Walter and Shirley Wang planted seeds of possibility when they took over the title sponsorship of the LPGA’s annual tour stop in Los Angeles three years ago. The couple imagined transforming the LPGA with a simple, yet radical idea – to use their backing of the JM Eagle LA Championship presented by Plastpro as a vehicle to improve the lives of the women who compete.
So, how did the women of the LPGA respond when the Wangs doubled the tournament’s purse, gave them more than $100,000 in prizes to aid in their travel and also provided them with complimentary accommodations?
They selected the trailblazing tour stop as the 2024 LPGA Tournament of the Year.
With those tournament perks in place for the championship’s return in April, Walter and Shirley foresee the event growing deeper in its purpose. It won’t just be a change agent for the athletes who compete but also an outlet for the community that has been forever changed by the catastrophic wildfires, which have ravaged Los Angeles.
“We need to bring some joy, happiness in the midst of all these tragedies,” Walter said about helping his community. “With the LPGA tournament, it can encourage people to come and find some joy in seeing the passion and energy of the players in the sport and people coming together.”
The Wangs call the Los Angeles area home and luckily have been spared of any damage to their personal residence and their businesses. Walter, the CEO of JM Eagle, and Shirley, the CEO of Plastpro, say that all of their employees have been fortunate to keep their homes. But “everyone knows somebody that lost their home,” Walter adds.
And Walter and Shirley are no different. Their friend returned from vacation to find that his home had been destroyed, his father’s priceless World War II relics turned to ash. The Wangs needed just a single word to describe the impact the wildfires have had on them personally.
“Devastating,” they each said, echoing the pain suffered by their community.
Sandwiched between the Palisades and Eaton Fires sits El Caballero Country Club in the San Fernando Valley, which in April, will host the JM Eagle LA Championship presented by Plastpro. The course was designed in 1957 by Robert Trent Jones Sr. and was unscathed by the fires. El Cab, as it’s affectionately known, will host the LPGA this season while Wilshire Country Club, the tournament’s prior home, is undergoing a multi-million dollar renovation.
Walter and his wife, Shirley, hope local residents can look forward to attending their tournament and will see it as an escape from the trauma they’ve endured over the past couple of months.
The two tournament sponsors for the LPGA’s JM Eagle LA Championship presented by Plastpro are donating $6.5 million to Los Angeles wildfire relief organizations.
On behalf of JM Eagle, those affected by the Eaton and Palisades Fires will have the opportunity to receive complimentary grounds tickets during tournament competition rounds, April 17-20 (up to four tickets per family).
All first responders and military members and their families will receive complimentary admission as well as receiving exclusive access to hospitality at the SERVPRO Hero Outpost.
“God doesn’t want you to just freeze. He wants to keep on going on and continue on with life,” Shirley said about providing a mental escape for first responders at the tournament. “The LPGA and all these events, they’re something to bring joy to people, a reprieve from this.”
In addition, juniors under the age of 17 will also enjoy free entry to the JM Eagle LA Championship presented by Plastpro. In 2024, nearly 1,000 children from organizations across the Los Angeles area were provided transportation to the tournament to attend a clinic led by the LPGA’s Maria Fassi and Emma Talley. Again this year, Saturday of the tournament week will be designated as Junior Golf Day. It’s one of the ways that the Wangs are trying to grow the LPGA’s fan base.
“It’s like planting a seed, right? It will grow and prosper if you take care of it, you make sure you water it, you fertilize it the right way,” Walter says about exposing children to the game of golf. “Give kids the incentive and motivation.”
It’s the same way Walter and Shirley have nurtured the growth of their golf tournament. By doubling the purse to $3.75 million, they were able to watch their event blossom, which resulted in more than 100 grateful athletes turning out for their pro-am party in 2024. Then, they observed how their strategy pollinated across the LPGA’s schedule. Since Walter and Shirley initially doubled the purse of the JM Eagle LA Championship presented by Plastpro to $3 million for the 2023 event, they’ve seen 11 tournament sponsors follow suit and increase their purses, too.
“We accomplished what we wanted to accomplish and that is to lead by example,” Walter said of his goal of transforming the LPGA. “It worked. And I think we’ll continue to grow.”
So, how can the tournament that’s considered the best on Tour get even better?
Walter and Shirley say their priority is to further grow the LPGA’s fan base, to get more residents to attend their tournament and to utilize influencers to grow their social media presence. They’re hopeful that the tournament’s relocation to El Caballero Country Club in 2025 will create an opportunity to expose a whole new demographic within Los Angeles to the LPGA Tour. El Cab is about an hour’s drive northwest of where Wilshire Country Club is being renovated and where Walter’s company, JM Eagle, has donated all the irrigation, drainage and water pipes for the project in addition to the electrical conduit.
Just as Walter and Shirley have led by example in transforming the LPGA, they’re doing the same within their community in its dire time of need. Walter and JM Eagle have pledged to donate a total of $6.5 million to fire relief and recovery efforts, with individual donations going to the Los Angeles Fire Department, the Los Angeles Fire Department Foundation and the Los Angeles Police Fund.
“We feel we need to be a responsible citizen in our own community, take care of your own community first,” Walter said about giving back. “Then, you have the strength to go outside of your community and do things for others.”
Read the full article here
