The Hoag Classic is looking for more pizzazz this year with a roster of celebrities and local companies joining iconic golfers on the course.
A big key has been partnering with sports agent Brian Murphy, co-founder of Laguna Hills-based Athletes First, one of the nation’s most prominent sports agencies that has secured more than $5.5 billion in NFL contracts for stars like Aaron Rodgers and Dak Prescott.
Murphy, who previously hosted his own golfing fundraiser for 15 years, for the first time at the Hoag Classic is hosting a one-day Newport Beach Celebrity Classic on March 16 with around 90 well known athletes from Prescott to Reggie Bush and Los Angeles Rams Puka Nacua.
A few players from this year’s Super Bowl game are scheduled to join as well, such as Saquon Barkley and Cooper DeJean from the Philadelphia Eagles. Proceeds will benefit Steadfast LA to help rebuild Los Angeles and the Newport Beach Fire Department Foundation, whose members sent a strike force to battle the disastrous fires.
“We can all create massive good for our community,” Murphy told the Business Journal.
“I’m looking forward to an entire week of iconic events. We have everything we need here in Newport Beach, to make this one of the best tournaments in the country.”
Hosted at the Newport Beach Country Club, the event has $2 million in prizes and is part of the PGA Tour Champions that highlights legendary professional golfers. It’s the only stop of the PGA Tour Champions event in Orange County. The annual tournament, which is in its 29th year, has raised more than $25 million for the namesake hospital and its programs over the past two decades.
Organizers have stretched the Hoag Classic from a three-day tournament into a week-long festival that starts March 16 and ends March 24. Organizers are aiming to grow the visitor count to more than 70,000, according to Visit Newport Beach.
Over 300 local companies are involved by hosting a variety of events such as Kingston Technology, which is sponsoring a day where students under 18 can enjoy free admission, City National Bank, which has its own “Celebrity Challenge Foursome,” and Chipotle Mexican Grill, which is teaming with the nonprofit First Tee of Orange County on a “Chip-ping” challenge for golfing skills.
New companies joining the week-long festivities include Anaheim-based environmental remediation firm ATI Restoration, a major player in the Los Angeles wildfire recovery efforts, TP Link Systems and River Jetty Restaurant Group, founded by Jordan Otterbein along with movie and music producer McG.
Amateur golfers will have a chance to compete with professionals in the Aston Martin Newport Beach Legends Pro-Am, scheduled for March 19 and 20.
“Knowing how well it’s attended, it’s (about) the ability to interact and interface with the people that participate, which is the correct demographic of our brand, and the opportunity to engage those people from Orange County that pay a pretty significant amount of money to play in that tournament,” said Jeff West, general manager at Aston Martin Newport Beach. “That’s our buyer.”
Aston Martin, which is in its second year as a sponsor, will have available about a dozen Aston Martin vehicles on the course, plus opportunities for players to drive the cars during the event.
Where’s Tiger?
Jack Nicklaus, regarded as one of the greatest golfers of all time, will be featured as a keynote speaker on March 18.
The Classic will be missing one of the most famous OC golfers, Tiger Woods, who grew up in Anaheim and has his foundation, TGR, based in Irvine.
“We’re hoping to have Tiger Woods out here in another couple years,” said Kevin Martin, whose Eagle Four Partners owns the Newport Beach Country Club, where he is chief executive and the Classic is held.
This year will also mark the induction of Martin’s late father in-law, Richard “Dick” Pickup, into the tournament’s Hall of Fame in honor of his past generosity.
Eagle Four, the largest owner of hotel and resort properties in Newport Beach, has been a long-time partner of the tournament as the owners of the country club and golf course since 2012.
“Our goal when we bought the golf club was to elevate everything that went on there,” Martin said. “I think the last piece of the puzzle has been bringing Scott Easton in.”
The Hoag Classic in 2023 hired Easton as its new executive director, succeeding Jeff Purser, who retired after 25 years. Previously, Easton spent almost six years as head of On Site Excellence for Live Nation Entertainment and had his own consulting firm for PGA events.
Easton is pushing the Classic to expand beyond the golf course to be the largest lifestyle and philanthropic event and to generate publicity for Orange County.
“My predecessor in my role was very golf-focused and created what is considered one of the best champions tour events from a golf perspective,” Easton told the Business Journal.
“Without the strong foundational base that was created for this event, we wouldn’t have the opportunity to reach out and focus a lot of our time on all these other elements.”
Easton began to work with Athletes First’s Murphy, whose previous golf tournament of 15 years raised close to $20 million for local nonprofits.
Other personalities attending this year’s event include former Angels pitcher Jim Abbott and several well-known current and former NFL players like Matt Barkley, Nick Foles, Mark Sanchez, Matt Leinart, Marshall Faulk and also former soccer player Landon Donovan.
In the next few years, Murphy would like to extend the celebrity event to three days and put it on television as well.
“As that event evolves, it will become more integrated into the Hoag Classic,” Hoag Chief Financial Officer Andrew Guarni said. “Maybe some of those athletes will stick around.”
Guarni, the Hoag executive in charge of the tournament, likes to call himself the “chief sports officer.”
The Main Event
This year’s main event runs on three days from March 21 to 23; it is scheduled to include all top 36 players from last year’s Charles Schwab Cup championship for the first time in its history, according to Easton.
The Hoag Classic field currently features eight World Golf Hall of Fame members, such as Colin Montgomerie and José María Olazábal, and past tournament champions Ernie Els, Vijay Singh, Fred Couples and Bernhard Langer.
This includes the return of 2024 champion Padraig Harrington.
“I have played the Hoag Classic twice and really enjoyed playing at the Newport Beach Country Club. It is an ‘old school’ style golf course and the first where I have hit a driver off every par-4 and par-5 tee during a round,” he told the Business Journal.
“It is a fantastic place to be, and I look forward to returning.”
Turning the Corner
The golf tournament last year generated an estimated $20 million in Newport Beach.
“It’s not just about the tournament; it’s about the opportunity it creates for local businesses to be involved,” Visit Newport Beach CEO Gary Sherwin said.
Sherwin noted that this year’s economic impact is expected to be higher due to the additional elements created by Easton and event partners.
“Restaurants, hotels and shops all benefit from the influx of visitors, and it creates this great synergy where everyone in the community gets to share in the success of such a high-profile event,” he added.
