PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. — The Korn Ferry Tour honored four tournaments, one volunteer and a charity at the PGA TOUR’s annual Tournament Meetings on Wednesday, November 20 at TPC Sawgrass, with the annual season-ending Tournament Awards.

The Wichita Open Supporting Wichita’s Youth, one of the Tour’s original four events dating back to the inaugural 1990 season, claimed the prestigious honor of Tournament of the Year.

“We are thrilled to name the Wichita Open Supporting Wichita’s Youth our 2019 Tournament of the Year,” said Korn Ferry Tour President Alex Baldwin. “For 30 years, this event has helped to establish the foundation of success our Tour enjoys today, and Roy Turner and his team earned this tremendous honor by delivering what we considered to be the best week in tournament history.”

As the winner of the Tournament of the Year Award, the Wichita Open Supporting Wichita’s Youth succeeded in putting forth a top-notch tournament on all applicable fronts, including:

• Record fan attendance, including the highest ticket redemption rate of all time and marking a 10 percent increase over 2018. Tournament developed an enhanced social media campaign to amplify these results.

• Record level of income generated, including a sold-out Pro-Am, sold-out 17th Coors Corner chalet and a 21 percent increase in tournament Ambassadors.

• Successful 30th year campaign featuring a “Birthday Bash” on June 15, ceremonial tournament logo and a Wichita Open anniversary flag signed by 27 past champions and donated to the Kansas Sports Hall of Fame.

• Local cross promotion to generate additional revenue via partnerships with Barker Oil, AETNA, Fagron Sterile and Key Construction.

• Expansion and upgrade of player dining experience. 

“What a fantastic honor for our community. It takes a lot of wonderful people and sponsor support to pull off our event, not to mention our great tournament host, Crestview Country Club,” said Wichita Open Tournament Director Roy Turner. “To all who have made this possible – a heartfelt thank you. Go Wichita!”

The Landings Military Family Relief Fund, one of the charities that annually benefits from the Savannah Golf Championship, was named as recipient of the Charity of the Year award. Since the inception of the Fund in 2007, the group has served over 7,000 active duty military members and their dependents through grants for emergency travel, food, medical crises, home repair, rent, mortgage assistance and memorial services. In addition, via their partnership with Georgia Southern and Savannah Tech, they have been able to provide scholarship assistance to military spouses, through their partnership with Georgia Southern and Savannah Tech.

The Landings Military Family Relief Fund helped the Savannah Golf Championship launch a successful Military Appreciation Day this year, which has now become a defining community engagement and activation initiative for the event moving forward. 

The Korn Ferry Tour will contribute $10,000 to the Wichita Open Supporting Wichita’s Youth, and $5,000 to each of the other award winners.

 
Below is the complete list of tournament award winners: 

Tournament of the Year

Wichita Open Supporting Wichita’s Youth

Charity of the Year

The Landings Military Family Relief Fund (Savannah Golf Championship)

Best Product

TPC Colorado Championship at Heron Lakes

Sales Award

Korn Ferry Tour Championship presented by United Leasing & Finance

Truck Award

KC Golf Classic

Volunteer of the Year

Nancy Smith (BMW Charity Pro-Am presented by SYNNEX Corporation)

The 2020 Korn Ferry Tour season will kick off with The Bahamas Great Exuma Classic at Sandals Emerald Bay, set for January 9-15, 2020. The event will be the first of two back-to-back tournaments in The Bahamas.

ABOUT THE KORN FERRY TOUR

Founded (1990), owned and operated by the PGA TOUR, the Korn Ferry Tour identifies and develops those players who are ready to compete and win on golf’s biggest stage. In 2013, the Korn Ferry Tour became The Path to the PGA TOUR with all 50 available PGA TOUR cards coming through the Tour and the season culminating at the Korn Ferry Tour Finals. This season marks the 30th year of competition on the Korn Ferry Tour. Three out of four PGA TOUR members are Korn Ferry Tour alumni. Tour alumni have won more than 500 PGA TOUR titles, including 24 major championships and eight PLAYERS Championships. To learn more about the PGA TOUR, the Korn Ferry Tour and to follow the season-long quest for a PGA TOUR card, visit PGATOUR.COM, or follow the Tour on social media via Instagram (@KornFerryTour), Twitter (@KornFerryTour) and Facebook (facebook.com/KornFerryTour).