Korean Hospitality Takes Centerstage at the CJ CUP @ SHADOW CREEK in Las Vegas

Thursday, October 15 will be more than just the start of THE CJ CUP @ SHADOW CREEK, it will represent the culmination of a 6,204 mile journey (9,984 km) and thousands of tireless work hours that will deliver Korean culture, food, hospitality and Korea’s most prestigious professional golf tournament to the United States.

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THE CJ CUP @ SHADOW CREEK (Photo: Business Wire)

THE CJ CUP @ SHADOW CREEK (Photo: Business Wire)

In a year where many of the world’s most anticipated professional sports competitions have been cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the resourceful, innovative and determined partnership between CJ Group (Seoul, South Korea), the PGA TOUR (Ponte Vedra Beach, FL) and Shadow Creek (Las Vegas, NV) has assembled one of professional golf’s strongest 2020 fields at one of the game’s most admired courses.

As THE CJ CUP crosses the Pacific Ocean, it is bringing Korean culture and the sensory enlivening tastes of CJ Group’s Bibigo® Korean food brand with it.

Ethan Kim, Sports Marketing Director of CJ Group, said: “While it is unfortunate we will not be able to showcase the PGA TOUR and the best players in the world on Jeju Island in South Korea this year, the decision to move THE CJ CUP to the U.S. was made considering the players’ safety as the highest priority. In accordance with health and safety guidelines set forth by the CDC and local governments, we are delighted to bring THE CJ CUP to the U.S. and to the renowned Shadow Creek in 2020.”

“In addition to partnering with the PGA TOUR to host some world-class golf in Las Vegas for a global television and streaming audience, we are especially excited to share our authentic Korean tastes and flavors of Bibigo with tournament participants onsite and with viewers throughout the broadcast,” said Kim.

Bibigo Adds Korean Flavor to Tournament Week

Onsite at Shadow Creek, CJ chefs will be sharing the company’s rapidly growing Bibigo brand throughout the tournament. Players, media and tournament staff will be working up an appetite and Bibigo will be there to support these cravings with indulgent sampling opportunities.

The Bibigo brand features authentic Korean food, crafted with devotion. With complex and layered flavors, Bibigo food items combine modern, bold tastes with a time-honored Korean food philosophy designed to bring people together. Bibigo foods offer fresh quality ingredients and authentic taste with the convenience to prepare in minutes. Available in supermarkets, club stores and mass retailers, the Bibigo lineup includes a full assortment of snacks and appetizers, including Mandu, the brand’s signature item. Mandu is a traditional, thin-skinned Korean dumpling packed with fresh-cut meats and vegetables, and complemented with the right amount of spice to burst with flavor. The rest of the brand assortment features pot stickers, wontons and soup dumplings.

As US viewers tune into the Golf Channel coverage of the tournament, CJ will be showcasing the brand’s newest advertising campaign. This campaign combines the sensory-enlivening taste of Bibigo food with the feeling of connection when it’s shared together. In addition to the current campaign, CJ will support the brand’s continued growth with an ambitious new marketing campaign next year designed to fully introduce Bibigo to the US consumer.

Bringing THE CJ CUP to Las Vegas

“The PGA TOUR is truly appreciative of CJ Group’s commitment to bring THE CJ CUP @ SHADOW CREEK to the United States this October,” said Ty Votaw, PGA TOUR Executive Vice President, International. “While our players have always looked forward to visiting Korea, the current circumstances provided this new opportunity to bring the event to Las Vegas which will also provide brand exposure and awareness to the viewing audience in the United States and around the globe. We are thankful for the partnership and support that CJ Group and the Korean PGA have shown in view of the circumstances. We are confident this year’s event will showcase a stellar field while bringing the CJ Group’s brand values to a new time zone.”

Since 2017, the event has been played annually at The Club @ Nine Bridges on Jeju Island, Korea, with Justin Thomas securing a playoff victory over Marc Leishman in the inaugural event and winning again last year. Brooks Koepka was victorious by four shots in 2018. Defending Champion Justin Thomas will be joined by fellow PGA Tour players, reigning FedExCup champion Dustin Johnson, World No. 2 Jon Rahm, 18-time PGA TOUR winner Rory McIlroy, Brooks Koepka, PGA Championship winner Collin Morikawa, Xander Schauffele and Gary Woodland at Shadow Creek this week.

