Proceeds from Rescheduled Event to be Donated to Ongoing Recovery and Relief Efforts
(JACKSON, Mississippi) – The Mississippi Development Authority (MDA) Division of Tourism today announces the PGA Tour’s annual stop in the state at the Southern Farm Bureau Classic is set to begin Thursday, almost precisely one month after it was postponed by Hurricane Katrina.
"Hosting the Southern Farm Bureau Classic and generating additional funds to contribute to the renewal programs throughout our great state is positive in every respect," says Mississippi Development Authority Tourism Division Director D. Craig Ray. "Not only does this event help demonstrate that Mississippi is open for business and the vast majority of it at 100 percent, but it’s good for everyone’s morale, from residents and tournament organizers to businesses to visitors."
The Jack Nicklaus-designed Annandale Golf Club is the host course, where the Tour professionals will vie for shares of the $3 million purse. Annandale is a par-72 course measuring 7,200 yards. Annandale lost some trees during the storm and power to run its irrigation system afterward, but the course maintenance staff worked Herculean hours and hand-watered the greens to keep them alive.
"The maintenance staff’s efforts are symbolic of the incredibly long, hard work the people of Mississippi are putting in to become better than ever," says Tourism Division Director Ray. "So it is with particular pride and optimism with which we welcome the PGA Tour and let the world know Mississippi is rising."
Tour players committed to the Southern Farm Bureau Classic include David Duval, Shigeki Maruyama, Ryan Moore, Jason Bohn, Loren Roberts, Thomas Levet, Vaughan Taylor, Joe Ogilvie, Chris Riley, Jeff Sluman, Shaun Micheel, Aaron Baddeley, Ben Curtis and Tim Petrovic.
Past SFBC champions who have committed to play in this year’s event include John Huston, Steve Lowery, Cameron Beckman, Jim Gallagher Jr., Willie Wood and Brian Henninger.
Other past champions include Payne Stewart, Fred Funk and Luke Donald.
In addition to being annually rewarded by the PGA TOUR for its great golf courses and fans, Mississippi has collected a slew of distinctions recently. For instance, Golf Digest, Golfweek and GOLF magazines have previously rated Magnolia Golf Trail and other state courses as some of the best in the South.
A collection of 14 premier, critically-acclaimed golf courses designed by many of the game’s top architects and launched in 2002, the Magnolia Golf Trail is rapidly gaining recognition as one of the nation’s finest and most value-laden golf trails.
For more information about the trail, visit www.MagnoliaGolfTrail.com . For a free Golf Mississippi Travel Guide and more information about other state golf stay-and-play packages, call (866) 801.8551 or visit www.visitmississippi.org.
About Mississippi Golf
Attractions contributing to Mississippi’s growing popularity as the preferred golf-and-travel destination include:
Contact:
Dan Shepherd
Buffalo Communications
703-891-3320
dshepherd@billycaspergolf.com
