Over the holiday weekend, Tiger Woods hosted friends, business partners and V.I.P. guests at MGM Resort and Casino in Las Vegas for his annual Tiger Jam event, which features golf, poker and concerts among the offerings.
Aside from the fun and competition, guests had a chance to showcase their wallets for a variety of prizes and experiences all benefitting Woods’ TGR Foundation.
Tiger Caddie Experience Auctions For $50,000
Last year, Jim Williams, the 53-year-old President of KSA Lighting and Controls in St. Charles, Illinois, bid $50,000 to caddie for Woods in the Hero World Challenge Pro-Am. Williams’ bid was dwarfed at last weekend’s event as a bidder ponied up $75,000 to carry Woods’ Monster Energy golf bag.
Tiger’s caddie, Joe LaCava, will get the day off later this year in the Bahamas. Dave Gilbert, CEO of National Funding, bid $75,000 at Tiger’s fundraiser auction in Vegas over the weekend to be his caddie during the Hero World Challenge pro-am. Last year’s winner paid $50,000
— Bob Harig (@BobHarig) May 28, 2019
According to ESPN.com’s Bob Harig, Dave Gilbert, founder and CEO of National Funding, will tote the bag around Albany Golf Course in the Bahamas during this year’s Hero World Challenge Pro-Am, which is slated for December 3rd.
Founded in 1999, National Funding is one of the country’s leading financial technology companies for small and medium-sized businesses, providing working capital loans, equipment financing, merchant cash advances, and merchant services.
Other items for auction at Tiger Jam were trips to Albany in the Bahamas and Diamante Cabo San Lucas, where Woods designed a golf course. According to Harig, each of those trips fetched $20,000. A Virtual Green putting green also auctioned for $22,500.
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Last year, Williams carried Woods’ bag for all 18 holes and even got more out of the experience than he expected.
“The irony to this is my buddies back home all said, ‘You don’t even carry your own bag from the car to the bag drop. How are you going to do it?” Williams told Golfweek.com. “Everybody back home bet I wouldn’t make it nine holes. I was determined to show them.”
The TGR Foundation was the benefit of the proceeds and will help “equip underserved students with the resources to ensure lifelong success.”
