Sept. 10, 2026

The major sponsors of the Sanford International have committed to supporting the tournament in Sioux Falls through 2030.

Earlier this year, the Sanford International and the Minnehaha Country Club board of directors reached an agreement on a three-year extension to keep the tournament at club’s golf course through 2030.

At that time, Sanford Health announced it would continue to serve as the title sponsor for the event.

This week, presenting sponsors First Premier Bank, Premier Bankcard and Mastercard made the same commitment.

The Sioux Falls financial services organizations have been partners with Mastercard for 37 years. When Premier Bankcard CEO Miles Beacom asked Mastercard to consider the sponsorship extension, “I think the answer was, ‘It’s done,’” Beacom said.

“That just shows you the incredible relationship and partner we have. Mastercard knows how important this is to the community.”

Bob Glowasky, executive vice president for account management at Mastercard, was in town for the tournament and said the the event stands out among those the company supports.

“We do events on the PGA and support other events, and this has a flair,” he said. “This has the feel of something special and something much bigger, a destination event on the Champions Tour.”

That’s what the Sanford International has become, said Miller Brady, president of the PGA Tour Champions.

He has worked with the tournament since it began in Sioux Falls in 2018.

“The community has fully embraced not just the golf tournament as a yearly happening, but it’s like if you live in Sioux Falls, you have to be part of this tournament,” Brady said.

“It’s meaningful from a charity perspective, from an economic impact; it’s really all the elements to make it special for the community and for our players.”

Players encourage others to participate in the Sanford International “because it’s such a great tournament,” he added. “It’s a premier event on our tour.”

The late T. Denny Sanford, board chairman of Premier parent company United National Corp., “always said he doesn’t give anything out as a gift,” Beacom said.

“It’s an investment and he wants to see a return on investment, and you look at what the Sanford International has done. I call it the biggest event in South Dakota every year when you look at the crowds coming in, the Golf Channel; it’s amazing for Sioux Falls. You talk about quality of life — it hits all those things and gives people the opportunity to see things they would not see in their lifetime.”

In addition to the lead sponsors, there are 170 other organizations that support the event, in addition to more than 650 volunteers.

“It just shows it’s not just Sanford, it’s not just Mastercard and Premier — it’s the entire community working together to make sure this continues to happen year after year,” Beacom said.

The community impact is clear, Glowasky said.

“You get off the airplane and there’s folks here, you immediately feel the buzz, and it’s an all-week event,” he said. “Not all tournaments are like that. Some are very transactional — ‘Here’s a sponsor, here’s a tournament, here’s the winner,’ and people clap. And the exact opposite exists here. There’s emotion, there’s community involvement. There’s the feel of a premier type of event because of the folks it impacts, and you don’t get that anywhere, even at large PGA events.”

From Sanford Health’s perspective, ‘We’re creating relationships through these partnerships that all have a bent toward ‘what else can I do for the community to make this a better place to live?’” said Steve Young, president of Sanford Sports.

“Sports will engage more individuals, more families and more communities in shared activity than anything out there … and young golfers are out there looking around and see these golfers and say, ‘Hey, I can do that.’ That’s a life lesson we want to continue to instill.”

The sponsors as well as the volunteers are critical to the tournament’s success in Sioux Falls, organizers said.

“The first person people see when they leave the airport is a volunteer. The first person at the main entrance is a volunteer that welcomes them to the event. They’re the backbone of our event, and that just speaks to what Sioux Falls is,” said Davis Trosin, tournament director.

“Being a transplant myself, I’ve never felt more welcome to a place. People want to see Sioux Falls grow, and they’ve used this event as a platform to do that. We work hard to get people back and engaged and bring new ideas each year. I think we have a great playbook, but we try to improve on the details each year and make this an opportunity for people to build relationships.”

Sanford International returns with strong field, expanded fan experiences