Thoughts of warmer weather and, of course, golf...

Well, we made it through the first month of 2010, and all the snow, ice and rain that came with it this year here in the Carolinas. I know…I know…it’s nothing compared to what our friends up north have experienced but for us Southerners, it’s been a cold, wet winter. And as our minds turn to warmer weather, they turn, of course, to golf. (Actually, we think about golf year-round, but that’s another story…)

A lot of great things are already happening in the world of golf this year. We were excited this week to learn that Davis Love III, whose foundation will be The McGladrey Classic’s host organization, was named by 2010 Ryder Cup Captain Corey Pavin as an assistant captain. Additional assistant captains include Paul Goydos, Tom Lehman and Jeff Sluman. In a recent press conference from the Northern Trust Open, Pavin said that he hand-picked his four assistants because of their intelligence, experience and their ability to express their opinions. Sounds to us as if he’s chosen a winning team!

Also this week, Team McGladrey Member Natalie Gulbis was on the Matt Minkus Show where she talked about a number of items, including her participation in last fall’s Celebrity Apprentice (Natalie says that “The Donald” is a big supporter of women’s golf.), her thoughts about golf being added to The Olympics, a “typical day” for her during the off season and, of course, her thoughts on the Tiger Woods situation. (No golf-related interview these days would be complete without questions related to that issue, now would it?)

We’re looking forward to next week’s AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, which will be played at multiple courses in the Pebble Beach area. The Payne Stewart Youth Golf Exhibition will be held at the Pebble Beach driving range on February 6th, the Saturday prior to the start of the Pro-Am. We’ll be tuning in to catch their tournament rounds – and envying that warm West Coast weather!

What do YOU think about The McGladrey Classic?

With this week’s post, we’d like to thank Davis Love III for his guest post last week, in support of the recently announced McGladrey Classic. It’s only been a few short days since the announcement, but we’re already working in tandem with the PGA TOUR and the Davis Love Foundation to make sure that everything is teed-up and ready to go for October. It promises to be quite an event!

In the meantime, we’ll continue to use our golf blog to keep you updated on progress with The McGladrey Classic, activities of Team McGladrey members Chris DiMarco, Natalie Gulbis and Zach Johnson, and other golf-related activities. But we need YOUR help to make sure we’re sharing what you want to know about. Submit your comments and questions here. We LOVE talking about the game of golf, and would like to hear your thoughts on “all things golf!”

Finally, we’ll close this week’s post by congratulating Hall of Fame golfer Annika Sorenstam for recently being named honorary chair for the 2011 U.S. Women’s Open, which will be held at The Broadmoor, July 4-10, 2011.

We’d also like to salute the good work done by the ANNIKA Foundation in helping teach children the importance of living a healthy, active lifestyle through fitness and nutrition, and for offering aspiring golfers opportunities to pursue their dreams.

As Davis said last week, “Golf is a game of honor.” At RSM McGladrey, we’re honored to be a part of the game, and we look forward to continuing to use our involvement as an avenue for giving back to the community!

How The McGladrey Classic will give back to the community

The following post is by Davis Love III, whose foundation will be The McGladrey Classic host organization, and who will serve as Tournament Chairman:

By now, I’m sure you’ve heard about the addition of the new PGA TOUR event: The McGladrey Classic. As a long-time Sea Island resident, I’m thrilled that this event will be held at Sea Island’s Seaside Course, and that the Davis Love Foundation will serve as the host organization!

The Davis Love Foundation was established in 2005 as a nonprofit institution with the sole purpose of contributing to the well-being and progress of society by supporting both national and community-based programs that focus on at-risk children and their families. The organization’s mission is to build a better future for these individuals by providing grants and donations to community-based programs that focus on children and families in need.

Golf is a game of honor. And one of the aspects of this sport that I've always been most proud of as a PGA TOUR board member and player is how much the TOUR, thanks to generous sponsors such as RSM McGladrey, gives back to the community. The McGladrey Classic will provide an opportunity for the Davis Love Foundation, the PGA TOUR and RSM McGladrey to partner in our efforts to enhance the community. Special Olympics (which has been a beneficiary of RSM McGladrey’s golf-related activities over the past year), along with a number of local and regional nonprofits, will be beneficiaries of donations raised through fundraising activities related to The McGladrey Classic.

Nonprofits aren’t the only beneficiaries, however. The current economy has been difficult for our nation as a whole, but it has been particularly difficult for cities and towns that rely on tourism for their economic well-being. Obviously, my home community falls into this category. The McGladrey Classic will be a boost to the local economy – not just now, but hopefully long into the future.

I’m excited to be partnering with the RSM McGladrey, Sea Island, and the PGA Tour on this event, and I know that my brother Mark is looking forward to serving as executive director of The McGladrey Classic. We both hope to see you in October!

Announcing The McGladrey Classic!

This post is from Ricki Lasky, RSM McGladrey's senior director of sports marketing:

As the senior director of sports marketing for RSM McGladrey, I’m very happy to inform you that RSM McGladrey and the PGA TOUR announced today a three-year title sponsorship agreement that will bring a new PGA TOUR event to renowned Sea Island Resort on the southern coast of Georgia, beginning this year.

The McGladrey Classic will be held Oct. 7 – 10 as part of the PGA TOUR Fall Series, and will be played on the Seaside Course, which has been featured in Golf Digest’s list of Top 100 Courses in the United States. Longtime Sea Island resident Davis Love III, whose foundation will be the tournament host organization, will serve as Tournament Chairman, and his brother Mark Love will be Executive Director of The McGladrey Classic.

TOUR Member Zach Johnson, also a Sea Island resident and a Team McGladrey member, will serve on the tournament board. Both Davis and Zach have already committed to play in the first McGladrey Classic this fall. In a press release issued by the PGA TOUR, Commissioner Tim Finchem said that The McGladrey Classic “represents a partnership between a dynamic new sponsor, a host organization founded by a prominent member of the PGA TOUR, and a world-class resort serving as the host venue.”

One of the most exciting aspects of this partnership is that it will help strengthen RSM McGladrey’s support of Special Olympics – an organization to whom we made a significant contribution last year through McGladrey-sponsored golf events.

The announcement of The McGladrey Classic reinforces RSM McGladrey’s commitment to our golf platform, which includes continued sponsorship of Team McGladrey members LPGA TOUR Professional Natalie Gulbis and PGA TOUR Professional Chris DiMarco, in addition to Zach.

And speaking of Zach, check out what he had to say about The McGladrey Classic, and keep an eye out for our upcoming “power of being understood” ads featuring Zach and his caddie Damon Green. This will be the second in a series of ads featuring Team McGladrey members. For an idea of what that’ll look like, you can check out our first ad in the series, which featured Natalie and her caddie Greg Sheridan.



We're thrilled to be partnering with the PGA Tour and host organization Davis Love Foundation on the new Tour event. Check back here often for additional details, and send us your questions. We'd love to talk with you about this exciting venture!

January is a flurry of activity for Team McGladrey

2010 is shaping up to be a busy year!

PGA TOUR Professional and Team McGladrey Member Zach Johnson started the year by playing in the SBS Championship in Maui’s Kapalua Resort. While Zach played a great game, Geoff Ogilvy won this year’s championship, making it his second consecutive win.

Zach remains in Hawaii this week where he is the defending champion for the Sony Open in Honolulu, January 14 through 17. You can watch Zach and other golf greats compete in this tournament on The Golf Channel.

LPGA TOUR and Team McGladrey Member Natalie traveled to Washington, D. C. this week, along with other Solheim Cup players to meet President Obama. Natalie posted a number of twitpics from the trip, which you can see if you follow her on Twitter.

During the latter part of 2009, Natalie participated in filming for an upcoming episode of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, and we got word this week that the episode will air on CBS on Thurs., Jan. 21. Joining Natalie on the show will be golfers Rocco Mediate and Duffy Waldorf. We’ll definitely be tuning in for that – hope you will, as well!

So…what do you think – are these folks busy or what?

Join us here next week for more Team McGladrey updates.

Happy New Year!

Things are back in full swing here at RSM McGladrey after a brief hiatus over the holiday season. It was fun spending a little extra time with family and friends, and now we’re re-energized and looking forward to another golf-filled year!

This year’s golf activities for Team McGladrey, kicked off January 4, with Team McGladrey Member Zach Johnson’s participation in the SBS (Seoul Broadcasting System) Championship at The Plantation Course at the stunning Kapalua Resort in Maui, Hawaii. Zach is playing in this “winners only” event with about 30 other PGA professionals. Lucas Glover, Geoff Oglivy (winner of the 2009 Mercedes-Benz Championship), Steve Stricker, Stewart Cink, Retief Goosen and other professional golfers will be competing for their share of $5.6 million.

In addition to some great golf and great prizes, this tournament has benefitted local charities for a number of years, raising more than $3 million to date. We’ll definitely be watching over the weekend to see not only who wins Sunday’s final round, but to hear about how this year’s tournament will benefit the community.

Finally, we’d be remiss if we didn’t take this opportunity to wish LPGA Tour Professional and Team McGladrey Member Natalie Gulbis a HAPPY BIRTHDAY! Natalie celebrated her birthday January 7, and we hope it was a great one!

Happy Holidays from RSM McGladrey!

The holiday season is a perfect time to reflect on the year’s accomplishments and to look forward to the coming year. While we had the pleasure of sponsoring numerous golf-related events in 2009, one of the accomplishments of which we’re most proud is that we were able to present a check for more than $175,000 to Special Olympics in support of the organization’s golf program. These funds were raised through a number of RSM McGladrey-sponsored activities throughout the year, and through the generous support of our employees, clients and potential clients. We’d like to thank them for their generosity, and look forward to working with them again in 2010 to support our community.

We’ll be taking a brief break from our golf blog over the coming days to spend a little extra time with family and friends. We hope you will be able to do the same this holiday season.

We look forward to talking with you here again next year. In the meantime, we’d like to wish you and yours a happy holiday season and a healthy and prosperous 2010!