Champions Tour 2008 Guide - PGA TOUR Media

Fact SheetNamePGA TOUR’s Champions Tour (first reference)Headquarters112 PGA TOUR Boulevard, Ponte Vedra Beach, FL 32082, Phone: 904-285-3700CommissionerTimothy W. Finchem (since June 1, 1994)PresidentRick George (since January 24, 2003)Web SitePGATOUR.comOverviewThe Champions Tour is a division of the PGA TOUR, Inc., a tax-exemptmembership organization of professional golfers. Conceived in 1980 as theSenior PGA Tour, it started with just four events and purses totaling $475,000.The Champions Tour will feature a minimum of 29 official events offering $55.5million in prize money in 2008 and its highest average purse ever of $1.91million. The Champions Tour operates under the umbrella of the PGA TOURwhich includes the PGA TOUR, Champions Tour and Nationwide Tour. TheChampions Tour’s primary purpose as an entity of the PGA TOUR is to providesignificant competitive and earnings opportunities for players age 50 and older;to protect the integrity of the game; and to help grow the reach of the game inthe U.S. and around the world. In addition to providing competitive opportunitiesfor its membership, Champions Tour events also generate significant sums ofmoney for charity.History1980 – 2008. The Tour enters its 29th season in 2008.CharityThe Champions Tour and its tournaments generate significant sums of money forcharity. From 2004 through 2007, the Tour has raised an average of $10 millionper year for charity. In October, 2005, the three Tours of the PGA TOUR and theirtournaments announced they had reached the $1-billion milestone in charitablegiving, dating back to the first recorded donation in 1938. The three Tours arenow on track to reach the $2-billion milestone in the next five to seven years.2008 ScheduleThere are 29 official Charles Schwab Cup events, plus a lineup of threeChallenge/unofficial events that are played in February and December. The Tourwill play in 16 states in the U.S., plus the Dominican Republic and Scotland.A new event for 2008 is The Cap Cana (March 31-April 6) at the Punta EspadaGolf Club (Jack Nicklaus Course) in the Dominican Republic. The Liberty MutualLegends of Golf (April 21-27) at the Westin Savannah Harbor Golf Resort andSpa in Savannah, GA, has a format change for 2008 in the Legends Division. Itwill be a two-man team event contested for official money and counted as anofficial victory. The tournament returns to its historic roots with this change andbecomes a team event for the first time since 2001 (when it was unofficialmoney/win). Played as an individual stroke-play event in the Legends Divisionthe past six years, the new two-man, better-ball format will bring back theexcitement that began in 1978. The Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf is the eventthat spawned the creation of the Champions Tour.Major Championships (5)Senior PGA Championship (Oak Hill CC), Senior British Open (Royal Troon GC-OldCourse), U.S. Senior Open (The Broadmoor Resort-East Course), JELD-WENTradition (Crosswater Club at Sunriver Resort), Constellation Energy SeniorPlayers Championship (Baltimore CC/Five Farms-East Course).Prize Money$55.5 million – Official Charles Schwab Cup (29 events)$2.85 million – Challenge/Unofficial (3 events)Charles Schwab CupThe Charles Schwab Cup, designed to recognize the Champions Tour’s leadingplayer, rewards both top finishes and week-in/week-out consistency in allofficial events. Players receive points for top-10 finishes and ties based on eachweek's money distribution, with $1,000 earned being the equivalent of oneCharles Schwab Cup point, with double points awarded at the five majorchampionships and the season-ending Charles Schwab Cup Championship. Theprogram offers $2.1 million in annuity payouts to its five leading performers,with $1 million to the winner. Loren Roberts won the Cup in 2007 by 165 pointsover Jay Haas, the 2006 champion.In October 2007 the Charles Schwab Company announced an agreement inprinciple on a five-year extension through 2013 of its comprehensive marketingpartnership with the PGA TOUR as the “Official Investment Firm of the PGATOUR and the Champions Tour” and umbrella sponsorship of the ChampionsTour’s Charles Schwab Cup program.Size of FieldIn 2008, the field size for Champions Tour events will be 78 players, except atthose tournaments that have specific eligibility criteria. See “Eligibility” belowfor details of a standard 78-player field.EligibilityIn order to be eligible for an official Champions Tour event, a player must attainage 50 on or before the day of his first tournament obligation (e.g. Wed-Thurs.pro-am, date of Pre-Qualifying, date of Event Qualifying, etc.). The field size atthe majority of Champions Tour events in 2008 will be 78 players up to amaximum of 81 players based on the following eligibility requirements:Standard Field Size: 78 players1. 30 available players — Available from Prior-Year Money List, floor of 502. 30 available players — Available from All-Time Money List, floor of net 70(not exempt in No. 1)3. 4 players — PGA TOUR Career Victory Category, ages 50 and 51(not exempt in No. 1 or No. 2)4. Space Available — Special Medical Extension(not exempt in Nos. 1-3 on space-available basis—i.e., once all eligible andcommitted players from No. 1 and No. 2 have been entered into the field—until the implementation of Current Year Money category on Sept. 1)5. 5 players — Invited by the Tournament (Sponsor Exemptions)• Two spots restricted: players with one PGA TOUR or Champions Tour winand Veteran Member status• Three spots unrestricted6. Max of 2 players — Top 10 Advance (not exempt in Nos. 1-5 or Current YearMoney Category, players finishing in 10th place or tied for 10th advance intonext co-sponsored, open, full-field event reducing Event Qualifying spotsaccordingly)7. Available Spots – Event Qualifying (Maximum of nine spots reducedaccordingly by Top 10 Advance. Top four spots replaced by Current YearMoney Category, beginning September 1)The following players will be added to the field to a maximum of 81 players:1. Non-Exempt Tournament Winners2. Committed and eligible players from the All-time Victory category3. Major Medical Extension (If not in the field of 78 on a space-availablebasis, they will be added via this category)Note: Should any combination of the above exceed 81 players, EventQualifiers will be reduced by no more than two positions followed byrestricted then unrestricted Sponsor Exemptions in alternating orderCurrent Year Money List (September 1, 2008): The Current Year OfficialMoney Category will be established using the Champions Tour Official MoneyList through the Wal-Mart First Tee Open at Pebble Beach and remain in placefor the last four full-field events of the year (Greater Hickory Classic at RockBarn, SAS Championship, Administaff Small Business Classic, AT&TChampionship).All Champions Tour players, not otherwise exempt, 75th or better on theChampions Tour Current Year Money List, including members remaining eligiblevia the Special Medical Extension Category, shall be ranked in order based uponeach player’s position on said list as of September 1, 2008. Priority order withinthis category will not change for the remainder of the season. The number ofEvent Qualifier playing positions available will be reduced by four for theremainder of the year.Alternates: After the commitment deadline, withdrawals will be replaced bythe first available player on the All-Time Money List and Prior Year Money Listin alternating order. If all available players from all lists are in the field (“floorout”), additional players in the following priority order will fill the field: SpecialMedical; four players from Event Qualifier; Past Champions; and VeteranMembers. Note: No alternates are taken from the PGA TOUR Career VictoryCategory.National Qualifying Tournament: The 2008 National Qualifying TournamentNational Finals will be held November 18-21 at TPC Eagle Trace, Coral Springs,FL, to determine who will be eligible to compete on a weekly basis in 2009.SECTION1 INTRODUCTIONPGATOUR.COMChampions Tour 2008 Guide1-5