PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla.
— The PGA TOUR and Los Angeles Junior Chamber of Commerce today announced an agreement whereby the TOUR’s Championship Management division and the LAJCC will partner to accelerate the growth of the Northern Trust Open. As part of this partnership, Los Angeles sports icon Jerry West has been named executive director of the Northern Trust Open and will work to raise the profile and charitable impact of one of the most storied events on the PGA TOUR schedule. “This is the beginning of something very special, for not only me, but more importantly, for the Northern Trust Open and the community of Los Angeles,” said West. “My involvement with the Northern Trust Open is my way of giving back to the city that has given me so much. For more than 40 years, I have taken all of the love that Los Angeles has offered me — this is my chance to do something for the community that has been so great to me. “The Northern Trust Open is more than a golf tournament. It’s an opportunity to bring all of L.A. together to make an impact on this great city, to grow the programs associated with the event — those that help children across the city and those that are so desperately needed, especially in these economic times. It’s an honor to become a part of the Northern Trust Open and work to make this event the absolute best in the world.” As the face of the Northern Trust Open, West will help to build out the tournament’s “L.A. Legends Club,” a group of Los Angeles-area leaders who will serve as ambassadors, helping to educate the community about the Northern Trust Open and all that it has done, and will do, for Los Angeles. West will work to further engage the community through public appearances and speaking engagements and drive leads, both in sales and in support. West’s ultimate goal is to raise the profile of the Northern Trust Open in order to greater impact its charitable beneficiary, the LAJCC Charity Foundation. “Jerry’s passion for Los Angeles and his drive to give back to the community make him an excellent choice to lead the Northern Trust Open,” said Rick Waddell, President and Chief Executive Officer of Northern Trust. “We are thrilled to welcome him into the role and look forward to working together to elevate the economic and charitable impact of this historic tournament.” One of the best shooting guards in professional basketball history, West went on to lead the Los Angeles Lakers to basketball dominance during the last quarter of the 20th century, first as head coach and later as general manager and executive vice president. After nearly four decades with the Lakers organization, West stepped down in 2000, but it did not take him long to get back to work. In October 2002, West was hired as president of the Memphis Grizzlies, a young organization that had not yet made it into the playoffs. Nicknamed “Mr. Clutch” for his reputation for saving the game with last-minute heroics, West is the model for the silhouetted figure who is the focal point of the NBA logo. As a player from 1960 through 1974, West became only the third player in NBA history to reach the 25,000-point plateau. He still holds the NBA record for the most free throws (840 in 1965-66) made in a single season. Only five years after leaving the game as a player, West was inducted into the NBA Hall of Fame in 1979. As his biography on the NBA’s Web site states, West brought to the game “a deadly jump shot, tenacious defense, obsessive perfectionism, unabashed confidence and an uncompromising will to win.”
The TOUR’s Championship Management division, which has extensive experience running tournaments in major markets, assisted the LAJCC with the 2009 tournament (Feb. 16-22) at Riviera Country Club. Moving forward, Championship Management will fully utilize its assets and management expertise to operate the tournament in conjunction with the LAJCC. The youth-oriented programs that the LAJCC oversees and supports will remain primary beneficiaries of the tournament.