Stephen and Ayesha Curry’s Eat. Learn. Play. joins Nationwide Children’s Hospital as primary beneficiaries of the PGA TOUR event founded and hosted by golf legend Jack Nicklaus
PONTE VEDRA BEACH, FLORIDA – The PGA TOUR and the Memorial Tournament have announced that Workday, Inc., a leader in enterprise cloud applications for finance and human resources, will become the new presenting sponsor of the Memorial Tournament, with a 10-year agreement beginning in 2022.
The Memorial Tournament was founded in 1976 by golf legend Jack Nicklaus and is held annually at Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin, Ohio. In addition to its ongoing support of Nationwide Children’s Hospital, beginning in 2022, the tournament will also benefit Eat. Learn. Play., the Oakland, California-based foundation established by three-time NBA champion and two-time MVP Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors, and Ayesha Curry, an entrepreneur, host and New York Times bestselling author. Both Nationwide Children’s Hospital and Eat. Learn. Play. will be recognized as the Tournament’s primary beneficiaries through an alliance with the Nicklaus Children’s Health Care Foundation.
“We’ve long admired the Memorial Tournament for its history as an event that not only showcases the best in golf, but also its support of important causes throughout the years,” said Aneel Bhusri, co-founder and co-CEO, Workday. “It’s an honor for Workday to be part of this great event, and to join the Nicklaus and Curry families’ amazing endeavors to support children and families through the valuable work of organizations like Nationwide Children’s Hospital and Eat. Learn. Play.”
“We are excited and so appreciative of both Workday and the PGA TOUR for their collaboration with and support of the Memorial Tournament,” Jack Nicklaus said. “We want to welcome Workday into our extended family. Since day one of the Memorial Tournament, we have tried to celebrate and honor the great individuals and traditions of the game, showcase the finest players in the world, and at the same time help ensure the event is a vehicle to give back and impact families and children in Central Ohio and beyond. Nationwide Children’s Hospital has always had a special place in our family’s heart, and we will continue to support their tremendous efforts.”
“We also applaud Workday and the importance they place on helping children,” Nicklaus added. “That commitment is reflected in their support of Eat. Learn. Play. We are delighted to join Workday in welcoming Stephen and Ayesha, as well as their foundation, to our family, and we know the Memorial will assist in furthering their mission. Barbara and I have a deep-rooted love of children, and we are passionate in our efforts to help kids. The shared goal of Nationwide Children’s Hospital, the Nicklaus Children’s Health Care Foundation, and Eat. Learn. Play. will only be strengthened through the support of Workday.”
Nicklaus also wished to recognize and express sincere appreciation to Nationwide for their support as presenting sponsor of the Memorial Tournament since 2011.
“Nationwide has been a tremendous partner and friend over the last decade, and through their support—including the leadership of CEOs Steve Rasmussen and now Kirt Walker—they have helped the Memorial Tournament to continue to grow in stature and charitable giving, and we can’t thank them enough,” the Golden Bear said. “We are delighted that they will continue to have an important role in the future of the Memorial Tournament.”
The Memorial Tournament is one of three elevated events on the PGA TOUR schedule in recognition of their legendary hosts, along with the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard and The Genesis Invitational, hosted by Tiger Woods. These invitational-only events feature 120-player fields, offer an elevated purse, heightened FedExCup points (550), and a three-year PGA TOUR exemption to the winner.
“We are excited to partner with Workday for the Memorial Tournament, and bring together two incredibly respected figures in the Memorial’s iconic founder and host, Jack Nicklaus, and NBA star Stephen Curry, with the opportunity to further the charitable impact for Nationwide Children’s Hospital, as well as Eat. Learn. Play.,” said PGA TOUR Commissioner Jay Monahan. “Our thanks to Workday, a longtime supporter of the PGA TOUR, for its role in ensuring the Memorial Tournament presented by Workday will maintain its position each season as one of the truly special events on the PGA TOUR schedule. We are grateful to Nationwide for its support of the Memorial Tournament since 2011, and we look forward in the coming year to properly celebrating their contributions to the event, to the Columbus community and to charity.”
