GOLF, Ill. – CIBC Bank USA (‘CIBC’) has expanded its partnership with the Western Golf Association and will now support the 2019 CIBC Championship Pro-Am at the inaugural Evans Scholars Invitational, as well as the Invitational’s Volunteer Program, WGA officials announced today. CIBC has been the Official Bank of the Western Golf Association since 2017.

The CIBC Championship Pro-Am will be held on Wednesday, May 22, at the The Glen Club, in Glenview, Illinois, host of the Evans Scholars Invitational. The 72-hole, Web.com Tour competition is set for May 23-26, 2019.

The Pro-Am will feature the top 52 players on the Web.com Tour, each playing with foursomes of amateurs. All proceeds from the Pro-Am and the four-day Invitational will benefit the Evans Scholars Foundation, the event’s sole charitable beneficiary.

In supporting the Volunteer Program, CIBC will join the efforts of more than 500 volunteers who will be contributing their time and talents to help ensure a successful week for players and patrons. Volunteers perform key tasks inside and outside the ropes during tournament week, including serving as marshals, standard bearers, assisting with player and VIP transportation and helping welcome thousands of patrons to The Glen Club during the championship.

“We’re grateful for CIBC’s involvement with the Evans Scholars Invitational through its sponsorship of our Pro-Am and our Volunteer Program,” said Vince Pellegrino, WGA senior vice president of tournaments. “Through this partnership, we’ll be able to raise more funds to send deserving caddies to college.”

CIBC also has been an ongoing corporate supporter of the BMW Championship, whose sole charity is the ESF. Since 2007, the tournament has raised more than $30 million to help send caddies to college.

In addition, CIBC and the WGAESF are in the third year of a four-year agreement, in which CIBC is fully funding four Evans Scholarships, providing an opportunity for four young caddies to earn a college degree.

“It is important to all of us at CIBC that we play a role in helping to build the next generation of business leaders,” said Larry D. Richman, Chair, US Region, CIBC Bank USA. “We appreciate the work of the Western Golf Association and the Evans Scholars Foundation in providing students with access to education and leadership development, and we are proud to support their good work through this new partnership with the Evans Scholars Invitational.”

Since 1930, the Evans Scholars Program, one of golf’s leading charities, has sent more than 11,500 caddies from limited financial means to college on full housing and tuition scholarships. There are currently 985 Evans Scholars attending 18 universities nationwide, and the organization is growing at a record pace from coast to coast. Leaders are working toward a goal of sending 1,000 caddies to college by the year 2020, and growing corporate support will play an integral role in helping to reach that milestone.