The Ladies are Back – and Admission is Free Thanks to
Printing Partner Kessler Creative
Professional women’s golf returns to Northeast Florida starting October 26, and tournament organizers have made available a limited number of free tickets to the PXG Women’s Match Play Championship being hosted at World Golf Village. Tickets are valid for both sessions of this unique professional women’s event which features back-to-back tournaments. Session One, being held October 26-28, is a 54-hole stroke-play event on the King & Bear Course which will seed the following week’s Match Play Championship, being contested at Slammer & Squire from November 1-4.
In the PXGWMPC format players will be divided into Pool Play with 16 groups of four women playing each other twice over the first two days in nine-hole head-to-head matches. Each hole is worth a point, with the winner of the head-to-head match being awarded a bonus point. The player in each group with the most points then advances to the Knockout Rounds with the Sweet 16 beginning on Wednesday, November 3 starting at 8:00 AM. The Elite 8 will be held that afternoon starting at 1:00 PM. Semifinal and Final matches will be held on Thursday, November 4 beginning at 9:00 AM. The Champions Trophy presentation, open to the public, will be held immediately following the final matches. Tee times will be posted daily on the tournament website (www.pxgwmpc.com).
The PXGWMPC is an official event on the WAPT, which is one of only a few US developmental tours for women and the only one which provides a pathway into the Symetra Tour. While sanctioned by the WAPT, the PXG Match Play Championship is open to all professional players who are not current LPGA players. “This is a pretty significant distinction as a professional event,” said the tournament’s Executive Director, Mark Berman of MediaShare Consulting. “We are very intentional in providing opportunities for the up-and-coming professional female players, for whom very few tours and tournaments exist, particularly compared to the men’s game,” Berman shared.
To claim complimentary tickets golf fans are required to register in advance on the tournament’s website (www.pxgwmpc.com) where they can print a voucher. Upon arrival at the Tournament Gate, vouchers will be exchanged for a wristband, which provide access to tournament grounds, its Pop-Up Retail Experience and fan hospitality. The free admission is provided by women-owned business, Kessler Creative, the tournament’s Official Printing Sponsor, which designed the tournament signage and graphic materials. Said CEO Dina Kessler, “We want people to see these amazing women play. There is so much talent and competitiveness, and so many great stories inside and outside the ropes. It is our pleasure to provide access for free to our community.”
Fans will also be given the opportunity at ticketing to donate to the tournament’s Official Charity Partner, Investing in Kids (INK!), which helps to fund underserved public schools in St. Johns County. The INK! Charity Pro-am presented by Davidson Realty, Inc. is being held October 25 on the King & Bear course, with Murray Bros® Caddy Shack hosting the Official Meet the Players Pairings Party on October 24.
The PXGWMPC is a collaboration with Jacksonville’s women’s empowerment organization, Generation W. Competitors and other area female athletes and executives will participate in the Generation W Links to Leadership Summit presented by Circle K on October 29. Said Berman, “We are shining a light on women’s initiatives not just on the golf course, but in the workplace and in the community.”
The PXG Women’s Match Play Championship is made possible only by the support of Founding Partners Murgado Bentley & Maserati of Jacksonville, Baptist Health, SQAIRZ Golf and On Point Ball Markers. Official Hospitality Partners include the St. Johns County VCB & TDC, Murray Bros. CaddyShack ®, Manifest Distillers, Maestro Dobel Tequila and St. Francis Winery Sonoma. Kessler Creative is joined by the Jacksonville Business Journal, ActionNews CBS47/FOX30 and the Ponte Vedra Recorder as Official Media Partners. Investing in Kids (INK!) is the Official Charity Partner and beneficiary of the INK! Charity Pro-am presented by Davidson Realty on October 25.
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TOURNAMENT FACTS/INFO
o The PXG Women’s Match Play Championship is a back-to-back tournament series with the first week of 54-holes of stroke play being contested on King & Bear Golf Course from October 26-28. The second tournament is a 64-woman Match-Play tournament, seeded by the stroke play event, with its own unique format. The 64 competitors will be split into 16 four-player groups. Each player will play each group member twice in nine-hole head-to-head matches. Each hole is worth one point to be either won, lost or halved. The winner of each of those nine-hole matches will also receive a bonus point. The player with the cumulative points after her six matches advances to the Knockout Rounds, starting with the Round of 16. Pool Play will be contested on November 1 and 2, beginning at 9:00 AM EST. The Round of 16 and the Quarterfinal matches will be played on November 3 starting at 9:00 AM EST. The Semifinal matches will commence on November 4 at 9:00 EST AM, following by the consolation match and then the Championship Match.
o The PXG Women’s Match Championship is also a fundraiser for Investing in Kids (INK!). The INK! Charity Pro-am presented by Davidson Realty, Inc. is slated for October 25 on the King & Bear course and will feature teams of one professional player paired with three amateurs. Sherry and Jim Davidson, owners of the local development and real estate brokerage bearing their name were the original land developers of World Golf Village and have a special tie to the community and to INK!, for which Mrs. Davidson serves on its Board of Directors. The night before the Charity Pro-am. Murray Brothers Caddy Shack will host the Official Meet the Players Pairings Party. The PXG Women’s Match Play Championship will also feature a junior clinic and other community involvement activities for the players, who will be in the area for 10-12 days
o Admission and parking for fans will be free with website registration, courtesy of Official Printing Partner, Kessler Creative, a St. Johns County-based woman-owned print marketing firm. President Dina Kessler said, “The goal is for people to see these amazing female athletes play, and we want to provide that experience at no charge to our community.” Kessler Creative is creating all of the on-course and promotional signage for the @PXGWMPC.
o In addition to $55,000 in prize money and a PXG equipment and apparel stipend, players will compete for a one-of-a-kind trophy supplied by Ocean Sole Africa, a Ponte Vedra Beach-based non-profit which fashions sculptures out of recycled flip-flops from Kenya. The 2021 PXG Women’s Match Play Championship will receive a manatee sculpture resting on top of a piece of driftwood found on a local Northeast Florida beach. It was created by Kenyan artist Mwrani and took her 22.5 hours to make using more than 40 pounds of recycled rubber flip-flops. Ocean Sole Africa will also provide similarly crafted one-of-a-kind trophies for the Runner Up and each semifinalist, as well as for the Stroke Play winner and runner up.
o Nashville band Them Vibes, founded and managed by Ponte Vedra native Kim Paige, will be the featured band in the St. Johns County VCB Between the Tournaments Concert, hosted by the Jacksonville International Airport. The invitation-only VIP concert will be held on October 30 at the host hotel, the Marriott World Golf Village Renaissance Resort Hotel.