Three charities will share up to €50,000 as the European Tour’s Golf for Good initiative continues this week at the Portugal Masters.
Tournament partner Vilamoura World has pledged up to €25,000 to be split between two local worthy causes - their nominated charity Existir and APEXA, who have been nominated by Turismo de Portugal – with €200 set to be donated for every birdie and €500 for every eagle scored on the par five 17th at Dom Pedro Victoria Golf Course in Vilamoura.
The European Tour will match that donation, allowing long-time Portugal Masters’ charity partner EDGA (formerly the European Disabled Golf Association) to benefit, and ensuring that the three charities will secure up to €16,666 each.
Golf for Good launched at the six-tournament UK Swing, and raised a total of £623,120 for local, national and international charitable causes during that period. Golf for Good aims to give back in three key areas - supporting the communities where the European Tour plays, rewarding the true heroes during the COVID-19 pandemic, such as the front line workers, and promoting the many health benefits that golf offers.
The three charities who will benefit through the Portugal Masters all support inclusion in different ways, and benefit people in the area local to host venue Dom Pedro Victoria Golf Course and throughout Portugal.
APEXA's mission is to promote the inclusion of people with and without disabilities in the Algarve in the areas of health, rehabilitation, leisure, sport, education, training and work. They promote the right to equal opportunities and improved quality of life, giving priority to users' satisfaction and personal fulfilment.
Existir is a Loule based charity which has been active for over 25 years and supports people and families in need throughout the region. Their mission is to develop responses tailored to disabled populations, citizens and families in a situation of economic and social need in the Algarve region, raising the level of physical, mental and social well-being and contributing to the improvement of their quality of life.
EDGA is a not-for-profit, volunteer organisation, active in the promotion and delivery of opportunities to sample, participate and compete in golf. EDGA initiated a participation model in Portugal with seed monies secured from its partnership with the Portugal Masters and European Tour in late 2017 at Vila Sol. In Portugal, EDGA has delivered training to 25 support workers and physiotherapists to help position golf on the sporting menu of people with disabilities, change public perception of golf and implement the many health benefits for people living with disabilities. Facilities and staff receive training in Portuguese and are then given the necessary equipment and resources to deliver sessions at their facility.