Eat. Learn. Play. is designed to help ensure an equal road to success for all kids, rooted in three of the most vital pillars for a healthy childhood – nutrition, education and physical activity. The Curry family and their partners believe that children are the future, and they are dedicated to empowering them and opening doors for their futures. It is their hope that Eat. Learn. Play. will positively impact children in the Oakland, San Francisco, and other Bay Area communities and beyond to live out their dreams.
“Ayesha and I are honored to be part of one of the PGA TOUR’s marquee tournaments and are thankful to Workday and the Memorial for inviting Eat. Learn. Play. to be involved in this incredible event,” said Stephen Curry. “Jack Nicklaus is a true icon both on and off the golf course. He and his wife Barbara have set a standard for impact and dedicated their lives to growing the game of golf and helping children in the process. We are extremely grateful that the Memorial will be a major part of our efforts to unlock the amazing potential of every child.”
Since its inception in 1976, the Memorial Tournament has generated more than $25 million in charitable giving to Nationwide Children’s Hospital, recognized as one of the country’s top pediatric facilities, with more than $17 million generated since Nationwide began its partnership with the Memorial in 2011. Nationwide, a PGA TOUR partner for more than 30 years, will remain the Memorial’s presenting sponsor through 2021 and will continue as a significant supporter of the Memorial Tournament and Nationwide Children’s Hospital, beginning in 2022.
The 2021 Memorial Tournament will be held May 31 – June 6 at Muirfield Village Golf Club, and will be broadcast on CBS, Golf Channel and PGA TOUR LIVE.
About Workday
Workday is a leading provider of enterprise cloud applications for finance and human resources, helping customers adapt and thrive in a changing world. Workday applications for financial management, human resources, planning, spend management, and analytics have been adopted by thousands of organizations around the world and across industries – from medium-sized businesses to more than 45 percent of the Fortune 500. For more information about Workday, visit workday.com.
About the Memorial Tournament
The Memorial Tournament is held annually at Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin, Ohio, a suburb of Columbus. The Tournament, founded and hosted by Jack Nicklaus, is conducted each year with three goals in mind: to honor the memory of individuals living and deceased who have distinguished themselves in the game of golf; to showcase the world’s best golfers competing on one of the most challenging venues in the world for the enjoyment of spectators; and to benefit charitable organizations in greater Columbus and beyond in alliance with the Nicklaus Children’s Health Care Foundation and Nationwide Children’s Hospital. For more information, visit www.thememorialtournament.com or call 614-889-6700.
About Muirfield Village Golf Club
Muirfield Village Golf Club was the vision and work of Jack Nicklaus. His revolutionary design became the first course in the world, from its inception, created with the spectator in mind. Nicklaus’s creative use of “mounds” and “amphitheaters” became a model for tournament courses around the globe. The course was officially dedicated in 1974 and the first Memorial Tournament was played in 1976. In 2013, Muirfield Village Golf Club became the first course in the world to host three of golf’s most prestigious international match-play competitions: Ryder Cup (1987), Solheim Cup (1998) and Presidents Cup (2013). Following the 2020 Memorial Tournament, the golf course underwent a significant renovation/redesign led by Jack Nicklaus and son Jack Nicklaus II, the General Chairman of the Memorial Tournament and Chairman of Muirfield Village Golf Club, and the new look will debut at the 2021 Memorial.About the PGA TOUR
By showcasing golf’s greatest players, the PGA TOUR engages, inspires and positively impacts our fans, partners and communities worldwide.
The PGA TOUR, headquartered in Ponte Vedra Beach, FL, co-sanctions more than 130 tournaments on the PGA TOUR, PGA TOUR Champions, Korn Ferry Tour, PGA TOUR Latinoamérica, Mackenzie Tour-PGA TOUR Canada and PGA TOUR Series-China. Members on the PGA TOUR represent the world’s best players, hailing from 29 countries and territories (94 members are from outside the United States). Worldwide, PGA TOUR tournaments are broadcast to 212 countries and territories in 23 languages. Virtually all tournaments are organized as non-profit organizations to maximize charitable giving. In 2019, tournaments across all Tours generated a record $204.3 million for local and national charitable organizations, bringing the all-time total to more than $3 billion.
Fans can follow the PGA TOUR on PGATOUR.COM, the No. 1 site in golf, on the PGA TOUR app and on social media channels, including Facebook, Instagram (in English, Spanish and Korean), LinkedIn, Twitter, WeChat, Weibo, Toutiao and Douyin.
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