It’s genuinely hard to imagine any golfer who doesn’t know PING. No doubt every single one across the Valley of Sun does, if not also familiar with the Solheim family name. Those looking even farther beyond game improvement quickly find that PING’s relationship with the community is appreciated by many: none more than the JGAA. For them seeing the all-caps PING is like rounding the final bend after a long road trip and seeing home.
“PING supports our members across the board from new players to top, college-bound competitors,” said JGAA Executive Director Scott McNevin. “Having them in our backyard, and so active, is a huge advantage for every one of them. They help us improve the quality of their experience as they’re beginning to play.”
In addition to providing team golf bags and hosting tournaments like the recent PING Invitational, they also sponsor the PING Jr Masters Series, five elite JGAA tournaments at some of the most prestigious courses in Arizona.
“Our goal is to provide a competitive place for aspiring players to play,” said Alex Clark, Chairman of the Board of the JGAA. “Thanks to PING, this tournament series allows kids to earn national-level points to serve as a launching pad into nationally chartered events.”
January’s Warren Schutte Invitational is the first to tee off. It’s held at Wigwam Golf Club where the event’s namesake runs a golf school. The second of five – Fisher-Bryan Invitational – is likewise hosted by top instructors Jeff Fisher and Stacy Bryan but across the Valley at Longbow Golf Club. In March, The Thunderbirds catch their second wind after the WM Phoenix Open to host their PING Jr Masters tournament at Papago. Bryce Molder, one of only four in college golf history to be named a four-time, first-team All-America hosts his tournament in April at McDowell Mountain Golf Club. And finally, the Willie Low Invitational caps off the PING Jr Masters Series at Phoenix Country Club in June with a tribute to one of the Valley’s top golf professionals for nearly a half century who started the tournament in 1969.
We thank PING for supporting “Golf for Life” and our mission to “educate, motivate, and inspire Arizona’s future leaders through golf.” Graciously headquartered on the PING campus, for the JGAA, pulling the vans into the lot after a long tournament is, literally, coming home.
Thank you, PING!
