Golfers Teed Up to help NKF’s programs and initiatives
(February 28, 2023 Pebble Beach, CA) – Two, four-person teams bested the competition at the National Finals of the National Kidney Foundation (NKF) Konica Minolta Golf Classic, held January 12-15 at the legendary Pebble Beach Resorts in California. The Golf Classic helps NKF’s efforts to increase awareness about kidney disease and the importance for all to take kidney health seriously.
In the Gross Division, four golfers from the New York City, New York, area tournament outperformed the competition at the nation’s premier golf resort earlier last month. Dr. Stephen Nicholas, NY Orthopedics and this year’s Greater New York Golf Chair (GNY); Stephen Nicholas, Jr; Dan Englander, Managing Partner, Ursula Capital Partners; and Nick Mullen, Founder, Vidalia Ventures finished in first place. The team shot rounds of 61, 62, and 60, for a three-day, 183 total. The foursome qualified for the National Finals via their top finish in the NKF Konica Minolta Golf Classic hosted by Winged Foot Golf Club, held last October.
In the Handicap Index Division, four golfers from the Boston area tournament defeated the competition. Cameron Catmull, Zach Allred, Patrick Hart, and Adam McClellan of Sunrun finished in first place. The team shot rounds of 64, 65, and 61, for a three-day, 190 total. The foursome qualified for the National Finals via their top finish in the NKF Konica Minolta Golf Classic hosted by TPC Boston last September.
Both groups faced off against other amateur golf teams from across the country and played the fabled fairways and signature holes of the Monterey Peninsula: Pebble Beach Golf Links, Spyglass Hill Golf Course, and The Links at Spanish Bay.
"Congratulations to the winning teams for their outstanding performance at the Pebble Beach Finals," said NKF Chief Executive Officer and kidney transplant recipient Kevin Longino. "We thank all of the participating golfers from across the nation for their tireless efforts to raise awareness about kidney health and the prevention of kidney disease.”
“I am also very excited and grateful that the funding efforts from this event, will help us to expand the mission of the National Kidney Foundation,” he added. “I look forward to our continued partnership with our many valued sponsors for this annual event.”
The NKF Konica Minolta Golf Classic, a nationwide series of more than 30 golf tournaments held in major cities across the country, is The Premier Amateur Golf Event for Charity™ raising more than $3.5 million each year and exceeding $100 million to date. Each event also works to raise awareness about kidney health by prominently displaying an important kidney fact or figure on each of the 18 holes of their host golf course. NKF urges Golf Classic participants and the public to make an explicit commitment to “Heart Your Kidneys” by learning about the kidney’s vital functions and help elevate the kidneys to the status of other vital organs, such as the heart. This year’s Golf Classic raised $1.15 million for NKF’s programs and initiatives, another record-breaking year hitting a million dollars each year since 2020 and successfully hosting this event since it began in 1987, the NKF Konica Minolta Golf Classic is The Premier Amateur Golf Event for Charity.
The series showcases Konica Minolta as the national title sponsor. National corporate partners are IAA, Inc., and Horizon Therapeutics. National promotional partners are The Greg Norman Collection and Imperial Headwear. National Finals partners include AmeriHealth Administrators, Ardelyx, Akebia Therapeutics, UNICYCIVE Therapeutics, Bayer, Michelob Ultra, Redaptive, and Whistlepig Rye Whiskey and The National Finals Host is Pebble Beach Resort.
For more information about the NKF Konica Minolta Golf Classic, or to find an upcoming event near you, please visit NKFKonicaMinoltaGolfClassic.com.
About Kidney Disease
In the United States, more than 37 million adults are estimated to have kidney disease, also known as chronic kidney disease (CKD)—and approximately 90 percent don’t know they have it. About 1 in 3 adults in the U.S. are at risk for kidney disease. Risk factors for kidney disease include: diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, obesity, and family history. People of Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, American Indian or Alaska Native, Asian American, or Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander descent are at increased risk for developing the disease. Black or African American people are about four times as likely as White people to have kidney failure. Hispanics experience kidney failure at about double the rate of White people.
About National Kidney Foundation
The National Kidney Foundation (NKF) is the largest, most comprehensive, and longstanding patient-centric organization dedicated to the awareness, prevention, and treatment of kidney disease in the U.S. For more information about NKF, visit www.kidney.org.