After the recent announcement of an $80 million development in Ferguson, there is more great news for North County.
PGA Tour Champions and Ascension announced a four-year partnership to host a new professional golf tournament in St. Louis. It’s the first time the PGA Tour has hosted an annual event in the St. Louis region since 2001, and the first major sporting event in recent times to be hosted in North County. This 54-hole stroke play golf tournament will feature World Golf Hall of Fame members and many of the top PGA Tour Champions professionals competing in this inaugural championship.
“We wanted to host the Ascension Charity Classic at Norwood Hills because we know that it can serve as a catalyst to support the revitalization of North St. Louis County, including the Ferguson, Florissant and Jennings communities that neighbor the Norwood Hills Country Club,” said Nick Ragone, executive vice president and chief marketing officer for Ascension. “Players may compete, but the real winners will be North County and area charities. All proceeds will go to charitable organizations in the North County area that are working to build a better community. It’s a privilege to be able to be a part of the continued revitalization of our community and our region.”
Several charities were named as beneficiaries of the tournament, including Marygrove, a residential facility for children and teens; the Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis; and Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater St. Louis.
Nonprofit Tournaments for Charity will serve as the tournament’s host organization.
Norwood Hills Country Club, which was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2005, hosted the 1948 PGA Championship (won by World Golf Hall of Fame member Ben Hogan) and the PGA Tour’s Greater St. Louis Golf Classic in 1972 and 1973. Boone Valley Golf Club in nearby Augusta, Missouri, hosted the Senior PGA Tour from 1996 through 2000. In 2001, it hosted the contested Enterprise Rent-A-Car Match Play Championship, also on the Senior PGA Tour.