PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Florida – The PGA TOUR and Bridgestone Americas today unveiled the field for the third annual Bridgestone HBCU Invitational, a 54-hole team and individual stroke play event featuring men’s and women’s golf teams from HBCU schools at TPC Sugarloaf.
The tournament – set for September 1-4 in Duluth, Georgia – is an element of the Bridgestone Collegiate Development Program, a key initiative within the PGA TOUR’s Pathway to Progression, which aims to achieve greater diversity in golf through an increased focus on developing talent from diverse and historically underrepresented communities.
“The Bridgestone HBCU Invitational provides an incredible opportunity for our sport to identify and cultivate the next generation of players from diverse backgrounds,” said Kenyatta Ramsey, PGA TOUR Vice President, Player Development. “The PGA TOUR is proud to once again partner alongside our friends at Bridgestone to provide these players with an elevated platform to showcase their growing skills, and we look forward to an exciting week of competition and fellowship at TPC Sugarloaf.”
The Bridgestone HBCU Invitational will feature 10 HBCU men’s golf teams and five women’s teams. Schools competing on the men’s side include Florida A&M, Howard, Jackson State, Johnson C. Smith, LeMoyne-Owen, Miles, Morehouse, Southern, Tennessee State and Winston Salem. Women’s teams include Alabama State, Bethune-Cookman, Howard, North Carolina A&T and Texas Southern.
The Invitational includes three rounds of competition, culminating with the crowning of the overall men’s and women’s team winners on Thursday, September 4, who will earn a trip to TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, for the HBCU Performance Experience presented by Bridgestone.
In addition to the collegiate competition, the Celebrity Culture Cup presented by Bridgestone returns for the second consecutive year. Set for September 2, the 18-hole Stableford event features celebrity participants including Vince Carter, Kordell Stewart, Victor Cruz and Steve Smith Sr., among others. The winning celebrity will randomly draw an HBCU school, who will receive a $10,000 donation from Bridgestone.
“Creating more access and opportunity for the next generation to learn and develop is what really matters,” said Caitlyn Ranson, director of partnership marketing for Bridgestone. “We’re proud to work with the PGA TOUR to continue evolving this unique and impactful experience for HBCU athletes that can help position them for future success both on and off the course.”
The event also includes a Pathway to My Career development workshop, featuring key stakeholders from throughout the sports world. The panel, in collaboration with the Black Sports Business Academy, will discuss gaining experience through internships, translating golf skills to life and work, and the importance of cultural competence and inclusive leadership.
About PGA TOUR
By showcasing golf’s greatest players, the PGA TOUR engages, inspires and positively impacts our fans, partners and communities worldwide.
The PGA TOUR, headquartered in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, co-sanctions tournaments on the PGA TOUR, PGA TOUR Champions, Korn Ferry Tour, PGA TOUR Americas and administers PGA TOUR Q-School presented by Korn Ferry and PGA TOUR University. TOUR members represent the world’s best players, hailing from 28 countries and territories. Showcasing the biggest moments in the sport with history and legacy on the line, the PGA TOUR has long-term domestic distribution partnerships for broadcast coverage on CBS, NBC and Golf Channel and video streaming service on ESPN+. Internationally, PGA TOUR coverage is available across 200+ countries and territories in 30 languages via 39 broadcast and digital partners. Virtually all tournaments are organized as non-profit organizations to maximize charitable giving, and to date, tournaments across all Tours have generated more than $4 billion.
Fans can follow the PGA TOUR on the new PGA TOUR app and PGATOUR.COM, and on social media channels, including Facebook, Instagram (in Spanish, Koreanand Japanese), LinkedIn, TikTok, X (in English, Spanish and Japanese), WhatsApp (in English and Spanish), WeChat, Weibo, Toutiao and Douyin.
About Bridgestone Americas, Inc.
Bridgestone Americas, Inc. is the U.S.-based subsidiary of Bridgestone Corporation, a global leader in tires and rubber, building on its expertise to provide solutions for safe and sustainable mobility. Headquartered in Nashville, Tenn., Bridgestone Americas employs more than 45,000 people across its worldwide operations. Bridgestone offers a diverse product portfolio of premium tires and advanced solutions backed by innovative technologies, improving the way people around the world move, live, work and play.
About Bridgestone Golf
Based in Covington, GA, Bridgestone Golf USA manufactures premium golf balls, clubs and accessories under the Bridgestone and Precept brands. The company started making golf balls in 1935 and today has more golf ball design patents than any other company. Beginning in 2006, Bridgestone revolutionized golf ball selection with its custom ball-fitting program, identifying a golfer’s ideal golf ball based on personal swing characteristics. Today, as the #1 Ball-Fitter in Golf, Bridgestone has conducted over four million fittings via a combination of live-fitting, online selection, OTTO Autonomous Ball Fitting, and its V-FIT video ball fitting. The consumer data gathered from ball-fitting continues to inspire Bridgestone’s innovative new golf ball designs, yielding industry-leading performance products for the entire range of players, from recreational golfers to the best in the world. Bridgestone Golf is proudly represented on international professional tours by icons such as Tiger Woods, Fred Couples, Matt Kuchar, Jason Day, and Chris Gotterup. Bridgestone Golf USA is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Bridgestone Sports Co. Ltd., headquartered in Tokyo. More information: bridgestonegolf.com.
About the Pathway to Progression
Formerly announced in March 2023, the PGA TOUR’s Pathway to Progression player development program is an initiative designed to identify and support underrepresented golf talent across the junior, collegiate and professional levels. The program provides access, resources, and competitive opportunities helping players advance through the amateur ranks. Through strategic alignments and partnerships, Pathway to Progression aims to build a stronger, more diverse pipeline of future TOUR professionals.
CONTACT:
Justin Johns, PGA TOUR, justinjohns@pgatourhq.com