Cologuard Becomes First Official Colon Cancer Screening Sponsor Of PGA TOUR, PGA TOUR Champions
- Details
- Category: Inside Golf
- Published: 2018-03-05
2018 Marked The First Year Of Cologuard's Title Sponsorship Of The PGA TOUR Champions Event In Tucson.
TUCSON, Arizona — The PGA TOUR has announced that Cologuard, a noninvasive at-home colon cancer screening test manufactured by Exact Sciences (NASDAQ: EXAS), has signed a three-year marketing agreement to become the Official Colon Cancer Screening Sponsor of the PGA TOUR and PGA TOUR Champions.
The partnership, which includes global rights through 2020, was announced today during a press conference at the Cologuard Classic at Omni Tucson National Resort, with Exact Sciences CEO Kevin Conroy, Dr. David Alhquist of Mayo Clinic, Cologuard ambassador Jerry Kelly and defending champion Tom Lehman in attendance.
“We are excited to announce Cologuard as a new marketing partner of both the PGA TOUR and PGA TOUR Champions,” said PGA TOUR Champions president Greg McLaughlin. “Colon cancer awareness is an important societal discussion, and one our players will look to further with this relationship. Today’s announcement allows the TOUR to create a more concrete foundation from which to develop those efforts.”
In November of 2017, Exact Sciences was named as the title sponsor of the three-year-old PGA TOUR Champions stop in Tucson. As part of the company’s marketing partnership with the PGA TOUR, players, tournaments, title sponsors, fans and TOUR staff will be challenged to take part in a season-long pledge program to get screened for colon cancer. Through Cologuard, the company will create an onsite presence at a number of PGA TOUR Champions events to encourage screening for average risk adults age 50 and over and to raise awareness about colon cancer.
Exact Sciences is a Madison, Wisconsin-based company committed to playing a role in the eradication of colon cancer. Cologuard is an easy-to-use, noninvasive colon cancer screening test based on the latest advances in stool DNA technology. It is for adults 50 years or older who are at average risk for colon cancer, helps detect both cancer and precancer, and is available by prescription only.
“The PGA TOUR is a tremendous supporter of our efforts to help raise awareness about the most preventable yet least prevented cancer,” said Kevin Conroy, chairman and CEO of Exact Sciences. “It is an honor to become the official colon cancer screening sponsor of the PGA TOUR and PGA TOUR Champions. More than one in three Americans are not current with their colon cancer screening. With the help of Cologuard, ambassador Jerry Kelly, and the PGA TOUR, we are committed to ensuring more people get screened.”
Kelly, the reigning Rookie of the Year on PGA TOUR Champions, and a longtime Madison resident, is committed to spreading awareness about the importance of colon cancer screening. This season, via a Cologuard pledge program, he is challenging his fellow PGA TOUR Champions players to get screened and will be reaching out to all the rookies on Tour to make sure they know age 50 is when colon cancer screening is recommended to begin. A three-time PGA TOUR winner, Kelly earned Champions Tour titles at the Boeing Classic and Pacific Links Bear Mountain Championship in 2017, and opened his 2018 campaign with a victory at the Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualalai. He is currently No. 2 in the Charles Schwab Cup standings with $313,016 in earnings through two starts.
Opening-round play in the 2018 Cologuard Classic will begin tomorrow morning at Omni Tucson Resort’s Catalina Course. For more information on the tournament, please visit PGATOUR.COM. For more information on the Cologuard pledge program, please visit CologuardClassic.com.