PGA TOUR Champions and Exact Sciences announce Cologuard Classic as new title of Tucson event
Colon Cancer Awareness Month begins with PGA TOUR Champions event
The PGA TOUR and Exact Sciences (NASDAQ: EXAS), the manufacturer of Cologuard, announced today an agreement making the early cancer detection company title sponsor of the PGA TOUR Champions event in Tucson. The Cologuard Classic, named after Exact Sciences’ noninvasive at-home colon cancer screening test, will be contested the week of February 26-March 4, 2018 at Omni Tucson National’s Catalina Course, with a three-year agreement in place through the 2020 season. The Tucson Conquistadores will continue to operate the event.
The announcement was made today at a press conference at Omni Tucson National, where PGA TOUR Champions President Greg McLaughlin, Exact Sciences Chief Operating Officer Maneesh Arora, Tucson Conquistadores President Jose Rincon and PGA TOUR Champions member and Cologuard ambassador Jerry Kelly were the featured speakers.
“We are excited to welcome Exact Sciences into the PGA TOUR family,” said McLaughlin. “The TOUR has a tremendous history in the Tucson market, and we’re confident in the future of this great event as we look to build a community and societal impact in our joint efforts to generate awareness for this important cause.”
Exact Sciences is a Madison, Wis.-based company committed to playing a role in the eradication of colorectal 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.
“We are excited to take our partnership with the PGA TOUR and Jerry Kelly to the next level when launching Colon Cancer Awareness Month,” said Arora. “This is an opportunity to highlight the importance of screening for colon cancer beginning at age 50 and to continue raising awareness for Cologuard as an option when getting screened for the most preventable form of cancer.”
Kelly, who is a rookie on PGA TOUR Champions in 2017, is a longtime Madison resident and one of Cologuard’s ambassadors. The three-time PGA TOUR winner earned Champions Tour titles at the Boeing Classic and Pacific Links Bear Mountain Championship over the last three months, and is the leading contender for Rookie of the Year honors.
“It has been an honor to partner with Cologuard during my first season on PGA TOUR Champions and the Cologuard Classic will bring more attention to the battle against colon cancer,” said Kelly. “I look forward to working with Cologuard and the PGA TOUR to encourage all of our players to get screened for colon cancer.”
Exact Sciences will also enter into a Corporate Marketing Partnership with the PGA TOUR that will include media campaigns, on-site activations at select PGA TOUR Champions events throughout the year, and a continued partnership with Kelly.
The 2018 tournament will be played two weeks earlier than the event’s traditional date to align with the beginning of March as national Colon Cancer Awareness Month. The event will further colon cancer awareness through various on-site activations with fans, volunteers and players, as the tournament looks to cement a community footprint outside the ropes.
The Tucson Conquistadores will continue their support of PGA TOUR golf in the city by operating the event, which allows them to provide less-fortunate kids with the character-building experience of participating in sports. Since its inception in 1962, the group has contributed over $32 million to youth athletic programs.
The Cologuard Classic will add a new chapter to the PGA TOUR’s long and storied history in Tucson. From 1945 through 2006, the city’s TOUR stop produced some of the game’s most memorable finishes, and champions such as World Golf Hall of Fame members Lee Trevino, Johnny Miller, Tom Watson and Phil Mickelson, who notched his first TOUR title as an amateur in the event’s 1991 edition.
The first three years of PGA TOUR Champions play at the Omni Tucson Resort delivered great success as well, with Marco Dawson capturing his first Tour title in 2015, and Woody Austin doing the same in 2016. In March, Tom Lehman dueled with Steve Stricker throughout a dramatic Sunday finish before notching the 10th Champions Tour win of his career.
For more information on Cologuard, please visit CologuardTest.com.
For more information on PGA TOUR Champions, please visit PGATOUR.com.
About Exact Sciences Corp.
Exact Sciences Corp. is a molecular diagnostics company focused on the early detection and prevention of the deadliest forms of cancer. The company has exclusive intellectual property protecting its non-invasive, molecular screening technology for the detection of colorectal cancer. For more information, please visit the company's website at www.exactsciences.com, follow Exact Sciences on Twitter @ExactSciences or find Exact Sciences on Facebook.
About Cologuard
Cologuard was approved by the FDA in August 2014 and results from Exact Sciences' prospective 90-site, point-in-time, 10,000-patient pivotal trial were published in the New England Journal of Medicine in March 2014. Cologuard is included in the American Cancer Society's (2014) colorectal cancer screening guidelines and the recommendations of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (2016) and National Comprehensive Cancer Network (2016). Cologuard is indicated to screen adults of either sex, 50 years or older, who are at average risk for colorectal cancer. Cologuard is not for everyone and is not a replacement for diagnostic colonoscopy or surveillance colonoscopy in high-risk individuals. False positives and false negatives do occur. Any positive test result should be followed by a diagnostic colonoscopy. Following a negative result, patients should continue participating in a screening program at an interval and with a method appropriate for the individual patient. Cologuard performance when used for repeat testing has not been evaluated or established. For more information about Cologuard, visit www.cologuardtest.com. Rx Only.
About PGA TOUR Champions
PGA TOUR Champions is a membership organization of golf’s most recognizable and accomplished players, age 50 and older, including 35 members of the World Golf Hall of Fame. The Tour’s mission is to provide financial opportunities for its players, entertain and inspire its fans, deliver substantial value to its partners, create outlets for volunteers to give back and generate significant charitable and economic impact in tournament communities. In 2017, the PGA TOUR Champions schedule includes 26 tournaments in 18 states, Japan, Wales and Canada, with purses totaling more than $55 million. The Charles Schwab Cup, which includes the Regular Season and the Charles Schwab Cup Playoffs, is used to determine the season-long champion. All events are televised in the United States, with most receiving complete coverage on Golf Channel, the exclusive cable-television partner of PGA TOUR Champions. Internationally, telecasts air live, tape-delayed or in a highlights-package format in excess of 190 countries and territories, reaching more than 330 million potential households. The PGA TOUR's web site is PGATOUR.COM, the No. 1 site in golf, and the organization is headquartered in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. Follow PGA TOUR Champions at facebook.com/PGATOURChampions, on Twitter @ChampionsTour and on Instagram @pgatourchampions.
