Knost Assured Spot In Northern California?s Premier Golf, Food and Wine event
Livermore, CA (February 27, 2008) – Reigning U.S. Amateur champion Colt Knost makes his competitive return to the Bay Area for the third Livermore Valley Wine Country Championship at Wente Vineyards, scheduled March 31-April 6.
Knost, who won the national amateur title last summer at The Olympic Club in San Francisco, has been awarded a sponsor exemption in the Wine Country Championship, Northern California’s premier golf, food and wine event.
A first-year professional from Dallas, in 2007 Knost won both the U.S. Amateur and U.S. Amateur Public Links — only the sixth player to have won two U.S. Golf Association titles in the same year — and then played a key role in the victorious U.S. Walker Cup effort. The former Southern Methodist University standout defeated Michael Thompson of Tucson, 2 and 1, in the U.S. Amateur final match at The Olympic Club.
“We are thrilled to have one of the great new talents in golf playing in our tournament,” said Chris Conway, tournament director for the Wine Country Championship. “No doubt, Colt has some fond memories of competing in the Bay Area and hopefully here he will take another step toward a successful career on tour.”
The Wine Country Championship also extended exemptions to pros Matt Bettencourt of Modesto, Joel Kribel of Pleasanton and Tom Gillis, of Detroit. It is possible that based on their performance on tour, Knost and Bettencourt may not need the exemptions, in which case the tournament can revisit its pool of candidates.
Knost, Bettencourt, Kribel and Gillis will join an elite field of Nationwide Tour players in their only stop in Northern California, which has proved to be the toughest test on the tour the past two years. The Greg Norman-designed course, which celebrates its 10th anniversary in 2008, averaged 75.235 for four rounds last year. In 2006, following a month of rain that extended into tournament week, The Course At Wente Vineyards averaged 74.881.
The Course at Wente Vineyards is a tour-tested layout that provides tour-quality conditions year round. It has been awarded top honors for Best Playing Conditions in the East Bay Region by Greenskeeper.org and ranked No. 1 on Fairways and Greens magazine’s 2008 rankings of non-resort courses in the Bay Area (No. 16 overall in the state).
“The past two years – the first in wet conditions and the second in normal weather — our golf course has shown the ability to stand up to world-class competition,” Conway said.. “But it also has shown for 10 years that it is flexible enough to be rewarding for all levels of golfers the rest of the year. That may be its best quality.”
Not only did the course repeat as No. 1 in the rankings of the tour’s toughest tracks (at 3.235 over par), it also took two of the top three spots in toughest holes on tour. The par-4 first hole ranked No. 1 (at + .507) and the par-4 18th ranked No. 3 (+ .490). Also last year, Omar Uresti’s winning total of even-par 288 not only was the highest for the year, but the second-highest since the tour debuted in 1990. (Roger Salazar won the 1991 South Texas Open at 3 over par.)
Besides hosting the best field of professional golfers to visit the Bay Area in 2008, the Wine Country Championship also will feature gourmet food and wine tasting each day at the Diablo Magazine Food & Wine Pavilion presented by Viking. The AT&T Tech pavilion presented by Logitech will host some of the latest gadgets and electronics for business and the home.
The family oriented Wine Country Championship has averaged 20,000 spectators annually, with event proceeds benefiting local non-profit organizations. Sponsored by the Livermore Valley Winegrowers Association and Wente Vineyards, next year the event is to benefit the Livermore Valley Performing Arts Center, among other organizations.
Comedian Joins Pro-Am Festivities
Standup comedian Henry Cho, an avid golfer, is to be the special guest at Wednesday’s pro-am. Known for being “an Asian with a Southern accent,” the Tennessee-born Korean comic also is to perform at the pro-am awards function Wednesday evening. Limited spots are available in two Pro-Am events – on Monday, March 31, at 1 p.m. or Wednesday, April 2 at 7:30 a.m. Amateurs may register as individuals or as a foursome by contacting the tournament office.
VIP Pass Remains Popular
Available again this year is the popular VIP Hospitality Pass, which provides access to the grounds and golf course, but most importantly the luxury VIP Hospitality Tent, with private food and beverage service, overlooking the 18th green. Each ticket is $125 and valid one day only. VIP passes or Hospitality packages must be purchased before March 31.
Ticket Update
Passes for the entire week are $20 each, available only in advance; daily tickets are $5 each for the first two days of tournament play (April 3-4) and $10 each for the final two days (April 5-6). Admission is free for practice rounds. Children 12-younger are free (limit of two) with a paid adult admission.
Tournament Hotlines
For tickets and more information about the Livermore Valley Wine Country Championship, visit winecountrychampionship.com, call (925) 447-2200 or fax (925) 447-2900.
About The Course at Wente Vineyards
The Course at Wente Vineyards opened in July 1998. Designed by golfing great Greg Norman, the 18-hole championship course is a picturesque 7,181-yard, par-72, upscale, daily-fee golf course tucked away in the scenic, rural Livermore Valley, 50 minutes east of San Francisco. With three distinct topographies-native woodlands, mature vineyard and rolling hills of natural grasslands-The Course at Wente Vineyards offers extraordinary visual panoramas and a diversity of play unmatched in the Bay Area. Designed for both novice and pro, The Course is host of the Livermore Valley Wine Country Championship, part of the PGA Tour’s Nationwide Tour. For tee times call (925) 456-2425 or visit online at www.wentegolf.com. The Course is located at 5040 Arroyo Road in Livermore, CA.
About Wente Vineyards
2008 marks Wente Vineyards’ 125th Anniversary. As the country’s oldest continuously operated family-owned winery, Wente Vineyards maintains its leadership role in California winegrowing under the ownership and management by the fourth and fifth generations of the Wente family. Blending traditional and innovative winemaking practices, the winery draws from 3,000 acres of sustainably farmed estate vineyards to create an outstanding portfolio of wines. Located just east of San Francisco in the historic Livermore Valley, Wente Vineyards is recognized as one of California’s premier wine country destinations, featuring wine tasting, fine dining and championship golf.
About the Livermore Valley Winegrowers Foundation
The Livermore Valley Winegrowers Foundation was founded in 1994 as way for the Valley’s wine industry to give back to the community and increase awareness of this generous wine region. Though its primary activities, the Livermore Valley Wine Auction and now the Wine Country Championship, the Foundation has contributed more than $3 million dollars for local charities ranging from providing funds for the pediatric unit at ValleyCare Medical Center, to funding the Oakland East Bay Symphony’s programs for underserved children, and to supporting Camp Arroyo, a summer camp for children with life-threatening illnesses.
About The Nationwide Tour
Founded (1990), owned and operated by the PGA TOUR, the Nationwide Tour identifies those players who are ready to compete and win on golf’s greatest stage. As the official proving ground of the PGA TOUR, 67 percent of the current PGA TOUR membership played on the Nationwide Tour. Tour alumni have won more than 200 PGA TOUR titles, including a grand slam. Twenty-five PGA TOUR cards and a record purse approaching $19 million will be at stake over the course of 30 events in 2008. Recognizing the Tour’s growing stature, Nationwide Insurance has renewed its umbrella sponsorship of the Nationwide Tour through 2012. The PGA TOUR, through the efforts of its three tours and their tournaments, sponsors, players and volunteers, supports over 2,000 local charities and has surpassed $1 billion in charitable giving. To learn more about the PGA TOUR and Nationwide Tour and to follow the season-long quest for a PGA TOUR card, visit www.PGATOUR.com.
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