Holmes, Baddeley And Franco Also Set To Play At Warwick Hills
GRAND BLANC, Mich., July 18 – 2001 Buick Open Champion Kenny Perry is among the latest players to enter the 2006 Buick Open field. The tournament is scheduled for July 31-Aug. 6 at Warwick Hills Golf & Country Club in Grand Blanc.
"Kenny Perry has been a great Buick Open Champion," said Larry Peck, Buick Golf Marketing Manager. "He’s not only an outstanding player, but a great person. We’re glad to have him back at Warwick Hills to try for another Buick Open title."
Perry, 45, has nine career PGA Tour victories. He is fourth on the Buick Open’s all-time earnings list with $867,303. This will be his 13th appearance at the Buick Open. Perry is 10th on the PGA Tour’s all-time money list with more than $20 million.
Other new commitments include J.B. Holmes, Aaron Baddeley and Carlos Franco.
Holmes, 24, will be making his first appearance at the Buick Open. He is currently second on the PGA Tour in driving distance with an average of 314.2 yards. Currently playing in his rookie season on the PGA Tour, Holmes earned his exempt status by finishing first at the 2005 PGA Tour Qualifying Tournament. He has two top-10 finishes this year, including a victory at the FBR Open in Scottsdale (Feb. 2-5).
Baddeley (pronounced BAD-a-Lay), 25, is in his fourth full season on the PGA Tour. He earned his first PGA Tour victory at the 2006 Verizon Heritage at Hilton Head Island. This will be his second appearance at the Buick Open.
Franco, 41, has four PGA Tour victories. This will be his sixth consecutive Buick Open appearance and seventh overall. His best finish in Grand Blanc was a tied for third place in 2004 (with Tiger Woods) behind Vijay Singh and John Daly.
Previous 2006 Buick Open commitments include Jim Furyk, John Daly, Chris DiMarco, Woody Austin, Scott Verplank, Mike Weir, Stephen Ames, Billy Mayfair, Jeff Sluman and Lee Janzen.
Former Buick Open Champion Tiger Woods (2002) announced on June 5 that he intends to play in the 2006 Buick Open. Vijay Singh has verbally committed to going for a record third consecutive Buick Open title.
The 2006 Buick Open field will compete for a record $4.8 million purse, including the $864,000 first prize and the keys to a 2007 Buick Lucerne.
For Buick Open tickets and information, call 1 (800) 878-OPEN or go to www.buickopen.pgatour.com.
Buick is title-sponsor of three PGA Tour events in 2006: The Buick Invitational in La Jolla, Calif.; the Buick Open; and the Buick Championship in Cromwell, Conn. (June 26-July 2)).
Buick has been the official car of the PGA Tour since 1984. Through its title-sponsored PGA Tour events Buick has donated more than $33 million to local charities in its tournament cities since 1982. More than $7.9 million has been donated to the Buick Open charities, including a record $764,000 in 2005.
Contact:
Al Abrams
Buick Open Media Director
(212) 367-4527
al.abrams@momentumww.com
