Wyndham Worldwide Receives PGA TOUR "Best Title

PARSIPPANY, NJ--(Marketwired - Nov 24, 2014) - The PGA TOUR awarded Wyndham Worldwide ( NYSE : WYN ) "Best Title Sponsor Integration" at the TOUR's annual meeting on November 20 in La Quinta, CA. The global hospitality company was recognized as the title sponsorship of the Wyndham Championship held annually in Greensboro, NC. The awards also recognized the Wyndham Championship with the Best Social Media Activation [for the second consecutive year]. Wyndham Worldwide has been the proud title sponsor of the tournament since 2007.

"We are incredibly excited and honored to receive this recognition after only seven short years as title sponsor of the Wyndham Championship," said Alyson Johnson, senior vice president of Marketing and Communications at Wyndham Worldwide. "Working as true partners with the tournament organizers, the PGA TOUR, and the Piedmont Triad community, we have been focused on honoring the incredible legacy of this tournament, while establishing an exciting new experience and strong future for the Wyndham Championship that is second-to-none."

The PGA TOUR is the world's premier membership organization for touring professional golfers, co-sanctioning more than 130 tournaments around the world. PGA TOUR tournaments are globally broadcast to more than 1 billion households in 225 countries and territories in 32 languages. Contested annually on the Donald Ross-designed course at Sedgefield Country Club in Greensboro, N.C., the Wyndham Championship was founded in 1938 and is the sixth-oldest event on the PGA TOUR excluding the Majors.

"On behalf of the PGA TOUR, I am delighted to congratulate the Wyndham Championship for the special recognition it has received with these two awards," PGA TOUR executive vice-president and chief of operations Andy Pazder said. "The tournament staff should be extremely proud of its hard work and for being recognized as the best among its peers on the TOUR."

As one of the world's largest hospitality companies, Wyndham Worldwide earned its "Best Title Sponsor Integration" by creating a campaign and on-site experience all about unlocking the potential of travel. An international advertising campaign was seamlessly integrated at the tournament by immersing spectators in a wide range of vacation experiences that included an onsite beach, a ski lodge with fireplace and snowboard simulators, and opportunities to "unlock" prizes with hotel room keys.

In addition to the championship golf and fun for fans on the course, the Wyndham Championship has made giving back to the community a central focus of each year's tournament. In 2014, Wishes by Wyndham, the charitable foundation of Wyndham Worldwide and official charity of the Wyndham Championship, sponsored a new charitable initiative at the tournament called "Birdies Fore Backpacks," which provides backpacks of food for children in need. As part of the initiative, individuals and corporations were able to make online donations or pledges of a certain amount for every birdie made by PGA TOUR professionals during official tournament play, and spectators were invited to donate or help by packing a backpack full of food.

During the tournament, Wishes by Wyndham also supported the Kevin Harvick Foundation, which works with underprivileged children to help improve their lives; the PGA TOUR Wives Association, which supports and provides assistance to needy children and their families; and the Breast Cancer Research Foundation through the sale of limited-edition Lilly Pulitzer print scarves, featuring original artwork that borrows inspiration and images from experiencing a day at the beach.

In the category of "Best Social Media Activation," the Wyndham Championship created a social media plan that engaged and educated fans about the tournament's 75th anniversary, including an Instagram contest which awarded a prize to one fan every week in the seven months leading up to the tournament. The Wyndham Championship also encouraged fans to share their experiences on Twitter through the use of a "tweet patrol," and the first-ever Twitter vending machines.

"What a great honor for both Wyndham Worldwide and our local team to be recognized by the PGA TOUR and the tournaments with these two awards," Wyndham Championship Tournament Director Mark Brazil said. "We are very fortunate to have Wyndham Worldwide as our title sponsor and our partner, and the awards are evidence that Wyndham Worldwide is fully committed to making the Wyndham Championship one of the best events on the PGA TOUR."

The 2015 Wyndham Championship, won this year by Camilo Villegas, will be held August 17-23 at Sedgefield Country Club.

About Wyndham Worldwide One of the world's largest hospitality companies, Wyndham Worldwide ( NYSE : WYN ) provides a wide range of hospitality services and products through its global portfolio of world-renowned brands. The world's largest hotel company based on the number of properties, Wyndham Hotel Group is home to many of the world's best-known hotel brands, with approximately 7,600 franchised hotels and over 655,000 hotel rooms worldwide. Wyndham Exchange & Rentals is the worldwide leader in vacation exchange and the world's largest professionally managed vacation rentals business, providing more than 5 million leisure-bound families annually with access to over 107,000 vacation properties in over 100 countries through its prominent exchange and vacation rental brands. The industry and timeshare ownership market leader, Wyndham Vacation Ownership develops, markets, and sells vacation ownership interests and provides consumer financing to owners through its network of over 200 vacation ownership resorts serving approximately 907,000 owners throughout the United States, Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean, and the South Pacific. Based in Parsippany, NJ, Wyndham Worldwide employs approximately 32,800 associates globally.

For more information, please visit www.wyndhamworldwide.com .

About the Wyndham Championship Contested annually on the Donald Ross-designed course at Sedgefield Country Club in Greensboro, N.C., the Wyndham Championship was founded in 1938 and is the sixth-oldest event on the PGA TOUR excluding the Majors. Additional tournament information, including ticket packages and sponsorship information, is available at www.wyndhamchampionship.com .

Stay connected with the Wyndham Championship through its social media channels, including the Wyndham Championship Facebook page, Twitter, Instagram, Foursquare, Flickr and YouTube.