BELLEAIR, Florida –The ANNIKA driven by Gainbridge at Pelican and BayCare Health System announced today the launch of its “Birdies for Babies” charitable program surrounding the 2025 edition of the championship, taking place Nov. 12-16 at Pelican Golf Club in Belleair, Fla.
To give back to the local community, The ANNIKA has pledged to donate $50 for every birdie and $100 for every eagle scored during all four rounds of the championship (Nov. 13-16) with a minimum donation of $100,000 to the Morton Plant Mease Health Care Foundation.
All funds received from this partnership will be invested at BayCare’s Mease Countryside and Morton Plant hospitals to enhance training and prepare caregivers for real-life challenges in infant health care.
Spectators at The ANNIKA also will have the opportunity to donate to the Birdies for Babies program. At Pelican Golf Club’s signature par-3 12th hole Nov. 12-16, fans will be able to test their putting skills via the “BayCare Long Putt Challenge.” For every 30-foot putt made during the week, $100 will be donated by the tournament to the Morton Plant Mease Health Care Foundation.
“BayCare is an integral part of our community and one of our founding partners with The ANNIKA driven by Gainbridge at Pelican. We are honored to once again partner with BayCare and the Morton Plant Mease Health Care Foundation for the Birdies for Babies program in continuing to give back to our local community,” said Ryan Dever, tournament director for The ANNIKA driven by Gainbridge at Pelican.
“We are proud of the Morton Plant Mease Health Care Foundation’s partnership with the LPGA Tour and The ANNIKA driven by Gainbridge at Pelican and are grateful for their continued support through the Birdies for Babies program,” said Katrina Mason, president and CEO of Philanthropy at Morton Plant Mease Health Care Foundation. “The support we received in our first five years has helped to keep families and infants safe and secure. The upcoming donations from all the birdies made during tournament week will be invested in supporting spaces at Mease Countryside and Morton Plant Hospitals where moms and babies can thrive.”
The Birdies for Babies charitable program launched with the inaugural Pelican Women’s Championship in 2020 and has donated more than $360,000 to families in need in the tournament’s first four years.
- 2020: 932 total birdies were recorded for a $46,600 donation.
- 2021: 1,369 birdies were recorded for a $68,450 donation
- 2022: 958 birdies were recorded (three-round tournament) for a $47,900 donation.
- 2023: 1,446 birdies, 19 eagles and more than 200 birdies from the “BayCare Long Putt Challenge” were recorded for a $100,000 donation.
- 2024: 1,362 birdies, 12 eagles and 189 birdies from the “BayCare Long Putt Challenge” were recorded for a $100,000 donation.
More information on the partnership and a link to donation information can be found here: theannika.com/championship#community. Fans also can donate to the Birdies for Babies program directly during the check-out process when purchasing tickets.All donations from the 2025 Birdies for Babies program will go toward funding a Super Tory newborn patient simulator at Mease Countryside Hospital and a Tecotherm Infant Cooling System at Morton Plant Hospital.
Super Tory is an interactive baby simulator used to help doctors and nurses learn. It looks and acts like a real newborn baby that weighs eight pounds. The learning aid helps teams practice, thinking quickly and solving problems – important skills when caring for newborns.
The Tecotherm Infant Cooling System is a special device used to help newborns who didn’t get enough oxygen or blood to their brain around the time they were born. This condition is called hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) and can cause serious brain injury. By gently cooling the baby, the Tecotherm system can help protect the brain, reduce long-term damage,and support recovery for babies with HIE.
BayCare, the region’s largest academic health system, provides a wide range of services at 16 hospitals and hundreds of other convenient locations for patients and their families throughout West Central Florida. As a founding partner of The ANNIKA, BayCare is supporting the tournament’s volunteer program that recruits and deploys hundreds of individuals to assist in managing the event.
For more information on The ANNIKA driven by Gainbridge at Pelican, visit TheAnnika.com
