Tournament Officials announced today a new name, date and format for the Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship. The Tournament, to be played the week of September 9-15, 2013, will help usher in a new era on the Web.com Tour as it will host the third of four tournaments that will determine the 50 players who earn PGA TOUR playing privileges for the 2013-2014 season and their eligibility position under the TOUR’s enhanced qualifying system.
“With the introduction of this new qualifying process and four Finals events in 2013, the Web.com Tour is about to embark on the most exciting era in its 23-year history,” said PGA TOUR Commissioner Tim Finchem. “The Web.com Tour will clearly become the pathway to the PGA TOUR, with season-long performance serving as the benchmark for securing one’s TOUR card. The Web.com Tour season promises to end in a very heightened fashion next September and we are thrilled to include the Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship as a Web.com Tour Finals Event.”
“We are very appreciative of the support of Nationwide Insurance, The Ohio State University and the central Ohio community,” continued Commissioner Tim Finchem. “We look forward to working with the Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship to make it a big success as a Web.com Tour Finals Event and continuing to have a big impact on Nationwide Children’s Hospital.”
"Columbus is a world-class golf town and we're very proud to host the third event of the Web.com Tour finals at Ohio State's Scarlet Course," said Matt Jauchius, Chief Marketing Officer of Nationwide Insurance and Chairman of the Board for the Nationwide Children's Hospital Championship. "This event will continue to support the great work at Nationwide Children's Hospital while it sets the stage for Web.com Tour golfers to reach the next level in their professional careers on the PGA TOUR."
Since its inception in 2007 the Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship has been a leader in generating charity dollars on the Web.com Tour. Through 2011 the event has raised more than $2.1 million in support of the pediatric cancer program for its primary beneficiary, Nationwide Children’s Hospital. Proceeds from the 2012 event have not been released, but once finalized Tournament Officials expect the new cumulative total to exceed $2.7 million in donations for Nationwide Children’s.
“Over the past six years the Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship has made significant contributions to our hospital,” said Dr. Steve Allen, Chief Executive Officer for Nationwide Children’s Hospital. “We are thrilled the tournament has become a Finals event and will be in position to continue to not only generate funds, but to increase national exposure for our hospital.”
Together with the tournament’s charity focus, the other constant for the event in 2013 will be the host venue, The Ohio State University Golf Club – Scarlet Course. The Scarlet Course has played host to the Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship from the beginning and remains one of the truest tests of golf on the Web.com Tour.
“We congratulate the Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship on being selected as a Finals event,” said Gene Smith, Athletic Director at The Ohio State University. “We are proud that The Ohio State University Golf Club and the Scarlet Course will continue to serve as host site, not only for the exposure the tournament provides what we believe is the finest collegiate golf course in the country, but most importantly because we enjoy being partners with an event that does so much for charity, principally Nationwide Children’s Hospital, an organization that has enjoyed a longtime academic relationship with The Ohio State University Medical Center. It is a privilege to be a part of such a great cause.”
The new name of the Tournament recognizes that the event will no longer be played as an invitational. In July of this year, Commissioner Finchem outlined details of the new qualifying system that will result in the 50 PGA TOUR membership cards being awarded through the Web.com Tour, beginning in 2013:
Eligibility for the Finals will be as follows:
- The top-75 money winners on the Web.com Tour money list at the conclusion of the Web.com Tour regular season.
- Players who finish 126-200 on the PGA TOUR’s FedExCup points list at the conclusion of the PGA TOUR’s regular season.
- Non-members who have earned enough FedExCup points based on their performance on the PGA TOUR to place them 126-200 on that points list.
The 50 PGA TOUR cards will be awarded as follows:
- The 25 leading money winners on the Web.com Tour will be guaranteed cards at the end of the regular season.
- Another 25 cards will go to those players who earn the most cumulative money in the four Finals events.
A Web.com Tour money list reflecting earnings in the four Finals’ events will be in effect, with all players starting with $0. For those in the Finals, a player’s finish on the Finals’ money list will determine his position within the PGA TOUR priority ranking, which is used to form fields for TOUR events, with two exceptions. The Web.com Tour’s leading money winner during the regular season and the player who earns the most money during the Web.com Tour Finals will be fully exempt, meaning each is guaranteed a spot in PGA TOUR events the following season (excluding invitationals). Both will earn invitations to THE PLAYERS.
The 48 remaining players will be slotted next in priority after the top 125 off the FedExCup points list. The 2013-14 PGA TOUR season will start in October, 2013.
The Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship, along with the other three Finals Events, will start with fields of approximately 144 players (exact field sizes TBD due to overlap eligibility for some players) and a purse of $1 million, with a first prize of $180,000.
All four tournaments will be 72-hole stroke-play events, with a 36-hole cut coming at the Web.com Tour’s standard 60 and ties.
Golf Channel will carry four-round coverage of all four events.
HNS Sports Group, based in Dublin, Ohio will continue to provide tournament management services for the Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship.
Details of the four Finals are highlighted below:
- August 26 – September 1 Hotel Fitness Championship Sycamore Hills Golf Club Fort Wayne, Ind.
- September 2-8 Chiquita Classic The Club at Longview Weddington, N.C. (Charlotte)
- September 9-15 Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship Ohio State University Golf Club / Scarlet Course Columbus, Ohio
- September 23-29 Fourth Finals Event TBD
ABOUT THE NATIONWIDE CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL CHAMPIONSHIP
The Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship is owned and operated by Champions of the Community, Inc., an Ohio non-profit corporation. The event is one of four Web.com Tour Finals tournaments that will determine the 50 players who earn PGA TOUR playing privileges for the 2013-2014 season and their eligibility position under the TOUR’s enhanced qualifying system. Featuring a purse of $1,000,000 the tournament is conducted to showcase the best golf on the Web.com Tour on one of the most challenging venues in the world , The Ohio State University – Scarlet Course, for the enjoyment of spectators and to benefit charitable organizations in central Ohio. For more information, call 614-764-GOLF or visit our website at www.nchcgolf.com.
ABOUT NATIONWIDE
Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company, based in Columbus, Ohio, is one of the largest and strongest diversified insurance and financial services organizations in the U.S. and is rated A+ by both A.M. Best and Standard & Poor’s. The company provides customers a full range of insurance and financial services, including auto insurance, motorcycle, boat, homeowners, pet, life insurance, farm, commercial insurance, annuities, mortgages, mutual funds, pensions, long-term savings plans and specialty health services. For more information, visit www.nationwide.com.
ABOUT NATIONWIDE CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL
Ranked in the U.S. News & World Report’s 2008 “America’s Best Children’s Hospitals” and Parents magazine’s 2009 top ten “Best Children's Hospitals” lists, Nationwide Children’s Hospital is one of the nation’s largest not-for-profit freestanding pediatric healthcare networks providing wellness, preventive, diagnostic, treatment and rehabilitative care for infants, children, adolescents and adult patients with congenital disease. A medical staff of nearly 900 and a hospital staff of 6,500 provide state-of-the-art pediatric care for more than 750,000 patient visits annually. As home to the Department of Pediatrics of The Ohio State University College of Medicine, Nationwide Children’s Hospital physicians train the next generation of pediatricians and pediatric specialists. The Research Institute at Nationwide Children's Hospital is one of the top 10 National Institutes of Health-funded freestanding pediatric research facilities. Nationwide Children’s remains true to the original mission since its founding in 1892 of providing care regardless of a family’s ability to pay. More information is available at NationwideChildrens.org.
ABOUT THE Web.com TOUR
Founded (1990), owned and operated by the PGA TOUR, the Web.Com Tour identifies those players who are ready to compete and win on golf's biggest stage. As the official proving ground of the PGA TOUR, three out of four PGA TOUR members are Web.com Tour alumni. Tour alumni have won 342 PGA TOUR titles, including 17 majors and five PLAYERS Championships. Twenty-five PGA TOUR cards will be at stake over the course of 27 events in 2012. Web.com became the Tour’s umbrella sponsor on June 27, 2012, replacing Nationwide Insurance. A 10-year agreement (through 2021) is in place. The PGA TOUR, through the efforts of its three tours and their tournaments, sponsors, players and volunteers, supports over 2,000 local charities and has surpassed $1.7 billion in charitable giving. To learn more about the PGA TOUR and Web.com Tour and to follow the season-long quest for a PGA TOUR card, visit PGATOUR.COM, Twitter and Facebook.
ABOUT THE OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY ATHLETICS DEPARTMENT
The Ohio State University Department of Athletics is completely self supporting and receives no university monies, tax dollars or student fees. The Department of Athletics sponsors 36 fully funded varsity teams – 17 for women, 16 for men and three that are co-educational – and is committed to providing the very finest in academic and athletics support in an effort to provide its more than 1,000 student-athletes with a quality, life-changing experience at Ohio State.