Greg Norman Design on the Banks of Lake Powell to Challenge Area?s Best Players
(PANAMA CITY BEACH, Fla.) – Shark’s Tooth Golf Club – the award-winning Greg Norman design owned by the St. JOE Company – has been selected by the United States Golf Association (“USGA”) and the Florida State Golf Association (“FSGA”) to host a U.S. Open local qualifier on May 12.
In selecting Shark’s Tooth for the local qualifier, the USGA and FSGA cited the course’s championship caliber layout and commitment to maintaining “tour level” conditions. The course’s trademark, traditional green complexes feature tightly mowed surrounds, and will provide entrants with a variety of short game options. Shark’s Tooth is routed along the banks of Lake Powell, a Florida Outstanding Waterway, with a number of holes featuring unobstructed views of the water. The 7,204-yard layout is hosting a U.S. Open local qualifier for the fifth time in six years.
“We take great pride in our affiliation with the USGA and FSGA and we’re honored to be involved in the 2008 U.S. Open competition,” says John Johnson, Shark’s Tooth General Manager. “Shark’s Tooth will challenge the area’s best players while providing a fair test of golf from tee to green.”
The U.S. Open, the second-oldest USGA championship by a single day, is the jewel of USGA competitions. The event has evolved into one of the most prestigious championships played with many of the game’s greatest players having captured this coveted title. The event is open to professionals and amateurs with a handicap index of 1.4 or lower. The Open is one of 13 national championships conducted annually by the USGA, 10 of which are strictly for amateurs. The 2008 tournament will be contested at Torrey Pines South Course in La Jolla, California June 9-15.
Shark’s Tooth and neighboring Camp Creek – both managed by Troon Golf — offer golfers exclusive, championship-level playing experiences that adhere to the “country club for a day” adage. Only members, their guests, and guests of WaterColor and WaterSound resort properties have access to both courses, creating a truly memorable golf experience unique to the region.
About Shark’s Tooth
Designed by Greg Norman and voted the second best new private course by Golf Digest upon opening in 2002, Shark’s Tooth Golf Club was recently purchased by The St. Joe Company to bolster its high-end, golf course holdings. The course stretches to 7,209 yards from the back tees and features five fairways that border scenic Lake Powell, two holes that play toward the water and numerous wooden cart path bridges that cross over streams and estuaries. Tucked among the oaks and pines along the shores of the historic lake, which has been designated an Outstanding Florida Waterway, Shark’s Tooth is a challenging course that co-exists with its surroundings. Grass from the Greg Norman Turf Company was used on the fairways, approaches and rough.
Shark’s Tooth is located just 10 miles from Camp Creek and the Origins Course at WaterSound, collectively creating one of westFlorida’s great golf destinations. Shark’s Tooth Golf Club is convenient to the location of a new international airport north of Panama City Beach, the first international airport to be built in the United States since Denver. A groundbreaking ceremony held earlier this month initiated the construction phase of the airport and the preservation phase of thousands of acres of environmental lands around it. The course is a Silver Signature Sanctuary Course as accredited by the Audubon Signature Program and is operated by Troon Golf, the leader in upscale golf course management.
About JOE
The St. Joe Company (NYSE: JOE), a publicly held company based in Jacksonville, is one of Florida’s largest real estate development companies. We are primarily engaged in real estate development and sales, with significant interests in timber. JOE’s mission is to create places that inspire people and make the region an even better place to live, work and play. We’re no ordinary JOE.
More information about JOE can be found at our website at www.joe.com.
Contact:
Shane Sharp
Buffalo Communications
704.519.8381
ssharp@billycaspergolf.com
