2004 PGA TOUR Media Guide

International Federation of PGA Tours/World Golf ChampionshipsAt the 1996 Presidents Cup, golf’s fiveworld governing bodies—the European Tour,Japan Golf Tour Organization, PGA TOUR, PGATour of Australasia and Sunshine Tour—reached agreement on several key elements ofprofessional golf designed to create newinternational events, beginning in 1999.Three major initiatives were outlined atRobert Trent Jones Golf Club, site of the second Presidents Cup:• Formation of the International Federation of PGA Tours.• Joint sanctioning by the members of the International Federation ofPGA Tours of significant competitions, including some at the worldchampionshiplevel for the game’s top players.•A structure for a generally accepted worldwide ranking system.Those “significant competitions” were announced in October 1997 whenthe Federation introduced the World Golf Championships.The first three jointly sanctioned championships—the Accenture MatchPlay Championship, the NEC Invitational and the American ExpressChampionship—were launched in 1999 with Jeff Maggert winning the firstevent and Tiger Woods the latter two. The addition of the World Cup wasannounced in December 1999 and debuted in December 2000.The 2004 World Golf Championships will begin in February, with theAccenture Match Play Championship at La Costa Resort and Spa in Carlsbad,CA. In August, the NEC Invitational will be held at Firestone CC’s South Coursein Akron, OH. The final two events for the year will be in Europe as theAmerican Express Championship returns to Ireland’s Mount Juliet Estate inOctober and the World Cup is held in November at Real Club de Golf de Sevillain Sevilla, Spain.The World Golf Championships events feature players from around theworld competing against one another in varied formats (match play, stroke andteam). The championships rotate through a variety of outstanding venuesworldwide. Roughly half of the golf courses are in the United States, with theother half in venues represented by the International Federation of PGA Tours.World Golf Championships events have been contested on five continents.The World Golf Championships were developed to enhance thecompetitive structure of professional golf worldwide while preserving thetraditions and strengths of the individual Tours and their events.The Asian PGA joined the International Federation of PGA Tours as a fullfledgedmember in November 1999, while the Canadian Tour was named anassociate member in March 2000.Accenture, NEC and American Express are the umbrella sponsors of theWorld Golf Championships. Michelob Ultra, JELD-WEN and Kohler are officialsponsors.Fields for the World Golf Championships are filled primarily through theOfficial World Golf Ranking, which is endorsed by all the sport’s majorprofessional organizations and governing bodies, and individual Tours’ OfficialMoney Lists/Orders of Merit.Walter Hagen CupAccenture Match PlayChampionshipGary Player CupNEC InvitationalGene Sarazen CupAmerican ExpressChampionshipJohn Hopkins TrophyWorld CupSECTION 4 / SPECIAL EVENTSwww.worldgolfchampionships.com4-2 / 2004 PGA TOUR Media Guide WWW.PGATOUR.COM