The LPGA Foundation and AXA Partner to Develop the Next Generation of Female Leaders Through Golf

The LPGA Foundation will partner with AXA to conduct the AXA Pro-Am benefitting LPGA-USGA Girls Golf on June 15th at Glen Arbor Golf Club in Bedford Hills, N.Y. Twelve of the LPGA’s top professionals will play alongside AXA-invited guests for the opportunity to positively impact the lives of young girls.

LPGA Girls Golf Ambassador and reigning ANA Inspiration champion, one of the LPGA Tour’s major Championships, Brittany Lincicome, is among those playing to support Girls Golf.

"I am thrilled to have been chosen to play in this AXA Pro-am benefitting Girls Golf,” said Lincicome. "As a former member of the program, I can relate to the girls and know how daunting the game and life can seem. Girls Golf helped me believe that anything is possible.”

The only initiative of its kind, Girls Golf specializes in providing a "girl-friendly” environment for juniors to learn and play the game of golf. Administered through a partnership between the LPGA Foundation and the USGA, the program has grown to over 280 sites across the United States with over 50,000 girls, ages 7-17, expected to participate in 2015. Proceeds from this event will be used to support a new program designed specifically for girls 15-18 years old.

LPGA Foundation President Nancy Henderson said, "Through this partnership, we will be able to pilot a new LPGA Leadership Academy designed to teach teenage girls more than the game of golf. We will teach leadership skills through golf, inspiring and developing the next generation of female leaders.”

Girls and boys at ages 8-11 are developmentally similar, but as they enter adolescence, girls experience a disproportionate drop in self-esteem. As girls learn how to play golf in the LPGA Leadership Academy, they also learn how to overcome obstacles, develop relationships, and recover from setbacks to achieve their goals. These same skills contribute to professional and academic success through developing and promoting self-confidence, perseverance, self-reliance, discipline, and self-esteem.

The new LPGA Leadership Academy is a natural fit for AXA as the company’s mission for over 150 years has been to provide stability and reliability to clients and help them live their lives with confidence.

"We are pleased to support this launch of the LPGA Leadership Academy,” said Sharon Ritchey, chief operating officer of AXA US. "Girls Golf creates an environment that encourages leadership skills and helps girls develop self-esteem and confidence – qualities that we need to nurture today to help build more inclusive societies tomorrow.”

The LPGA Leadership Academy will take place August 9th and 10th at Glen Arbor Golf Club. AXA female executives will participate in a leadership panel during the Academy and will talk about their own roads to success, finding their own voices, and how and when to take calculated risks.

"We hope to expand this LPGA Leadership Academy concept to multiple markets in 2016,” added Henderson. "Nothing speaks more powerfully than AXA’s willingness to be the first to jump onboard and make the commitment to inspire and empower the next generation of female leaders.”

This pro-am to benefit LPGA-USGA Girls Golf follows the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, one of five majors on the LPGA Tour, which was held last week at Westchester Country Club in Harrison, N.Y. The LPGA partnered with the PGA of America and KPMG to bring together a world-class, annual major golf championship with a women’s leadership summit and an ongoing charitable initiative to inspire and develop new generations of female leaders.

About The LPGA Foundation

Established in 1991, The LPGA Foundation is a 501(c) (3) charitable organization committed to empowering and supporting girls and women through developmental and humanitarian golf initiatives.

Key priorities include: LPGA-USGA Girls Golf, scholarships and the Dolores Hope LPGA Financial Assistance Initiative for those in the golf industry who are experiencing severe hardship. The LPGA Foundation is supported by corporate and private donations, foundation grants and contributions from LPGA members. For more information on how to con- tribute to The LPGA Foundation, please contact LPGA Headquarters, 100 International Golf Drive, Daytona Beach, FL 32124, or by phone, 386.274.6200 and on the web: https://lpgafoundation.org/donate.

About AXA

"AXA” is the brand name of AXA Equitable Financial Services, LLC and its family of companies, including AXA Equitable Life Insurance Company (NY, NY), MONY Life Insurance Company of America (AZ stock company, administrative office: Jersey City, NJ), AXA Advisors, LLC, and AXA Distributors, LLC. In business since 1859, AXA Equitable Life Insurance Company is a leading financial protection company and one of the nation’s premier providers of life insurance, annuity, and financial products and services distributed to individuals and business owners through its retail distribution channel, AXA Advisors, LLC (member FINRA, SIPC) and to the financial services market through its wholesale distribution channel, AXA Distributors, LLC.

Group insurance products are issued by AXA Equitable Life Insurance Company (AXA Equitable), by MONY Life Insurance Company of America (MONY America), and by unaffiliated third-party issuers. AXA Equitable and MONY America have sole responsibility for their insurance and claims-paying obligations.

AXA S.A. is a Paris-headquartered holding company for a group of international insurance and financial services companies, including AXA Equitable Financial Services, LLC companies. AXA S.A. is a worldwide leader in financial protection strategies and wealth management with 103 million clients in 59 countries as of December 31, 2014.

Find AXA on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. For more information, visit www.axa.com.

About the LPGA (Ladies Professional Golf Association)

The LPGA is the world’s leading professional golf organization for women. Founded in 1950 and headquartered in Daytona Beach, Florida, the association celebrates a diverse and storied membership with more than 2,300 members representing 30 different countries. With a Vision to inspire, empower, educate and entertain by showcasing the very best of women’s golf, LPGA Tour Professionals compete across the globe, while dedicated LPGA Teaching and Club Professionals (T&CP) directly impact the game through teaching, coaching and management. The Symetra Tour consistently produces a pipeline of talent ready for the world stage. Follow the LPGA on its television home, Golf Channel, and on the web via: www.LPGA.com, www.facebook.com/lpga, www.twitter.com/lpga, and www.youtube.com/lpgavideo.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20150615006420/en/