Fowler’s $1 Million Hole-In-One Highlights Els For Autism Event

Talk about a big money shot. PGA Tour star Rickie Fowler sank a hole-in-one that raised $1 million for the Els for Autism foundation on the 19th hole of the eighth annual Els for Autism pro-am event.

Fowler’s hole-in-one highlighted the 2016 Els for Autism pro-am, which raised nearly $2 million for the Els Center of Excellence, the Jupiter, Florida-based school for autistic children that Ernie Els and his wife, Liezl, opened last year. Held on Monday at Old Palm Golf Club in Palm Beach Gardens, the event was sponsored by Wine Spectator and Cigar Aficionado and hosted by M. Shanken Communications chairman Marvin R. Shanken. The $1 million donation for the hole-in-one was co-sponsored by Diageo’s Ketel One and software company SAP.

Fowler, who won the 2015 Players Championship, hit the 111-yard hole-in-one with a borrowed club while wearing sneakers. He was joined at the 2016 Els for Autism pro-am by some of the biggest names in golf, including Els, Rory McIlroy, Adam Scott, Louis Oosthuizen and the legendary Jack Nicklaus, among many others.

On the amateur side, joining Shanken on Oosthuizen’s team were Rudy Giuliani and Rush Limbaugh, while the other teams were filled with top executives from nearly every leading spirits and wine company in the U.S. market.

Shanken offered his heartfelt thanks to the many spirits and wine companies and executives who have been integral to the Els for Autism event’s success since its inception. Over the past eight years, the pro-am has raised nearly $9 million for the Els for Autism foundation, which Ernie and Liezl Els founded along with Shanken in 2009, soon after the Els’s son, Ben, was diagnosed with Autism.

Cigar Aficionado has more on this story.

Tagged : Els, Els Center for Excellence, M. Shanken Communications

GET YOUR FIRST LOOK AT 2021 DATA AND 2022 PROJECTIONS FOR THE WINE AND SPIRITS INDUSTRIES. ORDER YOUR 2022 IMPACT DATABANK REPORTS. CLICK HERE.