Orlando, Fl.–PNC Financial Services Group Inc., IMG, and NBC Sports Group recently announced the former PNC Father/Son Challenge has been renamed the PNC Championship and will take place December 18-20 at the Ritz-Carlton Golf Club Grande Lakes Orlando. In addition, PNC announced it has agreed to a multi-year title sponsorship renewal.
The renaming of the tournament as the PNC Championship is intended to reflect the competition of the field and the ever-growing stature of the event held under the auspices of the PGA TOUR.
“We are delighted to be revealing both our long-term commitment to this highly competitive event as well as our new more inclusive tournament title,” says Rob Reilly, CFO of PNC Bank. “Sponsoring this great championship is the perfect opportunity to showcase the special family and that sharing a love of golf creates as well as being a wonderful way for us to celebrate and enjoy so many golf legends.”
A winner of 116 titles worldwide, Bernard Langer has played in every tournament since 2002 and has partnered with both his two sons and two daughters over the years, winning twice with Stefan and twice with Jason, including the 2019 Challenge.
“The PNC has actually been a very inclusive family event for a long time now, as both my daughters have enjoyed playing in it,” said Langer. “It only makes sense for the title to better reflect this. The tournament is one of my favorite stops of the year, as it is with so many of my fellow pros, and we all really appreciate PNC’s long-term commitment to this exceptional family event.”
Since the inaugural tournament in 1995 when ten major winners gathered with their sons, the championship has continued to evolve and develop. It now features 20 major champions and their relatives competing for a total purse of $1,085,000 in a two-day 36-hole scramble for the Willie Park Trophy.
For over 20 years, the tournament has featured a multitude of family combinations including Father/Son, Father/Daughter, Grandfather/Grandson, Son/Father, and more recently Daughter/Father when Annika Sorenstam paired with her Dad Tom last year. The PNC Financial Services Group Inc. has been the title sponsor of the tournament since 2012.
Alistair Johnson, vice-chairman of golf at IMG added, “We started the PNC Father/Son Challenge to showcase the family bond that golf cultivates and to give the icons of our game an opportunity to share their success with the ones they love. More than two decades later, the challenge has created so many wonderful memories and we are incredibly grateful for PNC’s support. As the PNC Championship, we feel the name reflects the composition of the field better and the tournament’s stature as we look forward to welcoming familiar faces, new talent and different family partnerships to this unique event while also celebrating the tournament’s history.”
“The PNC Championship is one of golf’s most celebrated occasions because it closes out the calendar year with a focus on family near the holidays,” said Jon Miller, NBC Sports President of Programming. “NBC Sports is proud of our heritage as a co-founder of this special championship and we look forward to our continued relationship with PNC elevating this event for years to come.”
To qualify for the PNC Championship players must have won a Major championship or The Players. Their playing family member must not hold a PGA TOUR card.
For more information, please visit PNCChampionship.com.
