PARSIPPANY, N.J. and PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla., Sept. 18, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- PGA TOUR and Avis Car Rental announced today that Rickie Fowler has been voted the August PGA TOUR Player of the Month presented by Avis. As the official rental car company of the PGA TOUR, Avis will make a $50,000 contribution to the Rickie Fowler Foundation.
In a fan decision on PGATOUR.COM, Fowler outpolled Camilo Villegas, Rory McIlroy and Hunter Mahan. The four were nominated by a panel of national media for their performances during the month of August.
In three starts in Augusta, Fowler tied for eighth at the World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational, tied for third at the PGA Championship and tied for ninth at The Barclays. With his finish at PGA, the season's final major, Fowler was the only player to claim top-five finishes at all four major championships in 2014.
"Golf fans reward players like Rickie Fowler for their consistency and determination," said Jeannine Haas, chief marketing officer, North America, Avis Budget Group. "It's a pleasure to support the Rickie Fowler Foundation with our donation."
"I have enjoyed a wonderful year on the course, but have not yet held a trophy as victories are tough to come by in professional golf," said Fowler. "However, I owe my first victory of 2014 to the most important people in professional golf, the fans! Thank you to my fans who voted for me and thank you as well to Avis. I am honored to be August's winner, and I am humbled to accept the $50,000 donation from Avis that will benefit the Rickie Fowler Foundation. This money will go a long way to impacting the lives of young people who can use a helping hand."
The Rickie Fowler Foundation's mission is to support junior golf, particularly as it relates to children with fewer opportunities than others. In addition, the Foundation supports causes that are specifically connected to Rickie Fowler's unique ancestral lineage of Native American and Japanese cultures.
For more information or to vote for the PGA TOUR Player of the Month presented by Avis, visit www.pgatour.com.
About Avis
Avis Car Rental operates one of the world's best-known car rental brands with approximately 5,450 locations in more than 165 countries. Avis has a long history of innovation in the car rental industry and is one of the world's top brands for customer loyalty. Avis is owned by Avis Budget Group, Inc. (Nasdaq:CAR), which operates and licenses the brand throughout the world. For more information, visit www.avis.com.
About PGA TOUR
The PGA TOUR is the world's premier membership organization for touring professional golfers, co-sanctioning more than 130 tournaments on the PGA TOUR, Champions Tour, Web.com Tour, NEC Series-PGA TOUR Latinoamérica, PGA TOUR Canada and PGA TOUR China.
The PGA TOUR's mission is to entertain and inspire its fans, deliver substantial value to its partners, create outlets for volunteers to give back, generate significant charitable and economic impact in the communities in which it plays, and provide financial opportunities for TOUR players.
Worldwide, PGA TOUR tournaments are broadcast to more than 1 billion households in 225 countries and territories in 32 languages. Virtually all tournaments are organized as non-profit organizations in order to maximize charitable giving. In 2013, tournaments across all Tours generated more than $133 million for local and national charitable organizations and in early 2014 the TOUR's all-time charitable contributions surpassed $2 billion.
The PGA TOUR's web site is PGATOUR.COM, the No. 1 site in golf, and the organization is headquartered in Ponte Vedra Beach, FL.