Golf Digest Partners with Ronald McDonald House Charities® of Chicagoland & Northwest Indiana and Illinois PGA Foundation to Present Magnificent Moments at 2012 Ryder Cup

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Golf Digest Companies, including Golf Digest, Golf World and www.golfdigest.com, is the official media partner of the Magnificent Moments Campaign. The campaign includes the Tartan Art on the Avenue public art exhibit, which celebrates the upcoming 39th Ryder Cup taking place Sept. 25-30, 2012, at historic Medinah (Ill.) Country Club.

“We are pleased to be the exclusive media partner of this campaign”

Tartan Art is an outdoor art exhibit and fundraiser that is part of Magnificent Moments, an official charitable fundraising campaign for the 2012 Ryder Cup benefitting Ronald McDonald House Charities® of Chicagoland & Northwest Indiana (RMHC®-CNI) and the Illinois PGA Foundation. The installation features distinctively “marked” five-foot golf ball sculptures displayed along Chicago’s Magnificent Mile® and throughout the Chicago area from September 13 to October 10.

As part of the partnership, Golf Digest introduced Crowne Plaza Hotels & Resorts as a national sponsor. Both brands created signature balls for the Tartan Art exhibit. Golf Digest’s Tartan Art golf ball was designed by artist Christian Northeast, whose work has appeared in such publications as GQ, Rolling Stone & The New York Times. Northeast’s design for the Golf Digest ball is a depiction of a retro-themed driving range road sign, a nod to the rich history of the of the Ryder Cup. The ball incorporates a worn and scuffed paint treatment to exaggerate the aged theme and will be seen by an estimated 50,000 pedestrians daily.

The Crowne Plaza Hotels & Resorts ball features a design by artist Steven Lopez, known for incorporating story, substance and style into his work. The ball celebrates Crowne Plaza’s support of and partnerships in the sport of golf, including images of Colonial Country Club, the site of the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial, and brand ambassador Rickie Fowler, who served as creative director for Crowne Plaza’s signature ball. Click here to see a time lapse video of Steven Lopez creating the Crowne Plaza ball.

The Ryder Cup, professional golf’s biennial international match-play competition, represents one of the most visible sporting events in the world. Magnificent Moments offers the unique opportunity for Golf Digest and Crowne Plaza Hotels & Resorts to support the work of Ronald McDonald House Charities® in the Chicago-area, where the charity in June opened its largest facility in the world, and the Illinois PGA Foundation, which is committed to growing the game in the United States’ third most populous city. The Illinois PGA Foundation focuses community efforts on promoting the goodwill and growth of the game with an emphasis on activities benefiting youths.

“We are pleased to be the exclusive media partner of this campaign,” said Golf Digest Companies President & Publisher, Peter K. Hunsinger. “Golf raises more money for charity than all other sports combined. Magnificent Moments is an excellent example of golf giving back to the community and it is something that our advertising partners and we are proud to support.”

”Through our golf platform, we’ve been able to support a wide range of charities that make an impact at the national and local level,” said Gina LaBarre, vice president, Americas Brand Management, IHG. “We’re proud to be a part of the golf community, especially when we can participate in programs like Magnificent Moments that make a difference in the local communities where we operate hotels.”