Women’s sport has received another major boost with the announcement that KPMG is to sponsor the Women’s PGA Championship in the US.
The Major Championship, which will run next week at the Westchester Golf Club in New York, will have total prize money of $3.5 million.
The title sponsorship is part of a multi faceted programme which is being drawn up in order to focus on the development, advancement and empowerment of women on and off the golf course.
The Championship will be broadcast live to an audience of millions via the Golf Channel but also on the primetime network of NBC, thus providing a greater audience for the sport than many of the leading men’s events.
Summit
KPMG are also to lead a Women’s Leadership Summit to take place at the course over the duration of the tournament. This aims to bring together powerful women in leadership roles within business, politics, sport and society to network, learn and give back.
This will develop into an ongoing community initiative to provide today’s Women leaders the opportunity to assist the next generation through scholarships, training, internships and mentoring programmes.
“KPMG is proud to take on this groundbreaking sponsorship and to be working with the LPGA, the PGA of America and NBC to inspire today’s and tomorrow’s women leaders,” said John Veihmeyer, Global Chairman of KPMG.
“This collaboration will not only bring Women’s Golf to new audiences – it also creates opportunities to expand women’s leadership on and off the course, empowering today’s women leaders and cultivating the next generation of female leaders.”
Sinead Heraty of the Irish Ladies Golf Union featured as one of the 40 Most Influential Women in Irish Sport compiled for 2014 by Sport for Business and it is a sport where change from clubs not accepting women as full members is gradually being replaced by a more open attitude.
Hazel Kavanagh not only played in last year’s Irish Professional Golfers Association Championship but made the cut and went on to finish a creditable 38th out of a starting field of 100.
