Tucson, Ariz. (June 23, 2021) – The Tucson Conquistadores, the local civic organization and tournament management team that oversees operations and sales for the PGA TOUR Champions’ Cologuard Classic, announced today that $617,600 was raised for local Southern Arizona charities from the 2021 Cologuard Classic golf tournament and Conquistador-led fundraising programs.
The Cologuard Classic was played February 21-28 at Omni Tucson National Resort and featured an 81-player field competing for a $1.7 million purse with $255,000 and 255 Charles Schwab Cup points going to winner Kevin Sutherland.
The tournament’s charitable efforts were heavily focused on raising awareness for colorectal cancer and the importance of early screening and detection. A number of programs surrounded the week from a Caboose Cup Am-Am presented by Tucson Appliance Company, the inaugural year of the Birdies for Charity program, and a Celebrity Challenge featuring Larry Fitzgerald, Richard Dent, Pudge Rodriguez, Brice Butler and Marcus Allen. Colorectal cancer-related charities such as the Colorectal Cancer Alliance, Fight Colorectal Cancer, the Colon Cancer Coalition, and the El Rio Foundation were just a few of the many charities to receive donations during tournament week. In addition, fans who purchased tickets to the tournament had the option of a full refund, rolling the credit over for tickets to the 2022 Cologuard Classic, or donating the funds to First Tee of Tucson or The Tucson Conquistadores Foundation. Additional contributing funds include the Conquistador’s “Operation I’m In” sales campaign which directly benefitted charitable programs at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base. As a result of the tournament’s efforts and additional Conquistador fundraising programs, more than 75 local organizations received charitable donations, including the Special Olympics, Sporting Chance, YMCA, First Tee Tucson, Youth Impact and Amphi Foundation. The Conquistadores hope to grow the number of benefitting charities in 2022.
“Raising more than $617,000 for local charities during the height of the pandemic is quite an accomplishment,” said 2020 - 2021 Tucson Conquistadores President Joe Wittmann. “With spectators limited to less than 200 per day during the 2021 Cologuard Classic and zero hospitality suites on course, we were forced to get creative. Despite the COVID-curveballs we faced in planning the 2021 tournament, Conquistador leadership remained committed to supporting our local youth through charitable sports programs, while concurrently promoting colorectal cancer research and advocacy.”
The Tucson Conquistadores, Inc. is a nonprofit organized for the purpose of supporting local youth and special needs amateur athletics primarily in Southern Arizona, with an emphasis on offering life enhancing opportunities to give back to our local community. The Conquistadores has made a difference in thousands of individual lives. Over $36 million has been raised for youth programs.
“The Conquistadores would like to encourage local charities who may not have heard about our programs to become more engaged in the application process,” said Conquistador Bobby Verenna, the 2022 Funding Committee Chairman. “We want to help as many Southern Arizona charities as possible.”
The Conquistadores review funding requests from organizations, clubs and individuals and determine contributions on a monthly basis. For more information on charitable funding and how to apply for a grant visit the Tucson Conquistadores’ website at www.tucsonconquistadores.com/funding-info-application.
ABOUT THE TUCSON CONQUISTADORES
The Tucson Conquistadores are the tournament management team that oversees the operations and the sales arm of the PGA TOUR Champions’ Cologuard Classic. Since their inception in 1962, the Conquistadores have contributed more than $36 million to local and national charities. The Conquistadores are comprised of up to 60 active business and professional members and a total membership of 218 who represent a cross-section of the Tucson community. In addition to their involvement with professional golf, the group has established the Tucson Conquistadores Foundation. Key beneficiaries of the Conquistadores' fundraising efforts include southern Arizona youth athletic programs, First Tee Tucson and colon cancer advocacy organizations. Follow the Tucson Conquistadores online at www.tucsonconquistadores.com and www.Facebook.com/TucsonConquistadores.
ABOUT PGA TOUR CHAMPIONS PGA TOUR
PGA TOUR Champions is a membership organization of professional golfers age 50 and older, including 34 members of the World Golf Hall of Fame. The Tour’s mission is to provide financial opportunities for its players, entertain and inspire its fans, deliver substantial value to its partners, create outlets for volunteers to give back and generate significant charitable and economic impact in tournament communities. Follow PGA TOUR Champions online at PGATOUR.com, at facebook.com/PGATOURChampions, on Twitter @ChampionsTour and on Instagram @pgatourchampions.
All events are televised in the United States, with most receiving complete coverage on Golf Channel, the exclusive cable-television partner of PGA TOUR Champions. Tournament programming is available via 25+ TV linear partners in 145+ countries and territories, with 25 channels carrying long form and/or highlights coverage, and 200+ hours of live coverage distributed in 135+ countries and territories. Programming is also available via the OTT platform GOLFTV powered by PGA TOUR in every market outside of the United States, excluding China and Korea, with live coverage distributed in 130+ countries and territories.
ABOUT COLOGUARD
Cologuard was approved by the FDA in August 2014, and results from Exact Sciences' prospective 90-site, point-in-time, 10,000-patient pivotal trial in adults 50 years of age or older were published in the New England Journal of Medicine in March 2014. Cologuard is included in the American Cancer Society's (2018) colorectal cancer screening guidelines and the recommendations of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (2016) and National Comprehensive Cancer Network (2016). Cologuard is indicated to screen adults 45 years of age and older who are at average risk for colorectal cancer by detecting certain DNA markers and blood in the stool. Do not use Cologuard if you have had precancer, have inflammatory bowel disease and certain hereditary syndromes, or have a personal or family history of colorectal cancer. Cologuard is not a replacement for colonoscopy in high-risk patients. Cologuard performance in adults ages 45-49 is estimated based on a large clinical study of patients 50 and older. Cologuard performance in repeat testing has not been evaluated.
The Cologuard test result should be interpreted with caution. A positive test result does not confirm the presence of cancer. Patients with a positive test result should be referred for diagnostic colonoscopy. A negative test result does not confirm the absence of cancer. Patients with a negative test result should discuss with their doctor when they need to be tested again.
Medicare and most major insurers cover Cologuard. For more information about Cologuard, visit www.cologuardtest.com. Rx Only.
Tournament Media Contact:
Rob Myers
rob@rmprgroup.com
602-317-6131
