The Association of Fundraising Professionals Northeast Florida Chapter named The Players Championship as the outstanding corporation at its National Philanthropy Day Luncheon at the Hyatt Regency on Thursday.
The Players was nominated by Baptist Health and Wolfson Children's Hospital, Nemours Children's Health and the PACE Center for Girls, which have been the beneficiaries of Players Championship Charities in the past. During its history on the First Coast since 1977, The Players has supported more than 300 First Coast nonprofits with a focus on youth services, education, health wellness and sport, character development and military support.
The Players' partnership with Baptist Health and Wolfson Children's Hospital goes back to 1986. A $1 million gift from The Players along with an additional $2 million commitment started The Players Center for Child Health, which has impacted 82,000 children, caregivers and parents since 2012.
A more recent $3 million donation from The Players Championship Village, Inc., a charitable affiliate of The Players, will create a cutting-edge behavioral health unit at Wolfson Children's.
The Players made a $2 million commitment to Nemours Children's Health in 2022 to fund a new state-of-the-art facility named The Players Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders.
The Players Championship Village awarded Pace Center for Girls a transformational gift of $2 million to fund a three-year, pilot program in North Florida to provide girls and their families substance abuse prevention and intervention services.
The Players Championship is launching a grant program for Northeast Florida nonprofits to provide golf equipment and resources.
The grants will be need-based for local golf programs. To be eligible, the organizations must have 501(c)3 tax-exempt status, be within the five-county First Coast area and fall within The Players charitable pillars (individuals and families are not eligible).
"As a former instructor, I know firsthand how important it is to have proper equipment to successfully compete in this sport," said Players executive director Lee Smith, a PGA professional. "To have the opportunity to provide this resource is very exciting — not only for our population here in Northeast Florida, but for the sport of golf."
To apply to the grant program, visit theplayers.com/equipment.
Registration for the Jacksonville Area Golf Association First Coast Amateur opened on Nov. 1 for the 54-hole stroke-play event Jan. 13-15, 2024, at the Amelia National Golf Club.
The tournament returns to Nassau County after being played at Hidden Hills and Hammock Dunes. The inaugural First Coast Am was in 2017 when Brandon Mancheno won at Amelia National.
Last year's tournament had players from 23 states, 13 countries and 39 colleges and universities. Brock Healey, a Kennesaw State graduate, won by one shot with birdies on three of his last five holes.
Players must have a verifiable USGA handicap of 2.0 or less and have reached the age of 16 by Jan. 13, 2023.
To enter or for more information, visit jaxareagolf.org.
The North Florida PGA has named San Jose Country Club teaching professional Stephanie Connelly-Eiswerth as its 2023 female player of the year.
Connelly-Eiswerth tied for second at the Section Championship and finished second at the NFPGA Professional Championship.
On the national level, she finished 34th in the 2023 PGA Professional Championship and has qualified for the 2024 KPMG Women's PGA Championship.
The Jacksonville Area Golf Association Scholarship Tournament has filled about half its field for the Nov. 20 event at the Deerwood Country Club. the tournament is JAGA's major fundraiser for its Scholarship Trust, which impacts area college students.
Teams are $175 per player, with gold, silver and bronze level sponsorships and hole sponsorships available. Information is available at jaxareagolf.org.
Christine Huntand Tama Caldabaughof Ponte Vedra Beach and Liz Brezaof St. Augustine won their singles matches to lead the North team to a 20-12 victory over the South in the Florida Women's Cup at Mountain Lake in Lake Wales, the first time in the 12-year history of the event the North won. Breza also won both doubles matches to go 3-0 and Hunt was 2-0-1. ... Bruce Moskovciakof Jacksonville and John Thompsonof Palm Coast combined to win the Florida State Golf Association's Net Two-Man Championship by 12 shots at ChampionsGate. They had a scrambled round of 63 and a best-ball round of 59 to finish at 22-under 122. ... Aaron Russellof the Sawgrass Country Club won the Northern Chapter Match Play Championship with a 2 and 1 victory over Timuquana's Taylor Davisat Sawgrass.
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Kudos to The Players: Tournament honored as corporation of the year
