Golf Channel, East Lake Golf Club and the East Lake Foundation announced today the creation of the East Lake Cup, a new collegiate two-day match-play championship featuring top-performing teams from the NCAA Men’s and Women’s Golf Championships. The East Lake Cup will take place at historic East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta, Georgia, and air live on Golf Channel on Monday Nov. 2 and Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2015.
“We are thrilled about this partnership and the opportunities it presents to highlight the best of college golf and the work of the East Lake Foundation,” said Tom Cousins, Founder, East Lake Golf Club. “As home course of legendary golfer Bobby Jones, East Lake Golf Club provides the ideal venue for showcasing the next generation of golfers.”
“Partnering with East Lake Golf Club and the East Lake Foundation underscores our commitment to raise the profile of college golf and the East Lake Cup will provide a showcase for the nation’s top men’s and women’s golf teams as Golf Channel’s marquee college event each Fall,” said Mike McCarley, president of Golf Channel. “Viewers will get to know the teams through our coverage of the NCAA Men’s and Women’s Golf Championships and see first-hand how the drama and intensity of match play, combined with the student-athletes’ school spirit, makes for a captivating event. Not only will the East Lake Cup highlight top-level collegiate golf, but also it will shine a light on the important work the East Lake Foundation has undertaken in its community and the blueprint it has provided for other communities across America.”
The East Lake Cup field will consist of four of the nation’s top men’s and women’s college golf programs competing in two match-play tournaments held at the same venue as the PGA TOUR’s season-ending TOUR Championship by Coca-Cola. Invitations for the field will be extended to the semi-finalists of the team match-play tournaments at both the NCAA Men’s and Women’s Golf National Championships. Golf Channel will air live the 2015 NCAA Men’s and Women’s Golf Championships, next Monday-Wednesday, May 25-27 for the women and Monday-Wednesday, June 1-3 for the men. The semi-finalists of the team match-play tournaments will be decided on Tuesday morning at each event.
The East Lake Cup also will feature the Tom Cousins Award, a new annual recognition presented to an outstanding male and female golfer who exemplifies the values of the East Lake Foundation: excels in academics, engaged in his and her community and has overcome adversity. This award is named after Tom Cousins, founder of the East Lake Foundation that transformed a community in despair into a thriving neighborhood and national model for community redevelopment through Purposes Built Communities.
About the East Lake Foundation
Founded in 1995 on the belief that everyone deserves a chance to succeed, the East Lake Foundation collaborates with public and private organizations to provide tools that enable Atlanta’s East Lake residents to build a better future through its model for community revitalization.
The East Lake model includes cradle-to-college education at Charles R. Drew Charter School and its early learning partners, mixed-income housing at The Villages of East Lake and community wellness through programs including The First Tee® of East Lake, the Resident and Community Support Program, the East Lake Community Learning Garden, Start ME: East Lake micro-entrepreneur program and East Lake Healthy Connections. This approach to building a strong community not only helps break the intergenerational cycle of poverty, but creates a place where people of all ages and incomes choose to live. East Lake has become a national model for holistic community revitalization programs through its sister organization, Purpose Built Communities. Additional information is available at www.eastlakefoundation.org.
About East Lake Golf Club
Located in Atlanta, the East Lake Golf Club is the home course of legendary golfer Bobby Jones and is the oldest golf course in the city of Atlanta. The Club is not only historic, but philanthropic as well. Proceeds from operations support the East Lake Foundation, now serving as a national model for holistic community redevelopment across the country through Purpose Built Communities.
Over the years, the golf course has hosted many national and regional championships, including the 1950 U.S. Women’s Amateur, 1963 Ryder Cup, and 2001 U.S. Men’s Amateur. It is now the permanent home of the TOUR Championship by Coca-Cola, the culminating event of the PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedEx Cup. Additional information may be found at www.eastlakegolfclub.com
About Golf Channel
Golf Channel is a multimedia, golf entertainment and services company based in Orlando, Fla. Serving the most-affluent audience in all of television, Golf Channel – co-founded by Arnold Palmer in 1995 and now part of NBC Sports Group – is available in more than 200 million homes in 81 countries and 11 languages around the world. Exclusive partnerships with the world’s top tours allow Golf Channel to feature more live golf coverage than all other networks combined, as well as a programming schedule distinguished by golf’s highest-quality news, instruction and original content. Golf Channel’s digital platforms, headed by GolfChannel.com, are the leading golf destinations on the Internet, delivering unmatched coverage of the world of golf. Fans are able to enjoy 24/7 live streaming of Golf Channel content through Golf Live Extra and select programming is simulcast via SiriusXM’s PGA TOUR Radio. In addition, Golf Channel connects the world to golf through a wide array of digital and lifestyle services including Golf Channel Mobile, a comprehensive app covering golf’s latest headlines, scores and analysis; GolfNow, the world’s largest online tee time booking platform and golf course technology partner, which includes the GolfNow Mobile App, featuring on-course GPS tracking, in-round scoring and game tracking; GolfAdvisor.com, a golf course ratings and review portal for golfers, by golfers; a North American network of Golf Channel Academy instructional facilities; and Golf Channel Am Tour, the world’s largest amateur golf tour.
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Media Contacts:
David Schaefer, Golf Channel
407-429-8402
David.Schaefer@golfchannel.com
Jeremy Friedman, Golf Channel
407-355-4058
Jeremy.Friedman@golfchannel.com
Catherine Woodling, East Lake Foundation/East Lake Golf Club
404-974-4506
cwoodling@eastlakefoundation.org
