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.

News Briefs:

•Missouri’s Major Brands has appointed Scott Johnson as president of sales, effective May 1. Johnson has more than two decades of drinks industry experience, and has spent the past decade at Beam, where he is currently West Region vice president. He replaces Barry O’Neil, who is retiring from Major—one of Missouri’s leading spirits and wine distributors—after eight years as president of sales and more than 40 years in the business.

•Napa-based Hess Family Wine Estates has named Matthew Wood as vice president of operations, overseeing operations and supply planning. Wood joins the company from Treasury Wine Estates, where he served in strategic supply and planning roles, most recently as director of supply planning and logistics, for the past nine years. Part of The Hess Wine Group of Switzerland, Hess Family Wine Estates’ portfolio includes The Hess Collection from Mount Veeder, Artezin from California’s North Coast, MacPhail Family Wines, Colomé and Amalaya from Argentina and South Africa’s Glen Carlou.

Craft Brewing and Distilling News:

•Kansas City, Missouri-based Boulevard Brewing has announced plans to launch in Michigan and Kentucky in the coming weeks. The brewer has partnered with Imperial Beverage in Michigan and Beer House Distributors in Kentucky, and will debut its Tank 7 Farmhouse Ale, The Calling IPA, Ginger Lemon Radler and Heavy Lifting IPA, among other offerings, in both markets. The expansion brings Boulevard’s reach to 35 states. Belgian brewer Duvel Moortgat acquired Boulevard in 2013.

•Fort Collins, Colorado-based New Belgium Brewing has named Ruairi Twomey as vice president of marketing. Twomey, who has 15 years of experience in the beer and spirits industries, most recently held the same position at Diageo Guinness USA, where he is credited with helping to drive the performance of Guinness and Smirnoff Ice. The move comes as New Belgium, which is employee-owned, is poised to complete its national distribution footprint and open a second brewery in Asheville, North Carolina.

•San Francisco’s Almanac Beer Co. is set to enter Massachusetts on a permanent basis through Massachusetts Beverage Alliance. Known for its sour beer program, Almanac will be rotating multiple styles into distribution from its Farm To Barrel Series and Fresh Beer program starting with Farmer’s Reserve Pluot, Hoppy Sour: Azacca, and Almanac IPA among others.

•Clarification: In yesterday's brief on Sia Scotch, SND described the brand as being female-focused. Sia wishes to clarify that it is not specifically female-focused, but targets a diverse demographic.  

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