KANSAS CITY, Mo., Sept. 24, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- via PRWEB - For the second year in a row, global asset management firm American Century Investments is inviting the winner of the George W. Bush Presidential Center's Warrior Open, Sept. 29-30, 2015 at Las Colinas Country Club, to play in the American Century Championship, a celebrity golf tournament broadcast on NBC and NBC Sports Network. As part of the Warrior Open prize package, the 2015 Champion Cup winner will spend July 19-24, 2016 in Lake Tahoe and compete against more than 80 celebrities and athletes for a portion of the $600,000 American Century Championship prize purse.
Now in its fifth year, the Warrior Open is a competitive 36-hole golf tournament, including an 18-hole pro-amateur event, featuring members of the U.S. Armed Forces who served their country honorably and have been severely wounded since Sept. 11, 2001. The tournament is a program of the George W. Bush Institute's Military Service Initiative.
"The Warrior Open Champions are true heroes and we've been honored to host them at the American Century Championship," said Jonathan Thomas, president and chief executive officer of American Century Investments. "U.S. service members unselfishly protect the freedoms we hold dear, so bringing the annual Warrior Open winner out to Tahoe for a great time with our celebrity field is American Century's way of showing gratitude to our brave military."
Broadcast on NBC since 1990, the American Century Championship is network television's longest-running celebrity golf tournament. Past participants include musical artists, sports heroes, television and movie stars and top comedians. Justin Timberlake, Charles Barkley, Aaron Rodgers, Larry the Cable Guy, Ray Romano, Kevin Nealon, John Elway and Jerry Rice were among those who competed in the 2015 three-day, 54-hole tournament. Former MLB pitcher Mark Mulder is the 2015 defending champion.
American Century's decision to invite the annual Warrior Open winner to play in the celebrity tournament was prompted by the appearance of retired Iraq war veteran and amputee U.S. Army Cpl. Chad Pfeifer at the 2014 American Century Championship. The three-time Warrior Open winner's strong showing and popularity with Lake Tahoe fans inspired American Century to establish participation in the American Century Championship as the grand prize for future Warrior Open winners.
Last year's Warrior Open Champ U.S. Army Sergeant Major Rodney Gorman earned the opportunity to play in the 2015 American Century Championship, where he achieved a 14th place finish in a field of more than 90 celebrity players. A Gulf War veteran who experienced multiple deployments to Afghanistan and Iraq, Gorman now trains Special Operations Forces for the Department of Defense.
"Having the opportunity to play in the 2015 American Century Championship was a surreal experience for me because I spent 20 years in the service trying to be discreet -- being in the corner -- not having attention drawn to me," said Gorman. "Out in Tahoe I was treated like a celebrity. My family and I had the time of our lives and hopefully I'll play well enough in the 2015 Warrior Open to win a return trip. I appreciate American Century for their hospitality and support for wounded vets."
The Warrior Open prize package includes paid roundtrip airfare for two to Lake Tahoe, as well as hotel accommodations and access to evening dinners, concerts and other entertainment from July 19-24, 2016. While in Tahoe, the Champion Cup winner will be able to participate in practice rounds at the Edgewood Tahoe course, play in a celebrity-amateur tournament and compete for cash prizes in the televised American Century Championship. The tournament's top prize is $125,000 followed by $60,000 and $35,000 for second and third place finishers.
The Bush Institute's Military Service Initiative is focused on helping post-9/11 veterans and their families make a successful transition to civilian life. They honor their service and sacrifice and their families by helping vets improve their quality of life and develop their leadership potential. Through research, resources, programs and Presidential recognition, the Military Service Initiative unites and empowers communities, military service organizations, businesses, universities and individual citizens to effectively support service members, veterans and their families. For more information about the Warrior Open, the George W. Bush Institute's Military Service Initiative or the George W. Bush Presidential Center, please visit http://www.bushcenter.org or the Bush Center's Facebook page.
American Century Investments is a leading privately held investment management firm, committed to delivering superior investment performance and building long-term client relationships since its founding in 1958. Serving investment professionals, institutions, corporations and individual investors, American Century Investments offers a variety of actively managed investment disciplines through an array of products including mutual funds, institutional separate accounts, commingled trusts and sub-advisory accounts. The company's 1,300 employees serve clients from offices in New York; London; Hong Kong; Mountain View, Calif.; and Kansas City, Mo. Jonathan S. Thomas is president and chief executive officer and Victor Zhang and David MacEwen serve as co-chief investment officers. Delivering investment results to clients enables American Century Investments to distribute over 40 percent of its profits to the Stowers Institute for Medical Research, a 500-person, non-profit basic biomedical research organization. The Institute is the controlling owner of American Century Investments and has received dividend payments totaling more than $1 billion since 2000. For more information about American Century Investments, visit http://www.americancentury.com.
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American Century Investment Services, Inc., Distributor
©2015 American Century Proprietary Holdings, Inc.
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