BY AAGD STAFF
January 20, 2020
The 34th PGA WORKS Collegiate Championship (formerly known as the PGA Minority Collegiate Championship) along with the corresponding PGA WORKS Career Expo, will take place from May 6-9 at PGA Golf Club in Port St. Lucie, Florida.
The 54-hole PGA WORKS Collegiate Championship will be played on the Ryder and Wanamaker Courses. The stroke-play event is contested across six divisions: NCAA Men’s Division I, Men’s Division II, Men’s NAIA, an overall Women’s Team Division, Men’s Individual and Women’s Individual.
“This historic Championship annually affords hundreds of student-athletes of diverse backgrounds the opportunity to connect, compete and thrive in an unforgettable environment not often experienced at the collegiate level,” said Scooter Clark, PGA, the Manager of the PGA WORKS Collegiate Championship. “As the PGA WORKS Career Expo has evolved, it has created awareness for those in the field to discover the many opportunities that golf can provide, but also to contemplate their career paths post-college. Packaging college golf with career development is a powerful combination.”
The tournament concept originated at a meeting in November 1986, following the Jackson State University Golf Tournament. The founders’ goal was to elevate the game at minority colleges and universities by providing student-athletes with the opportunity to compete on a championship stage during an era when they were excluded from playing in many collegiate golf events.
While the participating teams represent historically black colleges and universities; Hispanic-serving institutions; and other minority-serving institutions, the individual competition is open to all minority men and women student-athletes playing collegiate golf at the Division I, Division II or NAIA levels, or participants who are enrolled in one of the PGA of America’s PGA Golf Management University Programs.
In 2019, 77% of the student-athletes who competed in the event were non-Caucasian, while 16% of the field’s home country was outside the United States.
The PGA WORKS Collegiate Championship is unlike any other collegiate event, as it provides a top-level championship in concert with the PGA WORKS Career Expo. Together, they’re designed to cultivate the next generation of golf-industry and business leaders as participating student-athletes are exposed to internships and employment opportunities supported by leading golf companies.
Since 1998, PGA Golf Club has hosted the Championship, and in 2006 the PGA of America was granted complete ownership and management of the Championship by the National Minority College Golf Scholarship Fund.
Collegiate coaches, student-athletes and current PGA Golf Management students interested in registering should visit https://pgaworkscollegiate.org/.
