PGA TOUR stars tee it up for charity at THE NORTHERN TRUST Charity Challenge

Playing off the success of recent nine-hole charity exhibitions, officials at THE NORTHERN TRUST and the PGA TOUR announced today THE NORTHERN TRUST Charity Challenge, a televised nine-hole, Wolf-format charity exhibition at TPC Boston on Wednesday, August 19 from 2 to 4 p.m. EST.

Abraham Ancer, Cameron Champ, Charley Hoffman and Marc Leishman will square off for the nine-hole competition on the back nine at TPC Boston. The Wolf format will have four players competing independently for charity dollars that will support organizations committed to education and youth services in the Greater Boston area. Each player will represent one charity during the competition, which include the First Tee of Massachusetts, Hockomock Area YMCA, the Red Sox Foundation’s Red Sox Scholars Program and the Boys & Girls Club of Dorchester.

In addition to the Wolf format, two challenge holes will be featured during the competition with a longest-drive contest at the par-4 12^th hole and a closest-to-the-pin contest at the par-3 16^th hole. All four players will compete at these challenge holes for a bonus pool of $150,000 funded by title sponsor Northern Trust. The bonus pool charitable dollars will benefit The Greater Boston Food Bank and The United Way of Massachusetts Bay and Merrimack Valley in support of COVID-19 relief.

Here’s a closer look at Abraham Ancer, Cameron Champ, Charley Hoffman and Marc Leishman:

• Abraham Ancer
  • FedExCup rank: No. 13
  • Best finish at THE NORTHERN TRUST: Runner-up/2019 at Liberty National Golf Club
  • Best finish at TPC Boston: T7/2018
• Cameron Champ
  • FedExCup rank: No. 20
  • Best finish at THE NORTHERN TRUST: T21/2019 at Liberty National Golf Club
  • Best finish at TPC Boston: N/A (first career start)
• Charley Hoffman
  • FedExCup rank: No. 111
  • Best finish at THE NORTHERN TRUST: T10/2011 at Plainfield Country Club
  • Best finish at TPC Boston: Won/2010
• Marc Leishman
  • FedExCup rank: No. 14
  • Best finish at THE NORTHERN TRUST: T32/2011 at Plainfield Country Club
  • Best finish at TPC Boston: 3/2017

The Wolf format is a popular recreational format that rarely makes an appearance on the PGA TOUR. The Wolf format begins before the first hole, when the order of play is decided. The ‘Wolf’ is always the first player to tee off. At each hole, the players rotate the tee-off order so that each player becomes the ‘Wolf’ once every four holes (for example, on the first hole 1,2,3,4 and on the second hole 2,3,4,1, etc.).  

After the tee shot of each player, the ‘Wolf’ decides whether to take that player on his team or to wait to pass on that player and take his chances with the next to be his teammate. Or, after all three players have teed off, the ‘Wolf’ can play as a ‘Lone Wolf,’ if he feels he can beat all three other players. As the ‘Lone Wolf,’ the player plays alone and tries to shoot the lowest score on the hole.

Each player on the team with the lowest score on a hole gets one point. If a player chooses to be the Wolf on a hole and beats the other three players, the Wolf gets up to five points for that hole depending on when they choose to “go alone”. The $300,000 purse will be split among the four select tournament charities with the following breakdown: 1^st place receives $125,000; 2^nd place receives $75,000; 3^rd place receives $50,000; 4^th place receives $50,000.

THE NORTHERN TRUST Charity Challenge will be broadcast live on PGA TOUR LIVE and simulcast on GOLF Channel, GOLFTV and PGA TOUR social channels.

THE 2020 NORTHERN TRUST has identified 10 charitable beneficiaries for this year’s tournament: First Tee of Massachusetts, Hockomock Area YMCA, Red Sox Foundation, Boys & Girls Club of Dorchester, Francis Ouimet Scholarship Fund, Golf Fights Cancer, Attleboro YMCA, Sherrill House The United Way of Massachusetts Bay and Merrimack Valley and The Greater Boston Food Bank.

Fans are encouraged to follow THE NORTHERN TRUST on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for the latest tournament news and updates. For additional information about THE NORTHERN TRUST, please visit THENORTHERNTRUST.com.

ABOUT THE NORTHERN TRUST - THE NORTHERN TRUST is the first of three events in the FedExCup Playoffs, the culmination of the season-long competition that is the centerpiece of the PGA TOUR Season. While the PGA TOUR has a storied history of hosting FedExCup Playoffs events in Boston, this is the first time that THE NORTHERN TRUST will be played in New England as part of a rotation with New York/New Jersey. THE 2020 NORTHERN TRUST will be played at TPC Boston August 20-23 and will see the top 125 players competing under high-stakes drama, as only 70 will advance in the season-ending series. Many of the world’s best players have won THE NORTHERN TRUST including Patrick Reed, Sergio Garcia, Adam Scott, Jason Day, and Dustin Johnson. Additionally, players like Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Rory McIlroy, Adam Scott, Justin Thomas and Rickie Fowler won previous FedExCup Playoffs events held at TPC Boston. In addition to the star power inside the ropes, THE NORTHERN TRUST is also making a lasting charitable impact on the local community. Since the tournament’s inception in 1967, THE NORTHERN TRUST has generated more than $50 million for local charities who are positively impacting lives and driving year-round change.

ABOUT NORTHERN TRUST - Northern Trust Corporation (Nasdaq: NTRS) is a leading provider of wealth management, asset servicing, asset management and banking to corporations, institutions, affluent families and individuals. Founded in Chicago in 1889, Northern Trust has offices in the United States in 20 states and Washington, D.C., and 23 international locations in Canada, Europe, the Middle East and the Asia-Pacific region. As of December 31, 2019, Northern Trust had assets under custody/administration of US$12.1 trillion, and assets under management of US$1.2 trillion. For more than 130 years, Northern Trust has earned distinction as an industry leader for exceptional service, financial expertise, integrity and innovation. Visit northerntrust.com or follow on Twitter @NorthernTrust.

Northern Trust Corporation, Head Office: 50 South La Salle Street, Chicago, Illinois 60603 U.S.A., incorporated with limited liability in the U.S. Global legal and regulatory information can be found at https://www.northerntrust.com/disclosures.