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<\/a><\/p>\nThe 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, \u201cI think the answer was, \u2018It\u2019s done,’\u201d Beacom said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat just shows you the incredible relationship and partner we have. Mastercard knows how important this is to the community.\u201d<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n \u201cWe do events on the PGA and support other events, and this has a flair,\u201d he said. \u201cThis has the feel of something special and something much bigger, a destination event on the Champions Tour.\u201d<\/p>\n That\u2019s what the Sanford International has become, said Miller Brady, president of the PGA Tour Champions.<\/p>\n He has worked with the tournament since it began in Sioux Falls in 2018.<\/p>\n \u201cThe community has fully embraced not just the golf tournament as a yearly happening, but it\u2019s like if you live in Sioux Falls, you have to be part of this tournament,\u201d Brady said.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s meaningful from a charity perspective, from an economic impact; it\u2019s really all the elements to make it special for the community and for our players.\u201d<\/p>\n Players encourage others to participate in the Sanford International \u201cbecause it\u2019s such a great tournament,\u201d he added. \u201cIt\u2019s a premier event on our tour.\u201d<\/p>\n The late T. Denny Sanford, board chairman of Premier parent company United National Corp., \u201calways said he doesn\u2019t give anything out as a gift,\u201d Beacom said.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s 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\u2019s amazing for Sioux Falls. You talk about quality of life \u2014 it hits all those things and gives people the opportunity to see things they would not see in their lifetime.\u201d<\/p>\n In addition to the lead sponsors, there are 170 other organizations that support the event, in addition to more than 650 volunteers.<\/p>\n \u201cIt just shows it\u2019s not just Sanford, it\u2019s not just Mastercard and Premier \u2014 it\u2019s the entire community working together to make sure this continues to happen year after year,\u201d Beacom said.<\/p>\n The community impact is clear, Glowasky said.<\/p>\n \u201cYou get off the airplane and there\u2019s folks here, you immediately feel the buzz, and it\u2019s an all-week event,\u201d he said. \u201cNot all tournaments are like that. Some are very transactional \u2014 \u2018Here\u2019s a sponsor, here\u2019s a tournament, here\u2019s the winner,\u2019 and people clap. And the exact opposite exists here. There\u2019s emotion, there\u2019s community involvement. There\u2019s the feel of a premier type of event because of the folks it impacts, and you don\u2019t get that anywhere, even at large PGA events.\u201d<\/p>\n From Sanford Health\u2019s perspective, \u2018We\u2019re creating relationships through these partnerships that all have a bent toward \u2018what else can I do for the community to make this a better place to live?’\u201d said Steve Young, president of Sanford Sports.<\/p>\n \u201cSports will engage more individuals, more families and more communities in shared activity than anything out there \u2026 and young golfers are out there looking around and see these golfers and say, \u2018Hey, I can do that.\u2019 That\u2019s a life lesson we want to continue to instill.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n