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Peter Ripa, the CEO and president of the The Century Club of San Diego, recently helped distribute $3.1 million to regional charities as part of the group's fund-raising efforts at the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines.
Peter Ripa, the CEO and president of the The Century Club of San Diego, recently helped distribute $3.1 million to regional charities as part of the group’s fund-raising efforts at the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines.
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The Century Club of San Diego derives its name from the original donation amount asked of members. When the club formed in 1961, members were asked to give $100 as a gesture of support for their commitment to raise funds for the fledgling tournament then known as the San Diego Open.

Just as the cost of membership has gone up – it’s now $1,250 – so has the significance, influence and impact of The Century Club, the nonprofit promotion arm for the PGA Tour’s Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines, which is distributing $3.1 million to a variety of charities this year through its tournament efforts.

“We work with a lot of medium to smaller-sized charities,” said Century Club CEO and president Peter Ripa. “The numbers we’re able to provide to them are meaningful, more so than they might be for some of the larger charities. For some of them, they’re able to do an entire summer program for kids that they otherwise couldn’t have done.”

For its charity work, the San Diego Hall of Champions honored The Century Club with its 2015 Humanitarian Award; something Ripa says has dual significance.

“The award is named after Ernie Wright, who started Pro Kids First Tee San Diego, which is one of our primary beneficiaries,” he said. “So it was ironic and special all at the same time.”

In his fourth year as CEO, the tournament has enjoyed the type of success Ripa envisioned when he took the job after serving in a similar capacity for The Colonial, the PGA Tour’s annual stop in Fort Worth, Texas.

“I saw the opportunity of what this event represented. San Diego. Torrey Pines. Late January. I felt like I could sell that,” Ripa said with a wry smile.

Ripa coordinates the efforts of 60 club members, the ones sporting navy jackets at the tournament, and says the expectation of members is set from the outset.

“Our first-year members are provisional members,” he said. “Their duty is to provide warm introductions into relationships in the community, those businesses that value promoting San Diego, and let us help drive their business.”

Planning, promoting and improving the tournament experience are all year-round duties of The Century Club. Ripa travels to industry events and at least six tour stops a year to glean ideas and foster relationships and partnerships. His emphasis has been to improve the fan experience, a primary example being the relocation of the entrance gate to near the Gliderport to improve security efficiency and ticket checks.

“We’ve now got the capacity, as more of our guests come through,” he said, “to handle up to a 25 percent increase per year.”

Part of improving the fan experience is expanding it, Ripa added, through attention to things such as concessions and the social experience.

“What we’ve worked hard in promoting is that there’s more to experience than just the golf,” he said. “We’ve worked hard on the social areas to allow people to gather with friends and family and have a sandwich or a beer and enjoy a great day outdoors. We want them to realize the beauty of Torrey Pines and San Diego. It’s a world-class golf course.”

As another world-class golf event – the 2021 U.S. Open at Torrey Pines – gets closer, Ripa knows there are opportunities and challenges ahead to stay on top. One area getting attention is projecting what the expanding roles of television, apps and online media will look like in 2021.

“The exposure for golf is growing, which will only benefit San Diego,” Ripa said. “In the end, it’s great for the players, the sponsors and the Tour as a whole, but it’s something you have to be prepared for. We want people from around the world to have access, and we’ll be ready.”