TEE TO GREEN  - AT&T CHAMPIONS CLASSIC 

Weekly Update #8

VALENCIA COUNTRY CLUB, MARCH 10-16, 2008

TOURNAMENT WEEK

CHAMPIONS TOUR PROS READY FOR

AT&T CHAMPIONS CLASSIC:  The Champions Tour pros have made their way north of Los Angeles from Newport Beach, Calif., for the week-long AT&T Champions Classic.  For the eighth consecutive year, the Classic will call Valencia Country Club home. The week starts with practice rounds on Monday and Tuesday and Pro-Am Tournaments on Wednesday and Thursday.  Those events, along with three separate private clinics on Monday and a Pro-Junior Tournament on Tuesday with five pros and 15 junior players from the Los Angeles County Junior Golf Program, set the stage for the opening round of the 54-hole tournament on Friday, March 14. 

PLAYOFF WIN FOR LANGER:  It may have taken longer than he would have liked, but Bernhard Langer prevailed in a seven-hole playoff over Jay Haas Sunday at the Toshiba Classic.  It was Langer’s second career victory in just his ninth event on the Champions Tour.  Haas carded a 65 on Sunday to tie Langer, who shot 69 on Sunday, for the lead.  Scott Simpson, Gary McCord and Ben Crenshaw were tied for third, three shots back.  Langer, a two-time winner of the Masters Tournament, became the first 36-hole leader to win a Champions Tour event this season.  For Haas, it was his first career playoff loss.  He went into the playoff 2-0 in Champions Tour events and 3-0 on the PGA Tour.  Scott Hoch had his bid for three straight wins on the tour turned back, finishing T21.  Langer will try to make it two straight wins when he tees off at Valencia Country Club on Friday.

ADDITIONAL PLAYERS ADD DEPTH TO CLASSIC FIELD:  Five players were granted sponsor exemptions for this year’s tournament – Gary McCord, John Harris, David Ogrin, Fulton Allem and Mark Johnson.  McCord had a strong showing this past weekend at the Toshiba event, shooting 11-under-par for third place.  Mark Johnson, who won the Toshiba event in 2005, was an early contender but finished in a tie for 13th at 8-under.  John Harris was one shot behind him in a group at 7-under.

FIRST STARTS AT VALENCIA CC:  Several members of this year’s stellar field will be making their first start at Valencia CC, including Nick Price, an 18-time winner on the PGA Tour.  John Cook, an 11-time winner on the PGA Tour and a Champions Tour winner at the 2007 AT&T Championship in San Antonio, will look to break into the winner’s column on the tough VCC layout, along with Jeff Sluman and Bernhard Langer, the Champions Tour’s most recent winner coming out of last week’s Toshiba Classic.  Fred Funk, who splits his time between the Champions Tour and PGA Tour, will be making his first appearance, along with Phil Blackmar, Mark Wiebe and Wayne Grady.

THE STARS COME OUT:  How can you not have a “star-studded” field this close to Hollywood?  There are 17 players in the field who have won a total of 35 major championships on the PGA Tour, including four by Raymond Floyd, and three by Nick Price, Larry Nelson and Hale Irwin.

A LOOK BACK:  As the sun rises on the 2008 AT&T Champions Classic, here is another look back to last year’s memorable duel.  Tom Purtzer and Loren Roberts became very familiar with the 18th hole at Valencia CC.  The duo finished the 54-hole event deadlocked at 10-under, and then played four playoff holes, all on No. 18.  On the first three playoff holes, both players matched pars on the 546-yard Par 5.  On the fourth and decisive hole, Purtzer rolled in a 17-foot birdie putt, and Roberts was unable to match him, just missing his 12-footer.  The win was Purtzer’s second at the difficult Valencia CC layout, as he also won the 2003 event.  Other past champions of this event during its tenure at Valencia CC include:  Tom Kite, 2006 & 2002; Des Smyth, 2005; Gil Morgan, 2004; and Jim Colbert, 2001.  All of the aforementioned past champions at VCC are entered in this year’s tournament.

TICKET SALES:  Tickets for this week’s 54-hole AT&T Champions Classic can be purchased at the admission gate to the event off of Tourney Road.  Opening round play is scheduled for Friday, March 14, at 10:30 a.m.  Saturday and Sunday rounds also start at 10:30 a.m.  Tickets are just $15 for each day’s round.