Saturday, September 16, 2017

Day's Ace at BMW Championship Results in Full, Four-Year $100,000 BMW Evans Scholarship

(Lake Forest, IL) – On the second day of play at the 2017 BMW Championship, Jason Day recorded a hole-in-one, resulting in the donation of a BMW Hole-in-One Scholarship, a full, four-year scholarship worth $100,000 to the Evans Scholars Foundation. Day aced the 17th hole on Friday, September 15 at Conway Farms Golf Club in Lake Forest, IL with a 7-iron, from 188 yards.

Additionally, Day made his impressive shot on one of the two holes at the BMW Championship that awards a new BMW to the first player to make a hole-in-one. With his shot, Day also receives an all-new BMW M760i, the perfect combination of BMW performance and luxury.

In turn, Day graciously donated his new BMW to the Evans Scholars Foundation -- further supporting its mission of sending hard working caddies to college and a goal of having 1,000 caddies enrolled annually in college by 2020.

“On the TOUR we aim to give back. For BMW to give back as well and put a student through college is huge,” said Jason Day following his shot. “I’m going to donate the car to help an additional student because I am in a fortunate position, and being able to not only impact another person’s life but to also get them through college is huge as well.”

All net proceeds from the BMW Championship benefit the Evans Scholars Foundation, which provides full college scholarships to hardworking, young caddies with financial need and strong academic records. Since 2007, BMW has contributed more than $24 million to the Evans Scholars Foundation. Day’s shot marks the fifth time BMW has awarded a Hole-in-One Scholarship in a player’s name. Past recipients include:

- Hayden Bauschka (2015 BMW Hole-in-One Scholar): Awarded in honor of Jordan Spieth, who aced the 2nd hole, his 11th hole of the day, on Wednesday, September 17 at Conway Farms Golf Club in Lake Forest, IL.

- Melyzjah Smith (2013 BMW Hole-In-One Scholar): Awarded in honor of Hunter Mahan, who aced the par 3, 17th hole in the third round of the 2013 BMW Championship at Conway Farms Golf Club in Lake Forest, IL.

- Mark Abtahi (2012 BMW Hole-in-One Scholar):  Awarded in honor of Steve Stricker, who scored a hole-in-one at 2012 Championship at Crooked Stick Golf Club in Carmel, IN.  

- Haelena Schwemmer (2010 BMW Hole-in-One Scholar): Schwemmer was named the first BMW Hole-in-One Scholar after Sean O’Hair recorded a hole-in-one during the 2010 BMW Championship at Cog Hill Golf & Country Club in Lemont, IL.

“Congratulations to Jason Day on his incredible shot today and his overwhelming generosity,” said Trudy Hardy, Vice President, Marketing, BMW of North America. “Being able to provide a fifth full, four-year BMW Hole-in-One Evans Scholarship to a hardworking, young caddie is extremely satisfying and we are honored to be able to provide him or her with this opportunity to attend college worry-free.”

Current Evans Scholars Anyah Akanni and Nicholas Pavlishin accepted the donation on behalf of the Evans Scholars Foundation.  Later this year, BMW and the Evans Scholars Foundation will jointly award the 2017 BMW Hole-in-One Scholarship in Jason Day’s name to a student caddie who will attend college next fall.

“This generous contribution is one of many ways BMW shows its support for our mission of sending deserving young caddies to college,” said John Kaczkowski, president and CEO of the Western Golf Association and the Evans Scholars Foundation. “We’re grateful to have BMW as our title sponsor and partner, and we’re thrilled to use this donation to fund a full Evans Scholarship.”

In the 2017-2018 academic year, 965 caddies are attending 19 major universities on Evans Scholarships, and there are more than 10,600 Evans Alumni.

For updates during The 2017 BMW Championship, follow the conversation with:
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/BMWChampionship
- Twitter: @BMWchamps, @PGATOUR, @WGAESF, @CFgolfclub
- Instagram: @BMWChamps, @PGATOUR, @BMWUSA, @WGAESF
- Hashtags: #BMWChamps #BMWGolf #PGATOUR #FedExCup

To learn more, visit www.bmwchampionship.com, www.wgaesf.org and www.wgaesf.org.

No comments: