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Putts4Charity Enjoys Support From European Tour Professionals and TV Commentators

Ross Fisher, winner of the 3 Irish Open and supporter of Genworth’s Putts4Charity initiative

Killarney, Ireland (August 16, 2010) - European Tour Professionals, including Ryder Cup prospect Ross Fisher, took part in Genworth’s Putts4Charity initiative during the recent 3 Irish Open generating over €17,000 for children’s charity Barnardos.  Putts4Charity helps raise funds for good causes by challenging the general public to make a successful “one putt” on specially constructed greens at various stops along The European Tour.  For each successful one putt made at the 3 Irish Open , the Genworth Foundation made a €1 donation to Barnardos.  Similarly, every one putt made by professionals competing in the tournament raised €2.

Putts4Charity took on a new twist at this event with European Tour Professionals additionally pitting their skills against some well known TV commentators at Genworth’s Putts4Charity putting greens, adding to the final totals donated during the tournament.  

Dougie Donnelly challenged young Irish golfing star Gareth Maybin, narrowly beating him to secure a €1000 'big money' one putt donated by the Genworth Foundation, with Genworth's brand ambassador and eventual 3 Irish Open Champion Ross Fisher, challenging Irish TV presenter Shane O’Donoghue. Wayne Riley from Sky Sports also took on Englishman David Howell in the fundraising fun.

 “We were absolutely delighted to team up with Genworth” said Barnardos Chief Executive, Fergus Finlay. “The spectator numbers at the 3 Irish Open were huge – it was a superb event. The Putts4Charity challenge drew a great crowd and we even had some well known faces from TV take a putt. Many spectators also added to the Putts4Charity totals with their own one putts - each raising a further €1 for Barnardos”.

Following final totals calculated from the 3 Irish Open, Putts4Charity is rapidly closing in on the €600,000 mark for monies donated to good causes since it was first staged in 2007 by Genworth Financial in collaboration with The Tour Players Foundation.

Notes to editors
Putts4Charity is part of Genworth’s commitment to community involvement in the countries where it has operations.  The 2010 season of Putts4Charity aims to donate over €150,000 to good causes.

Genworth is also the official sponsor of The European Tour Statistics programme, providing Tour members with invaluable analysis of their performance. Every shot played by every member is profiled throughout the season, with the results collated into nine categories: Stroke Average, Driving Accuracy, Driving Distance, Greens in Regulation, Putts per Greens in regulation, Putts per Round, Sand Saves,  Scrambles and One Putts Per Round.

Genworth continues its support as a local sponsor of European Tour tournaments at the Portugal Masters (14th – 17th October).

For more details on Genworth’s partnership with the European Tour, please visit www.genworth.co.uk/golf.

About Genworth Financial
Genworth Financial, Inc. (NYSE:GNW) is a leading Fortune 500 global financial security company.  Genworth has more than $100 billion in assets and employs approximately 6,000 people with a presence in more than 25 countries.  Its products and services help meet the investment, protection, retirement and lifestyle needs of more than 15 million customers.   Genworth operates through three segments: Retirement and Protection, U.S. Mortgage Insurance and International. Its products and services are offered through financial intermediaries, advisors, independent distributors and sales specialists.  Genworth Financial, which traces its roots back to 1871, became a public company in 2004 and is headquartered in Richmond, Virginia.   For more information, visit Genworth.com