Elite Golf Tournaments - SILICON VALLEY GOLF CHALLENGE

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THE CHALLENGE

Quick Facts

When: Wednesday, September 10, 2025
9:00 AM - Registration & Player Practice (putting green and driving range)
11:00 AM - Boxed lunch
11:30 AM - Rules Briefing by NCGA Officials
12:00 PM - 18 Hole Tournament Play (Shotgun Start)
5:00 PM - NCGA Scoring & Rules Address
6:00 PM - Shoot Out & Cocktail Reception
7:30 PM - Awards Ceremony & Afterglow Party
Where: Stanford Golf Course 198 Junipero Boulevard Stanford, CA 94305
Who: 5-Person teams which in the past have included leaders in technology, finance, politics, and sports
Format: One-day 2 net best-ball handicap competition; the top 10 teams from the morning round plus one Wild Card team advance to the final Shoot Out. Handicaps not to exceed 18.
Charity Prize: $125,000*
(* Dependent on number of teams entered)
Winnings: Charity prize winnings will be donated directly to winning teams' pre-designated charity of choice
Television Broadcast
Sanctioning Bodies: USGA and NCGA

Format & Rules

The Evercore Silicon Valley Golf Challenge is a highly competitive one day charity golf event. Approximately 22-24 corporate teams participate in an 18-hole 2 net best ball competition followed by the $125,000 Shoot Out. The NCGA monitors all play as well as handicap verification. Teams will be composed of five players each.

Two images: a flower arrangement on a table and a man tying his shoe on a golf course.

18 Hole Morning Round:

The top 10 finishing teams from the morning 18-hole round (2-net best ball) automatically advance to the $125,000 Shoot-Out
The team with the lowest morning round score becomes exempt from the first phase of the Shoot-Out - the Chip-Off and advances to the Play-Off Semi-Final
Teams that did not finish in the top 10 places from the morning round will have one last chance to compete in the $125,000 Shoot-Out and will be entered into the Gag-a-thon™. The Gag-a-thon™ is a 3 -foot, 6-foot, and 9-foot putting competition to determine a wild card team. The wild card team joins the top 10 finishing teams from the 18-hole morning round

Gag-a-thon ™

The Gag-a-thon™ is unique to the Challenge and allows teams that did not qualify from the 18-hole morning round one last chance to qualify for the $125,000 Shoot-Out
Putting order will be determined by order of finish in the 18-hole morning round. The last place team will putt first and so on
The Gag-a-thon ™ format consists of a sudden death 3-foot, 6-foot, and 9-foot putt. Teams must make their putts to move on to the next level. An alternate shot format will be used
In the event of a tie after the 9-foot putt, there will be a tie-breaking long putt to break the tie
Gag-a-thon™ is trademark of van Dillen Partners. All rights to this mark are reserved

Chip-Off

The top finishing teams (2-10) from the 18-hole morning round plus the winner of the Gag-a-thon™ will compete in the Chip-Off
Prior to the start of the Chip-Off, team captains will determine the alternate shot order of play of their team and present their order of play to the NCGA official
All chip shots must be holed-out in an alternate shot basis
Once the top 4 teams are determined, we will proceed to the next phase of the $125,000 Shoot-Out - the Play-Off Semi-Final
The winner of the morning round (lowest 2 net ball score) automatically qualifies for the Play-Off Semi-Final for a total of 5 teams

Play-Off Semi-Final

The top 4 finishing teams from the Chip-off are joined by the winner of the 2 net best ball 18-hole morning round
Teams play in a "horse race" style format starting 153 yards out on the 18th hole fairway playing into the 18th green
Player rotation continues from the Chip-Off with the player next in rotation hitting the wedge into the 18th green
Team finish is based on lowest hole scores and teams with the two lowest scores advance to the Play-Off Finals
In the event of a tie, tied teams chip-off and play out the hole and best scores determine which team advances to the Play-Off Final
If a tie still exists, the tied teams make a long putt and closest to the hole advances to the Play-Off Final
The order of finish for 3rd through 5th place will be based on scores

Play-Off Final

The remaining 2 teams will go back to the same location 153 yards on the 18th fairway and continue their alternate shot rotation
The winner of the Evercore Silicon Valley Golf Challenge will be determined by lowest score into the hole
In the event of a tie, teams will chip-off and play out the hole from an NCGA pre-determined location and the lowest score determines the winning team
If a tie still exists, tied teams make a long putt and closest to the hole determines the winner
Awards Ceremony to follow

Governance

NCGA Oversight

The NCGA will be the official ruling body of the Challenge. The NCGA will commence the tournament with a reading of the rules, which will also be further addressed prior to the Shoot Out. As the official ruling body of the Challenge, they monitor rules of competition, verify player handicaps, provide course marshals and are the official scorekeepers. At the conclusion of play (18 holes), team captains will be required to turn in their team's scorecard to the designated NCGA official. Scorecards must be completed with two team player signatures and must be legible to be considered official.

USGA Handicap Index

The NCGA requires that all Challenge participants provide their NCGA/GHIN numbers and home club name to van Dillen Partners prior to the tournament. The NCGA will authorize and then assign each player a Course Handicap. If a player does not belong to a GHIN association, they must provide their home association and home club name so NCGA officials can verify participants' Index. Players will be capped at a Course Handicap of 16 for men and 18 for women. Players with an index that computes to a higher Course Handicap of 16 for men and 18 for women can still participate but must play to a Course Handicap of 16 for men and 18 for women. August Indexes will be used, and play will be at 90 percent of the course handicap for men and 95 percent for women. Players without an established Handicap Index can participate but will play to a Course handicap of 10.

USGA Amateur Status Guidelines

To protect the amateur status of Challenge participants, van Dillen Partners works closely with the United States Golf Association (USGA). All players must sign a waiver at registration the morning of the tournament. In accordance with the Director of Amateur Status, and Rules of Golf USGA: "All players, both amateurs and professionals, are not eligible to receive any cash prizes. All prize proceeds will be awarded by the sponsors to the designated 501c3 charities of teams’ choice.