World No. 1 Woods Will Join Defending Champion Olin Browne And Leading Playing Field To Compete For 2006 Title
NORTON, MASS., July 31, 2006 – Tiger Woods has announced his intention to compete at the 2006 Deutsche Bank Championship, Aug. 29-Sept. 4 at the Tournament Players Club of Boston. Woods recently completed a successful defense of his British Open championship and won his 11th major title on Sunday, July 23rd.
Woods, the most recognizable golfer in the world, will return to Norton, Massachusetts to play in the Deutsche Bank Championship for the fourth consecutive year. He tied for second at the Deutsche Bank Championship in 2004 and is currently playing up to his renowned standard since the U.S. Open, finishing as runner-up at the Cialis Western Open before capturing his third British Open crown, which vaulted him to No. 1 on the PGA TOUR’s money list. He continues to be the world’s top-ranked golfer.
"It’s a thrill to come back to the Deutsche Bank Championship, a tournament I have always enjoyed playing in a region where there is a deep appreciation for golf," Woods said. "I feel very positive about the shape of my game right now and I hope I can reward the fans in New England with a little extra something to cheer about."
2005 Deutsche Bank Championship winner Olin Browne, who used to spend many summers in Cape Cod as a young boy and played amateur golf in New England, hopes to successfully defend his Deutsche Bank Championship title, which provided him with renewed feelings of confidence and drive on the PGA Tour.
"My roots are here and I have a lot of friends and a lot of memories in this part of the world so the Deutsche Bank Championship does feel like a home game for me," Browne said. "New England sports fans are among the greatest fans in sports. They’re loyal to their teams. They’ll always love their teams.
They’ll always love their players. It’s about time we have golf back in Boston."
The $5.5 million Deutsche Bank Championship, which has become one of New England’s Labor Day sports traditions is entering its fourth year and showcases a 156-player field vying for a winner’s check of $990,000. Woods and Browne headline a world-class field that is scheduled to include 2003 champion Adam Scott as well as New England natives and fan favorites Billy Andrade, Brad Faxon, Brett Quigley, James Driscoll and Tim Petrovic.
Browne had not won on the PGA Tour in six years until breaking a five-way tie after 54 holes at the 2005 Deutsche Bank Championship with a final-round, 4-under-par 67. He defeated Jason Bohn by a stroke and earned his third PGA Tour title a $990,000 paycheck. The victory headlined Browne’s career-leading year in golf in which he played in his first TOUR Championship and ranked 26th on the PGA Tour money list; he earned $2,171,928, the highest in his golf career.
More importantly, Browne’s victory at TPC Boston earned him exempt status on Tour for 2006 and 2007.
"It’s a tremendous relief not to have to write letters," said Browne, who has made $419,537 on the PGA Tour this year. "The Deutsche Bank Championship kept an eye on me last year and made sure I had a tournament to play in, and I’ll be forever grateful for that."
New England fans will have plenty of hometown representation in New England natives Andrade (Bristol, RI native), Faxon (Barrington, RI resident), Petrovic (born in Northampton, Mass.), Quigley (Ft. Devens, Mass.) and Driscoll (Boston-born and living in Brookline, Mass.). Andrade was tied for the lead at last year’s Championship after three rounds before tying for 15th alongside Petrovic and Faxon, whose best finish here was a tie for ninth in 2004. Driscoll, a rookie in 2005, missed the Championship last year due to a torn ligament in his left thumb. Quigley will hope to reach weekend play in his fourth start here.
"I love playing close to home," said Quigley, who, like his Champions Tour uncle, Dana Quigley, and Faxon, played golf for Barrington High School. "I’ve been thinking about the Deutsche Bank Championship a lot. I’ll try to go out there and be a little more relaxed this year. You have people cheering for you all the time. You’ll come up to a tee and see someone you haven’t seen in 15 years, and that’s really fun. At a tournament like this, close to home, you could see 500 people you know. It’s nice to see the support of the fans and of Deutsche Bank to give golf fans in the area an outlet."
Added Andrade: "Having a tournament in the Boston area, it’s a great place to have an event for golf – a great market, and it is great for our community."
Championship week for the Deutsche Bank Championship begins with practice rounds Tuesday, Aug. 29, and Wednesday, Aug. 30, and a pro-am competition on Thursday, Aug. 31. The four-day Championship begins Friday, Sept. 1, and continues through Labor Day, Monday, Sept. 4, the only official Monday finish on the PGA Tour. The first two rounds of the Championship will be covered on USA Network and the final two rounds will be televised on ABC-TV.
Tickets can be purchased by visiting the official Championship website at www.dbchampionship.com or by calling (877) TIX-4DBC or 877-849-4322. Tickets will be sold on a first-come, first-serve basis for each day and are limited to 10 individual tickets per person. Limited daily tickets are still available
About Deutsche Bank
Deutsche Bank
www.db.com
About the Tiger Woods Foundation
Established in 1996 by Tiger Woods and his father Earl, the Tiger Woods Foundation empowers young people to reach their highest potential by initiating and supporting community-based programs that promote the health, education and welfare of all of America’s children. In addition to offering youth-driven programs through the Tiger Woods Learning Center and Start Something program, the Foundation hosts fundraising events during the year, including the Target World Challenge presented by Countrywide, Tiger Jam presented by AT&T and the TWLC Block Party. Information on the Foundation can be found at www.tigerwoodsfoundation.org.
About IMG and IMG Media
IMG is the world’s premier Sports, Entertainment and Media Company. IMG is a diversified global business with two major business segments: IMG Sports & Entertainment, and IMG Media. IMG employs over 2,300 people in 30 countries. Forstmann Little & Co. purchased IMG in 2004.
IMG Sports & Entertainment includes: consulting services; event ownership and management; fashion events and models representation; licensing; golf course design; client representation in golf, tennis, broadcasting, European football, rugby, cricket, motorsports, coaching, Olympic sports and action sports. In addition, IMG Academies are the world’s largest and most advanced, state-of-the-art, multi-sport training and educational facility, delivering world-class sports training experiences to over 12,000 junior, collegiate, adult and professional athletes each year.
IMG Media, which includes our content production subsidiaries TWI and Darlow Smithson Productions, is recognized as a global leader in the delivery of traditional and new media content and services, with Internet, broadband and mobile expertise, transforming how audiences access and interact with content. IMG Media produces and distributes over 9,000 hours of sports, documentary, docu-drama, entertainment, and popular factual content annually, over multiple platforms across 200 countries, including award-winning television and radio programming. It also represents the broadcast rights to many of the world’s premier sporting events and has the world’s biggest sports archive with more than 200,000 hours of footage.
More information about IMG is available at www.imgworld.com and www.darlowsmithson.com.
About The Tournament Players Club of Boston
The Tournament Players Club of Boston is an addition to the PGA TOUR’s prestigious Tournament Players Club Network. Featuring a signature Arnold Palmer-designed course, the TPC of Boston offers a quality golf experience for all levels of play. The course offers five sets of tees, measuring 7,178 yards from the championship tees, and features a 10-acre practice facility and elegant 34,000 square-foot clubhouse. Located in the Great Woods of Norton, MA, the TPC of Boston opened in June 2002 as the 22nd Tournament Players Club, which is owned by PGA TOUR Golf Course Properties. The Network includes more than 30 facilities, including licensed courses and international facilities.
Contact:
Steve Brener/Brian Robin/Damian Secore
Brener Zwikel & Associates, Inc., 818-344-6195, ext. 103/110/114
Emily Anderson Taylor, Tiger Woods Foundation, 714-816-1806