“THE CJ CUP quickly became one of my favorite events on TOUR. While winning twice certainly helped, the hospitality shown to us by CJ Group and the Korean community has made the tournament special to all of us as PGA TOUR players,” said 13-time PGA TOUR winner and defending THE CJ CUP champion Justin Thomas. “It’s unfortunate that we won’t be able to travel to Korea for this year’s event, but it is fantastic that we will still be able to shine a light on CJ Group through the tournament at a venue like Shadow Creek.”

THE CJ CUP @ SHADOW CREEK will once again feature a 78-man field comprising of the highest ranked player of Korean nationality from the Asian Tour Order of Merit, up to five players designated by the Korean PGA and the top-3 available players of Korean nationality from the Official World Golf Ranking as part of CJ Group’s vision to support the development of professional golf in Korea. The remainder of the field will be made up of the leading players from the 2019-20 FedExCup points list and sponsor exemptions.

The CJ CUP @ SHADOW CREEK will be broadcast on Golf Channel October 15-18 from 5pm to 8pm (ET) and on both JTBC Golf and JTBC Golf & Sports channels in Korea October 16-19 from 3am to 9am KST.

About Bibigo

Founded in 2010, Bibigo is a global brand created by CJ, Korea's #1 lifestyle company. With over 60 years of experience, CJ has proudly been delivering flavor to dinner tables since 1953. Bibigo takes 5000 years of delicious cuisine and updates it for today's modern, non-stop lifestyles. That's why the name combines the Korean word "bibim," from a long cultural tradition of "mixed" flavors, with the English word "go." The brand lineup includes a full assortment of snacks and appetizers, including Mandu, the brand’s signature item. Inspired by authentic recipes, Bibigo makes the exciting tastes of Korean cuisine easily accessible with offerings in both grocery stores and restaurants in South Korea, America, and around the world. Bibigo products represent global K-Style Food and are distributed by CJ Foods USA Inc. and Schwan's Consumer Brands, Inc., a subsidiary of Schwan's Company. For more information, please visit www.bibigousa.com.

About CJ Group

The CJ Group strives to fulfill its mission as the global lifestyle company promoting the Korean Wave across global shores. CJ’s four core business groups are Food & Food Services, Bio & Pharma, Home Shopping & Logistics and Entertainment & Media. CJ has constantly pursued its core values of integrity, passion, and creativity under the vision of ‘Create a New Culture for Healthy, Happy and Convenient Lifestyles’ and has produced ONLYONE products and services to create the best values. These principles serve as driving factors in CJ’s growth as a global company creating lifestyle and culture beyond the Korean market. The CJ Group’s web site is ENGLISH.CJ.NET and the organization is headquartered in Seoul, Korea.

About Shadow Creek

Shadow Creek, one of the country’s most exclusive golf courses, has earned perennial top rankings among Golf Week and Golf Digest magazine’s public courses and has been designated the best golf course in the world in a Robb Report’s “Best of the Best” issue. Located in the midst of the Nevada desert on the outskirts of Las Vegas, and owned by MGM Resorts International, Shadow Creek continues to achieve national recognition and the kind of startling mystique reserved for only a select number of golf courses. Designed by renowned architect Tom Fazio, Shadow Creek is known for its natural beauty, rolling terrain, glistening brooks and ponds, lush gardens and mature trees. The visual elements, spectacular waterfalls and course design lend to astonishing views.

About PGA TOUR

By showcasing golf’s greatest players, the PGA TOUR engages, inspires and positively impacts our fans, partners and communities worldwide.

The PGA TOUR, headquartered in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, co-sanctions more than 130 tournaments on the PGA TOUR, PGA TOUR Champions, Korn Ferry Tour, PGA TOUR Latinoamérica, Mackenzie Tour-PGA TOUR Canada and PGA TOUR Series-China. Members on the PGA TOUR represent the world’s best players, hailing from 29 countries and territories (94 members are from outside the United States). Worldwide, PGA TOUR tournaments are broadcast to 212 countries and territories in 23 languages. Virtually all tournaments are organized as non-profit organizations to maximize charitable giving. In 2019, tournaments across all Tours generated a record $204.3 million for local and national charitable organizations, bringing the all-time total to more than $3 billion.

Fans can follow the PGA TOUR on PGATOUR.COM, the No. 1 site in golf, on the PGA TOUR app and on social media channels, including Facebook, Instagram (in English, Spanish and Korean), LinkedIn, Twitter, WeChat, Weibo, Toutiao and Douyin.