What happens with a canceled PGA tournament’s merchandise? Quail Hollow is finding out
What do you do when the coronavirus pandemic cancels a PGA Tour stop, but you’ve already received the merchandise to sell during tournament week?
The Wells Fargo Championship, which was scheduled for April 30-May 3 at Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte, is answering that question with an online merchandise sale with a portion of the proceeds set to be donated to Charlotte-area charities.
“This is just stuff that has already arrived,” said Lee Patterson, Wells Fargo Championship communications director. “We’ve got it, so why not try to add a little more money to charity?”
Before the tournament was canceled as part of the PGA Tour’s temporary suspension March 17, Quail Hollow had already received “not even half” of its merchandise planned for tournament week, Patterson said.
“(Quail Hollow) orders it months ahead of time,” Patterson said. “They hadn’t got a lot, but it’s enough to try and sell it to make a little money for charity.”
Once time had passed following the cancellation, Patterson said Quail Hollow and the Wells Fargo Championship decided to sell the merchandise intended for championship week to gather money for its charitable fund.
The Wells Fargo Championship is the principal fundraiser for the Charlotte-based nonprofit Champions for Education. Patterson said the tournament’s top three organizations -- Levine Children’s Hospital, Teach for America and The First Tee of Greater Charlotte -- have already received their donations for the year, so the portion of the merchandise proceeds will go to “numerous others in the community.”
As of Nov. 2019, Champions for Education had donated more than $24 million to local charities across 17 years. Last year, the Wells Fargo Championship raised nearly $1.9 million. Patterson said it “certainly won’t be” able to raise that much this year, but the tournament donated more than $500,000 to various educational programs and the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Foundation during what was supposed to have been tournament week.
Patterson said they had not settled on what percentage of the merchandise sales will be allocated to charity.
Peter Millar, a sportswear and golf apparel brand based in Raleigh, has partnered with the Wells Fargo Championship to extend a special offer of its own alongside the tournament’s sale. In a message on its website posted by company president John W. Harris, Peter Millar pledged to make a $10 donation to Champions of Education for every shirt sold in its online sale.
Because the amount of merchandise is “pretty low,” Patterson said, he’s expecting this year’s championship items to sell out. Patterson also said all merchandise will be delivered.