Phoenix Open hosts provide $1 million to local charities in uncertain times

PHOENIX — Hosts of a staple annual event in the Valley are providing aid to local charities in uncertain times caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

The Thunderbirds – hosts of the Waste Management Phoenix Open – are providing $1 million in emergency funding to the Boys and Girls Clubs of the Valley, St. Mary’s Food Bank and St. Vincent de Paul.

“Thanks to the tremendous community support every year of the Waste Management Phoenix Open, The Thunderbirds are able to give to so many worthy charities,” Chance Cozby, Big Chief of The Thunderbirds, said in a press release. “We are in unprecedented times. We felt, as an organization, it was imperative to act quickly and get much needed funds to help those in dire need right now.”

Webb Simpson, who won the 2020 Waste Management Phoenix Open, announced the donation in a post on the organization’s Instagram on Friday.

“This just highlights their generosity that in this pandemic they are thinking of others, thinking of those who need it most,” Simpson said. “Well done to the Thunderbirds.”

The organization says it will continue to evaluate the situation and disperse the remainder of the money over the next few weeks as other priority needs arise.

Coronavirus cases in Arizona surpassed 100 on Saturday, according to the Arizona Department of Public Health Services, with the first death in the state being reported on Friday night.

Follow @AZSports