’s golf course owners and operators wish to recognize and thank Tom for his contributions to our sport and business. Fandom for great stars like Tom translates into masses playing the game. And playing the game is what fuels our great industry.”
“Giving back to the game that I love is my passion,” Tom Watson said. “Young people deserve access to the golf community and the many life-long benefits golf offers. That’s what Watson Links is all about: driving on-course opportunities and relationships through mentoring. I believe that if we can help develop the next generation of golfers, it will benefit the industry as whole as well as each young person who becomes a lifelong player. I appreciate the owners and operators of our nation’s golf courses who support these types of initiatives and I look forward to seeing them at NGCOA’s Golf Business Conference.”
*The Closing Luncheon and Q&A on Wednesday, January 22 is included in a Golf Business Conference 2025 full conference pass; learn more and register for GBC25 at golfbusinessconference.com.
About the Golf Business Conference
The Golf Business Conference is the industry’s largest annual gathering of golf course owners and operators, and is hosted by the NGCOA. Through NGCOA’s continuing strategic alliance with the PGA of America and PGA Golf Exhibitions, GBC25 attendees can also participate in a wide range of activities at the 2025 PGA Show. GBC24 sponsorships are also available; industry suppliers may contact partnerships@ngcoa.org with interest. Learn more at golfbusinessconference.com.
About the National Golf Course Owners Association
The NGCOA is the leading authority on the business of golf course ownership and management. The association represents and promotes the interests of golf courses as the principal businesses and economic assets of the game of golf. The not-for-profit organization is the only trade association dedicated exclusively to golf course owners and operators. Through advocacy, education and information resources, purchasing programs and networking opportunities, the NGCOA helps golf course owners and operators run more successful businesses. For more information or to join, visit ngcoa.org or call 800-933-4262.
Media Contact: Renée Flowers, Senior Director of Events and Communications, NGCOA, rflowers@ngcoa.org.
