Local Military Veterans Representing PGA HOPE Carolinas Team to Compete in PGA HOPE Secretary’s Cup during 2022 PGA Championship Week

PGA HOPE Carolinas will compete against Veterans from other PGA Sections in a nine-hole golf match as part of the 2022 PGA Championship in Tulsa, Oklahoma

 

PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. (April 7, 2022) – PGA REACH, the charitable foundation of the PGA of America, today announced that 12 teams consisting of four military Veterans and one PGA Professional will compete in the 2022 PGA HOPE Secretary’s Cup on Monday, May 16 at The Club at Indian Springs in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma. The Secretary’s Cup is a spirited nine-hole golf competition that kicks off PGA Championship week and features military Veterans who  have participated in the PGA HOPE (Helping Our Patriots Everywhere) program hosted by their local PGA Section.

PGA HOPE, the flagship military program of PGA REACH, introduces golf to Veterans to enhance their physical, mental, social and emotional well-being.

Members of PGA HOPE Carolinas:

  • Greg Mitchell, United States Air Force (20 years
  • Neil Myres, United States Army (20 years)
  • Rick Youmans, United States Air Force (25.5 years)
  • Pacer Vaughn, United States Marines (8 years)

The Carolinas Team will be led by PGA Professional Brian Oliver, Carolinas PGA Life Member. Oliver has been teaching the PGA HOPE program for the past 6 years.

All teams arrive in Tulsa, Oklahoma on May 14. They will participate in practice rounds on May 15, and will have an opportunity to attend a PGA Championship practice round at Southern Hills Country Club on May 17.

“PGA HOPE is enhancing, changing and saving lives, and when you hear that message directly from the family members of participating Veterans, it’s very powerful,” said Jim Richerson, President, PGA of America. “Veterans have sacrificed so much, and the work that our PGA Professionals are doing is truly making a difference. I’m so proud to be part of this program, and of the PGA’s commitment to grow PGA HOPE.”

Led by PGA Professionals, PGA HOPE has helped thousands of Veterans. Programs are currently being offered at more than 210  locations in the U.S. today, across 47 States and 40 PGA Sections, to serve 7,500 Veterans in 2022. It is the only adaptive golf program that has an MOU with the Department of Veterans Affairs, which enables VA Facilities to refer Veterans to the PGA HOPE program as a form of therapy.

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About PGA REACH
PGA Foundation, Inc. d/b/a PGA REACH is the 501(c)(3) charitable foundation of the PGA of America. The mission of PGA REACH is to Impact Lives Through Golf. For more information, visit PGAREACH.org and follow @PGAREACH on Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn and Facebook.

About the Carolinas PGA Section
The Carolinas Section of the PGA formed in 1923 and was officially recognized by the PGA in 1940. Today, the Carolinas PGA has grown to be the largest of the PGA’s forty-one sections with more than 2,000 professional members employed at more than 700 golf facilities. Our geographic territory embraces North and South Carolina as well as a small portion of southern Virginia.

Media Contact
Jessica Everett, PGA REACH Carolinas Program Director, jasbury@pgahq.com, (336) 398-2848