Berenberg, the world’s second oldest bank, along with a collection of legendary professional golfers on the men’s and women’s tours, as well as business leaders, came together at GlenArbor Golf Club for the Berenberg Invitational to raise vital funds for the event’s beneficiary, UNMC and Nebraska Medicine.
In total, this year’s Berenberg Invitational raised $550,000 for pancreatic cancer research, bringing Berenberg’s combined donation over three tournaments to $2,050,000. The support from Berenberg to UNMC and Nebraska Medicine will help the latter explore new medical concepts that may lead to novel findings for drug discovery, development of biomarkers and a better understanding of the genomic complexities of pancreatic cancer.
UNMC Chancellor Jeffrey P. Gold, MD, thanked the organizers of the event.
“Berenberg continues to make an impact in UNMC’s struggle against pancreatic cancer,” Dr. Gold said. “This ongoing support and the important raising of awareness that there is hope will help the Pancreatic Cancer Center of Excellence continue in its groundbreaking work to dramatically change the impact of this disease.”
Said Jim Linder, MD, CEO, Nebraska Medicine, “The research at our medical center will advance care options for pancreatic cancer. It’s a team effort, and the support from Berenberg, the Nebraska Legislature and Omaha community leaders is accelerating our work to find breakthroughs.”
“The Berenberg Invitational would not be possible without the generous contributions made by our incredible field of participants, both professional golfers and our guests,” said Berenberg Managing Partner David Mortlock. “Our three-year partnership with the event’s beneficiary, the University of Nebraska Medical Center and Nebraska Medicine, is a microcosm of the impact golf can have in raising valuable funds for philanthropic causes and, in our case specifically, key research to find a cure for pancreatic cancer.”
The prestigious field of 24 professional golfers competing featured major championship winners and some of the biggest names in golf history, including Gary Player, Fred Couples, Mark O’Meara, Bernhard Langer and Jose Maria Ozalabal, all of whom are ambassadors of Berenberg, as well as Tom Lehman, Larry Mize, Retif Goosen, Colin Montgomerie and Hale Irwin. On the women’s side, major champions Cristie Kerr, Brittany Lang and Brittany Lincicome also participated.
The team captained by Retief Goosen and Sydnee Michaels bested the field by at GlenArbor Golf Club, which was recently named Club of the Year by the Metropolitan Golf Writers Association. The grounds of GlenArbor Golf Club include the Gary Player-designed championship course, a nine-hole short game facility and a state-of-the-art teaching center.
“Each year we have been involved with the Berenberg Invitational has greatly impacted how quickly and efficiently we are able to conduct research focusing on the molecular complexities of pancreatic cancer geared towards finding a cure humanity desperately needs,” said Sunil Hingorani, MD, director of the UNMC Pancreatic Cancer Center of Excellence and Nebraska Medicine pancreatic cancer program. “This is a mission profoundly personal to me as well as many of the participating professional golfers and our work will be hastened by this extraordinary partnership.”
Berenberg has held an annual charity golf event in New York featuring legends of the game for nearly a decade.