Golf Event Management

History

Jeff Sanders has made golf his life’s work, both as a competitor and as a businessman. Jeff was an All America golfer at the University of Oregon, where he still holds the school record for best individual finish at the NCAA Championships (3rd in 1976). After graduating in 1979, Jeff reached the pinnacle of the golf world — the PGA TOUR. Jeff competed on the PGA TOUR for five years and then decided to return to his hometown of Portland, Oregon to channel his passion for golf into the business side of the game. In 1989, he founded Jeff Sanders Promotions, and he remains the company’s President and CEO. To this day, he still applies to the business of JSP the same drive, commitment and dedication that took him to the top of the competitive golf world.

JSP’s storied golf event management history includes USGA National Championships, PGA TOUR and Nationwide Tour events, corporate fundraisers, celebrity tournaments, made-for-television events and more. JSP’s scorecard reflects more than 22-years of unparalleled results, including more than 200 successful golf events and more than $60 million raised for charities across the US.

1989 – 1993 (click dates on timeline bar to access more history)

1989 – Jeff Sanders Promotions opens for business.

1989 – JSP produces its first event, the GI Joe’s/Thriftway Northwest Open in Portland, OR, for the Pacific Northwest PGA. From 1989 through 1992, the GI Joe’s/Thriftway Northwest Open provided the largest purse of any PGA sectional event in the US.

1989 – JSP premieres the Albertsons Team Championship television golf series on one affiliate in Portland, OR. Today the event has grown into the most popular made-for-television team golf competition in the country, airing 432 cumulative hours per season on 18 affiliates up and down the West Coast.

1990 – JSP produces its first tournament for the Ben Hogan Tour (today the Nationwide Tour), the Ben Hogan Boise Open presented by Albertsons. Today, the Albertson’s Boise Open presented by Kraft is one of four Nationwide Tour events that have existed since the beginning of the tour. The tournament is consistently the most successful of the Nationwide Tour stops and has raised more money for charity, more than $10.7 million, than any other Nationwide Tour event.

1991 – JSP debuts Skins for College Golf as a special event during the week of the Albertsons Boise Open presented by Kraft. The event featured celebrities in a fun-filled nine-hole exhibition that generated tens of thousands of dollars for the college golf programs at the University of Idaho and Boise State University. Over the years Boise was treated to appearances by country music star Vince Gill, Major League Baseball Hall of Famer Reggie Jackson, NFL Hall of Famer John Elway, and many more.

1992 – JSP produces the PayLess Drug Stores Celebrity Golf Classic in Portland, OR. From 1992 through 1996, the event served as the official golf tournament of the Portland Rose Festival and generated $3 million for local charities.

1993 – JSP produces the first GI Joe’s/Thriftway Portland Invitational. Through 1999, the event was the largest PRO-AM event in the country.

1994 – 1998 (click dates on timeline bar to access more history)

1996 – JSP produces the 96th US Amateur Open in Portland, OR, resulting in what the USGA refers to as the most successful US Amateur ever. A record crowd of more than 65,000 watched as Tiger Woods captured his historic third straight title.

1997 – JSP produces the 52nd US Women’s Open in Portland, OR, resulting in what the USGA called the most successful US Women’s Open ever. The Open attracted a record crowd of 124,000.

1999 – 2003 (click dates on timeline bar to access more history)

1999 – JSP produces the inaugural SUPVERVALU Desert Classic at the Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, AZ. The event was eventually succeeded by the SUPERVALU Minneapolis Charity Classic, and as of 2009, the two events together have raised $10.1 million.

1999 – JSP produces the first-annual SUPERVALU Chicago Charity Classic, which as of 2009 had raised $7.4 million for the SUPERVALU Foundation.

1999 – The Albertson’s Boise Open celebrates its 10th anniversary on what is today the Nationwide Tour.

2003 – JSP creates the innovative TICKETS Fore CHARITY™ program to generate additional charity dollars for the Albertsons Boise Open presented by Kraft on the Nationwide Tour. Charities taking part in the program have the opportunity to sell tickets to the tournament and keep 100% of whatever they sell for their causes.

2003 – JSP debuts the Kraft Shootout as the successor to Skins for College Golf the week of the Albertsons Boise Open presented by Kraft. The Kraft Shootout was a made-for-TV event that aired on GOLF CHANNEL and pitted celebrity teams against each other in a light-hearted, fan-friendly competition that attracted players such as Arnold Palmer, John Daly, Craig Stadler, Kevin Stadler, Bubba Watson, Annika Sorenstam, Nancy Lopez, Michelle Wie, Natalie Gulbis, Paula Creamer, Johnny Miller, Gary McCord, Lanny Wadkins and Roger Maltbie. During its five-year run, the Kraft Shootout also raised more than $1 million for a variety of Idaho charities.

2003 – JSP creates the G.I. Joe’s Northwest Charity Classic to generate charitable donations for the Joe’s Foundation. Through 2008, the event raised $1.2 million for charities throughout the Pacific Northwest and impacted thousands of youth.

2004 – 2008 (click dates on timeline bar to access more history)

2006 – JSP is hired to manage the Winn-Dixie Charity Classic presented by Wachovia at World Golf Village near St. Augustine, FL. The event, which eventually moved to TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra, FL, generated $6 million for the Winn-Dixie Foundation and charities in the Southeast United States from 2006 through 2009.

2007 – JSP produces the OfficeMax Charity Classic at Chicago’s Medinah Country Club, generating $1.5 million during its two-year run.

2008 – JSP begins offering a TICKETS Fore CHARITY™ consulting program based on the uniquely successful model JSP invented for the Albertsons Boise Open presented by Kraft. Today some 23 events on all four major golf tours (the PGA TOUR, the Nationwide Tour, the Champions Tour and the LPGA Tour) are consulting with JSP to implement the program for their events.

2009 – Current (click dates on timeline bar to access more history)

2009 – JSP produces the first-annual Albertsons LLC Charity Classic, netting $200,000 for charity.

2009 – JSP celebrates the 20th anniversary of the Boise Open presented by Kraft by generating a Nationwide Tour single event record $1,235,000 for charity, bringing the total money raised for charity in the tournament’s history to more than $10.7 million.

2009 – JSP is awarded a brand new Nationwide Tour event, the Winn-Dixie Jacksonville Open presented by Planters, to debut in October 2010 at TPC Sawgrass – home of the PGA TOUR and THE PLAYERS Championship — in Ponte Vedra Beach, FL.

2010 – The Winn-Dixie Jacksonville Open presented by Planters makes its debut on the Nationwide Tour at TPC Sawgrass – home of the PGA TOUR and THE PLAYERS Championship — in Ponte Vedra Beach, FL. The October event generates more than $1.6 million for charity — a record amount for a first-year Nationwide Tour event.

2010 – The Albertsons LLC Charity Classic nets over $450,000 for charity.

2010 – The SUPERVALU Minneapolis Charity Classic at Hazeltine National Golf Club and the SUPERVALU Chicago Charity Classic at Medinah Country Club net a combined $1.6 million for charity.

2011 – The Albertsons LLC Charity Classic nets over $470,000 for charity.

2011 – The SUPERVALU Minneapolis Charity Classic at Hazeltine National Golf Club raised $600,000 for charity.

2011 – Nature Valley First Tee Open – Champions Tour Event. JSP successfully managed the Wheaties Pro-Am at Spyglass Hill and provided valuable consultation services to Nature Valley, the Title Sponsor.