SAINT AUGUSTINE, Fla., – Clean energy solutions provider Vitis Energy has signed on as a founding partner of the PXG Women’s Match Play Championship, boosting the tournament’s total purse to a minimum of $55,000.
With Vitis’s support, the purse increased 10 percent, with $15,000 now going to the overall winner of the professional women’s tournament, to be held Nov.1-6 at the Slammer & Squire Golf Course at World Golf Village in Saint Augustine.
“We wanted to energize the players’ performance by offering a larger top purse,” said Stephanie Clarkson, chief executive officer of Vitis Energy. “As a certified women owned business enterprise, Vitis is pleased to be able to support these stellar women athletes as they pursue their dreams of a professional sports career.”
In addition to boosting the top purse, Vitis will sponsor the tournament’s volunteer program and the free Junior Clinic, scheduled for Oct. 30, whereby local youth will have an opportunity to learn key fundamentals with tournament players. The accompanying charity Pro-Am on Oct. 31, meanwhile, will benefit Investing in Kids! (INK!), a nonprofit that provides scholarships and other support to students and teachers in the St. Johns County (FL) schools.
“We are thrilled to have Vitis Energy join us as a founding partner,” said Mark Berman, CEO of the East Coast Women’s Professional Golf Tour (ECWPGT), of which the PXG Women’s Match Play Championship is a part. “The synergy between Vitis – a women-owned company operating in a male-dominated industry – and this tournament couldn’t be stronger. Their commitment enables us to make a significant purse even more substantial.”
Considered to be the major of women’s developmental-level professional golf, the PXG Women’s Match Play Championship will feature more than 80 emerging professional women golfers seeking to advance to the LPGA Tour. Seven ECWPGT players qualified for the 2022 U.S. Women’s Open Championship, including 2021 PXG Women’s Match Play competitors Sofia Garcia and Julianne Alvarez. Gabby Then, also a 2021 participant, won on the Epson Tour this year.
Information regarding the Junior Clinic, tickets and volunteering can be found on the tournament’s website at www.pxgwmpc.com. Information about elevated hospitality opportunities, Pro-Am spots and key sponsorships opportunities are also available on the tournament website or by contacting the tournament office at mark@pxgwmpc.com. Social media handles include @PXGWMPC, #PXGWomensMatchPlay, @ECWPGT, #AintNoMiniTour and #MakeGolfYourThing.
About Vitis Energy
Headquartered in St. Augustine, Florida, Vitis Energy develops, constructs and operates clean energy solutions that help customers save money, improve power reliability and enhance sustainability. The company executes a strategy of comprehensive, full-lifecycle project development, from initial market and site evaluations to permitting, financing, construction and operation. For more information, visit www.vitisenergy.com.
About the PXG Women’s Match Play Championship
The PXGWMPC was created in 2021 to shine a light on the developmental level of women’s professional golf and, through its collaboration with Generation W, also on women’s initiatives off the course, including the Generation W Links to Leadership Summit. Eighty-four aspiring LPGA Tour players will compete in a 36-hole stroke-play qualifier, Nov. 1-2, seeding the 64-woman match-play portion that begins with Pool Play on Nov. 4. The Round of 16 and the Quarterfinal matches will be played Nov. 5. The Semifinal matches and Championship Matches will be held Nov. 6. The Generation W Links to Leadership Summit will be held Nov. 3 at the St. Johns County Convention Center. The tournament will be conducted on the Slammer & Squire Golf Course at World Golf Village in St. Augustine, FL. In addition to Title Sponsor PXG, Founding Partners include Murgado Bentley/Maserati Jacksonville, Vitis Energy, Access Golf, Kessler Creative and Baptist Health of Jacksonville. www.pxgwmpc.com
About the East Coast Women’s Professional Golf Tour
The ECWPGT has a dual mission of creating more and better playing opportunities for women aspiring to the LPGA Tour and to create career connections and pathways outside the ropes for female athletes.
Based in Florida, the ECWPGT is one of only three women’s developmental tours in the U.S. The ECWPGT is open to developmental professional players, including those on the Epson Tour and Ladies European Tours and is also open to elite-level amateurs and college players. For more information visit www.ECWPGT.com.
Contacts:
Jennifer Logue
Director of Communications
Vitis Energy
(904) 687-1857
jlogue@vitisenergy.com
Mark D. Berman
PXG Women’s Match Play Championship/East Women’s Pro Golf Tour
904.838.4962
mark@ecwpgt.com
