On Monday Feb. 12, the SCGA Junior Golf Foundation attended the Los Angeles Golf Club’s (LAGC), Welcome Home party at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood. LAGC is the first of six teams in the TGL, a new professional golf league set to launch in 2025 headlined by PGA Tour stars such as Tiger Woods, Collin Morikawa and Rory McIlroy.
The gathering provided an intimate overview of LAGC’s initiatives; detailing upcoming events, acknowledging key partners and introducing ownership and players to generate excitement ahead of this weekend’s Genesis Invitational. The team also reiterated its generous 10 percent annual sponsorship revenue commitment to the Maggie Hathaway GC restoration project, as part of the FORE Youth: 2023 U.S Open Community Legacy campaign.
The crowd of local leaders, social media influencers, two SCGA Junior participants, media and community stakeholders heard from LAGC Co-founder Alexis Ohanian, Director of LA Parks and Recreation Norma Garcia and Fred Terrell of Wells Fargo on the importance of investment in youth sports.
Ohanian in particular shared an incredible and ambitious vision for this project as he looked decades into the future of Maggie Hathaway GC.
“In 10, 20, I don’t know how many years it will take, but in the not-too-distant future, we will have someone on [the PGA] Tour who will say that their golf story started at Maggie Hathaway Golf Course. This is about doing something that will leave a legacy on this amazing city and amazing sport.”
Ohanian, who also founded the social media platform Reddit, understands the importance of opportunity for youth in sports in Southwest Los Angeles, citing his wife and tennis legend, Serena Williams, who grew up just down the street from the course in Compton.
Additionally, Fred Terrell, vice chairman of investment banking for Wells Fargo announced, “In connection with Wells Fargo’s commitment to fortify diverse communities we will be making a contribution of 2 million dollars to the Fore Youth Golf Foundation to support efforts to restore Maggie Hathaway GC to provide funds for additional youth programming at the course.
In his speech Terrell acknowledged the value of Junior Golf Foundation Executive Director Kevin Gigax saying, “Without Kevin and the work he does daily on behalf of this project we wouldn’t all be here. It’s great to find an executive who’s so committed to community building and to the growth of kids through golf.”
This high-profile visibility from the newest professional sports team in Los Angeles is tremendous exposure for the FORE Youth campaign and the work happening at Maggie Hathaway GC.
LAGC team members Collin Morikawa, Tommy Fleetwood and Sahith Theegala, later took turns chipping onto a floating green at SoFi’s Lake Park.
Attendees were also treated to tacos, a few attempts at the chip shot and an LAGC swag bag that included a copy of the Winter Issue of FORE Magazine, which showcases LAGC’s giveback commitment as the cover story.
The 10% give-back commitment by the LAGC and the 2-million-dollar donation by Wells Fargo helps ensure that the SCGA Junior Golf Foundation’s mission will continue through Maggie Hathaway’s legacy and we thank everyone involved for their collaboration in shining a light on this partnership.
To view more photos from the event click here.
