TEE TO GREEN  - AT&T CHAMPIONS CLASSIC

VALENCIA COUNTRY CLUB, MARCH 10-16, 2008

Weekly Update #1 - January 22, 2008

COUNTDOWN – 7 WEEKS

FRED FUNK OPENS 2008 CHAMPIONS TOUR SEASON WITH A WIN:

The Champions Tour opened its season in Hawaii over the weekend with the MasterCard Championship and Fred Funk once again found the islands to his liking.  Funk, who played the previous two weeks in Hawaii on the PGA Tour (25th at the Mercedes-Benz Championship and 10th at the Sony Open), birdied the final two holes on Sunday for the win.  Allen Doyle started the final round with a one-stroke lead over Funk and built that to a four-stroke lead through seven holes.  Funk started his move on the back nine with a birdie on the par-5 10th to move to 17-under, cutting Doyle’s lead to two strokes.  Doyle then dropped a shot with a bogey on 11.  Funk then birdied the 12th, and he and Doyle matched birdies on 13.  Doyle finished with five straight pars for a tournament total of 19-under par (197).  Funk missed short birdie putts on 14 and 15 but chipped in on No. 17 and dropped a 7-foot birdie putt on 18 for a 7-under 65.  His tournament total of 21-under 195 earned Funk his third Champions Tour victory.  Funk, who will continue to split time between the PGA Tour and the Champions Tour, won a PGA Tour event in Hawaii last year and a Champions Tour event in the Aloha State last year.  Defending AT&T Champions Classic winner Tom Purtzer started the year in Hawaii on a high note, carding an opening round 62 to take the early lead.  He followed that up with back-to-back 69s to finish fifth.  Bernhard Langer and Jay Haas finished in a tie for third at 17-under 199, one stroke ahead of Purtzer.

UP NEXT ON THE CHAMPIONS TOUR:

The Champions Tour players call Hawaii home for one more week, as Fred Funk looks to defend his title at the Turtle Bay Championship.  The Kahuku, Hawaii, based Palmer Course at Turtle Bay is the site for the $1.6 million tournament.  Funk shot -8 last year to outdistance a pair of names familiar to the AT&T Champions Classic – Tom Purtzer and Loren Roberts.  The duo battled four extra holes at Valencia CC last year with Purtzer winning by rolling in a birdie putt on the 18th green.

LANGER AND COOK IMPRESSIVE IN OPENER:  Two of the Champions Tour’s “younger” players opened the season in impressive style.  Bernhard Langer and John Cook, both of whom have committed to playing in the AT&T Champions Classic, finished third and sixth, respectively, over the weekend in Hawaii. 

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED:

Tournament officials are putting out the call for local volunteer assistance for the upcoming event.  Community members interested in aiding the operation of this year’s tournament can check out the event website at www.attchampionsclassic.com and hit the volunteer link for more information or call the tournament headquarters at 661-254-9750.  Hundreds of volunteers are needed to staff this year’s event.

TICKET SALES:

Tickets for this year’s 54-hole stroke play event are available for purchase online at www.attchampionsclassic.com with a variety of ticket packages available.  Tickets, which start as low as $15, can also be purchased by calling 661-260-1897.  A third option is to purchase a ticket through one of the Champions for Charity partners, including the Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial Hospital Foundation, Special Olympics Southern California/Santa Clarita Chapter, SCV Youth Project, Boys and Girls Club of Antelope Valley, Santa Clarita Valley Optimist Club, Los Angeles Junior Golf Foundation, Girl Scouts:  Joshua Tree Council and the following High School Golf Teams:  Canyon Girls Golf, Valencia Boys Golf, Hart Girls Golf, Chaminade Golf Team, West Ranch Golf Team.  Two additional organizations were added this week to sell tickets:  College of the Canyons Foundation and Total Golf Adventures.

TEE IT UP WITH THE PROS:

Pro-Am spots are available for Wednesday, March 12, and Thursday, March 13, at Valencia Country Club.  The price per foursome is $9,000 per day, which in addition to the round of golf on one of the Champions Tour’s toughest courses, includes a VIP gift package; two tickets per Pro-Am participant for Tuesday night’s pairing party, the Wednesday evening Gala and Awards Party and the Thursday Reception and Awards Party; and two general admission tickets.  Contact the tournament office at 661-260-1897 for information.