GRAND BLANC, Mich. — The Buick Open, Michigan’s only PGA Tour event, has donated a record $832,000 to Southeastern Michigan charities from proceeds raised through the 2006 tournament. Held annually at Warwick Hills Golf and Country Club here, the Buick Open has raised $8.8 million dollars for area charities since 1982.
"Golf gives us a great opportunity to give back and be a part of the communities in our tournament markets," said Steve Shannon, Buick general manager. "We are very pleased to be able to continue this tradition of giving to the many worthy organizations that provide badly needed programs and services for so many people." The previous record donation to the Buick Open charities (set in 2005) was $764,000. Through its PGA Tour events, Buick has donated more than $36 million to charities since 1982.
Among the charities who received donations from the 2006 Buick Open are Easter Seals of Michigan, which raises additional funds through the sale of Buick Open tickets; the American Red Cross Genesee-Lapeer Chapter, which provides transportation services for the tournament; Whaley Children’s Center, which handles the "will-call" booth at the tournament; and, the Genesee County regional office of the American Lung Association of Michigan, which provides volunteers to operate the Buick Open telephone center. Other beneficiaries of the Buick Open charity donations are the Children’s Home of Detroit, the Boy Scouts and several others.
Buick also announced today that the purse for the 2007 Buick Open, scheduled for June 25 to July 1 at Warwick Hills, will be a record $4.9 million. The defending champion is Tiger Woods, who can become only the third player in tournament history to successfully defend his Buick Open title. Tony Lema (1964, 1965) and Vijay Singh (2004, 2005) are the other two.
For Buick Open tickets or information call 1 (800) 878 OPEN or go to www.buickopen.pgatour.com.
Now in its fifth decade of PGA Tour sponsorship and serving as the official car of the PGA Tour since 1984, Buick is the title-sponsor of two PGA Tour events in 2007. In addition to the Buick Open, Buick sponsors the Buick Invitational at Torrey Pines Golf Course in La Jolla, Calif. Tiger Woods has won that tournament three consecutive times.
Contact:
Al Abrams, Buick Open media director
(212) 367-4527
al.abrams@momentumww.com
Dave Darovitz,
Manager, Buick Communications
(313) 665-3188
