The 2022 Sanford International has added new presenting sponsors along with a country music concert at the Pentagon during a week highlighted by three days of golf from some of the best ever to play the game.
It’s a tradition well-established at this PGA Tour Champions tournament to keep adding new features to surround a marquee sporting event unique to the region. Part of that process involves continuing to build on the connection between the golf tournament, the community and local charities.
In 2021, the Sanford International raised more than $220,000 for local charities and organizations. Since 2018, the tournament has given back more than $750,000 in charitable contributions and has had an annual economic impact of more than $20 million for the Sioux Falls area.
“We’re proud to be headquartered and proud to remain headquartered in Sioux Falls, South Dakota,” said Sanford Health president and CEO Bill Gassen during an address to the Rotary Club of Downtown Sioux Falls at Minnehaha Country Club on Monday. “This is not a week about Sanford Health. It’s a week about the community.”
New presenting sponsors First Premier Bank, Premier Bankcard and Mastercard will be a big part of strengthening and expanding that bond.
“The Sanford International is truly one of the premier events in South Dakota on an annual basis,” said Miles Beacom, CEO of Premier Bankcard. “One of the things we recognize is the exposure that it brings to South Dakota. The other thing we’re really proud of is the impact that it has on the community and what it does to bring the economic impact to Sioux Falls as well.”
First Premier has been a sponsor of the Sanford International since it began in 2018 but had the opportunity to upgrade that support this past year. It was an easy decision, to hear Beacom tell it.
“We’re proud and excited to step up and be able to help ensure that this event continues to be very, very successful in the future,” Beacom said. “The impact on the community is amazing – and what is really amazing is the way the partnerships within the community all pulled together to ensure that this tournament will continue to be successful.”
Now in its fifth year at the Minnehaha Country Club, the Sanford International has again attracted an elite Champions field. All four previous winners – Steve Stricker (2018), Rocco Mediate (2019), Miguel Angel Jiménez (2020) and Darren Clarke (2021) – will be joining many of the Champion Tour’s best-known players for the week.
The tournament also represents a changing of the guard, of sorts. Tournament director Josh Brewster is moving on to work for Augusta National, home of the Masters tournament, at the completion of the 2022 International. Brewster is being replaced by Davis Trosin, who has been Brewster’s assistant for the last three years.
“The sense of community is something that really puts South Dakota on the map,” Trosin said. “Another way they can do that is by coming out here to show people what that hospitality means – it’s what South Dakota is all about.”
It has also what the Sanford International itself is all about. It’s an event that, by design, is never exactly the same.
“It’s about keeping fresh ideas,” Trosin said. “The concert is something that is going to give people who have not been a part of this a chance to see what we’re all about. As Sioux Falls continues to grow, it’s a great way to continue to build the event.”
Highlights for the week include:
- A Sanford International Live! concert at the Pentagon on Thursday, Sept. 15, by national country music recording star Sam Hunt, who will take the stage at 8:30 p.m. Special guests Travis Denning (7:15 p.m.) and Julie Eddy (6:30 p.m.) will also be part of an event that originally was scheduled for Great Shots but was moved with rain forecast for the evening. Hunt is a Grammy-nominated Nashville recording artist who won the American Music Award for New Artist of the Year in 2015.
- New 2022 Sanford Children’s Ambassador Sam Matheson will be part of a golf club fitting at Scheels the week of the tournament to equip him for his ceremonial first tee shot on Friday, Sept. 16.
- Contest of Champions BBQ at the Minnehaha driving range after the golf on Saturday, Sept. 17. Four of South Dakota’s best will be involved in a brisket contest sponsored by the South Dakota Beef Industry Council.
Learn more
- Golfers expected to put on a good show this week
- Sanford International establishes unique bond with community
- Golfers get year-round opportunity to improve at Great Shots
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Posted In Community, Golf, Sanford International, Sanford Sports, Sioux Falls
