FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE  

TOM PURTZER TOPS LOREN ROBERTS

IN FOUR-HOLE PLAYOFF

AT AT&T CHAMPIONS CLASSIC

SANTA CLARITA, CA (March 18, 2007) – Tom Purtzer won a thrilling four-hole playoff over Loren Roberts to win the 2007 AT&T Champions Classic at Valencia Country Club.  Repeating the 18th hole for each sudden death attempt, Purtzer drained a 17-foot birdie putt for the win.  Roberts was unable to match the birdie from 12-feet.

The players matched pars on the previous three trips down the par-5 18th.

The duo finished 54-hole play at 10-under par.  Purtzer got to that number on the 54th hole, dropping a 10-foot putt for birdie to finish the round at 4-under 68.  Roberts got to 10-under with a birdie on the par-3 16th, sticking his tee shot two-feet, seven inches from the hole to claim the closest to the pin contest sponsored by Princess Cruise Lines.  He nearly chipped in on 17, missing by just a foot and half, which would have moved him to 11-under.  Roberts closed with a 3-under 69.

“The Los Angeles area has been very, very good to me,” said Purtzer, who won this event in 2003, his first on the Champions Tour.  “I’ve had pretty good luck in playoffs, so that gave me some confidence.  After I made the long putt on the third playoff hole, I said ‘maybe it’s my time.’  I had a putting lesson on Wednesday morning from Dave Stockton.  It helped me immensely.  This is my favorite course.  I know I’ll play well here.  It’s just a feeling I have here.”

The four playoff holes were the longest on the Champions Tour since a seven-hole playoff in 2002 at the Lightpath Long Island Classic won by Hubert Green.

Roberts nearly won the tournament on the second playoff hole when his 25-foot putt hit the hole and slid out.

The final round was a seesaw affair with as many as six players tied at one time at 9-under par.  Purtzer and Roberts were both part of that group.  At three different points during the final round, there was a five-way tie for first place at 9-under par.  In all, there were nine different players that had or shared the lead over the final round.

David Eger finished solo in third place at 9-under par and was followed by a group of six players in fourth place at 8-under par.  The fourth place group included Hale Irwin, who led the first two rounds.

2007 AT&T Champions Classic
2nd Round Notes

• Tom Purtzer wins for the fourth time in his Champions Tour and claims this event for the second time. He also prevailed in 2003 which was his first win on the Tour.

• Purtzer earned a check for $240,000 and also picked up 240 points in the season-long Charles Schwab Cup race with his victory. The win was also Purtzer’s third in California on the Champions Tour. In addition to two victories in this tournament, he also won the 2004 Toshiba Classic. He also won the 1977 Glen Campbell-Los Angeles Open on the PGA TOUR.

• Purtzer has enjoyed great success at this event. In addition to his two wins, he was T3 in 2002, sixth in 2004 and T7 last year. He has earned $695,100 in six starts.

• Purtzer becomes the fourth multiple winner of this event. The others were Gil Morgan, Tom Kite and Joe Inman.

• On a lighter side, Purtzer continues a trend of winners whose first names have three letters. It marks the 12th consecutive year the winner’s first name had three letters. The last player with a longer name was John Bland in 1995.

• Loren Roberts increased his record-setting total for consecutive rounds par/better to 35 when he shot a 3-under-par 69 on Sunday. Roberts broke Larry Nelson’s mark of 32 on Friday. Roberts will look to push that total even higher when he next plays at the Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf on April 20-22 in Savannah.

• Sunday’s playoff was the longest on the Champions Tour since the 2002 Lightpath Long Island Classic, a seven-hole affair won by Hubert Green over Hale Irwin.

• Los Angeles native John Jacobs posted his second straight top-10 finish for the first time since he opened the 2004 season with back-to-back top-10 finishes at the MasterCard Championship and the Royal Caribbean Golf Classic. He finished T9 last week at the Toshiba Classic.

• The field scoring average for the tournament was 71.844, the lowest average since the tournament moved to Valencia CC in 2001. The previous low was 72.416 in 2004.

• After three rounds, the most difficult hole was No. 7 (par 3) with a 3.289 scoring average. It yielded just 16 birdies. The easiest hole was No. 9 (par 5) with a 4.364 scoring average. There were 16 eagles and 119 birdies through 54 holes.

• Defending champion Tom Kite finished T22.

Contact:  Dennis Bickmeier 714-488-0112