PONTE VEDRA BEACH, FL- The Champions Tour has announced a number of changes in eligibility for its 2009 season as well as changes for the top finishers in this year’s National Qualifying Tournament.
The 2008 Champions Tour National Qualifying Tournament is scheduled for November 18-21 at the TPC Eagle Trace in Coral Springs, FL.
Under the new format, the top-five finishers at the 2008 National Qualifying Tournament will receive fully exempt status starting in the first full-field event of the 2009 season, with finishers six through 12 receiving conditional cards.
In addition, the number of spots available at open qualifying each week in 2009 will be reduced from a maximum of nine spots to four to provide tournament access for the top five finishers at the National Qualifying Tournament.
This will mark a change from the current format, which has been in effect since the start of the 2007 season when a maximum of nine low scorers at a qualifying event for each Champions Tour co-sponsored open tournament earned spots in the event.
“We are pleased to implement this change in the eligibility format for the 2009 Champions Tour season,” said Mike Stevens, President of the Champions Tour. “The credit goes to our Player Advisory Council and Player Directors who ultimately approved this change which will provide more season-long access to players who do well in our National Qualifying Tournament.”
Additional changes to begin in 2009 include the reduction of unrestricted sponsor exemptions from three to two and an increase in restricted sponsor exemptions from two to three. One non-exempt player who finishes in the top 10 will qualify for the next event (reduced from two in 2008), and should a non-exempt player finish in the top 10, the number of open qualifiers will be reduced from four to three.
Lastly, additional players from the PGA TOUR Career Victory Category, beyond the top four available which are currently exempt, may become eligible if fewer than 60 players combined from the Prior-Year and All-Time Money Lists commit to a particular event.
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About the Champions Tour
The Champions Tour is a division of the PGA TOUR, Inc., a tax-exempt membership organization of professional golfers. Conceived in 1980 as the Senior PGA Tour, it started with just four events and purses totaling $475,000. The Champions Tour will feature a minimum of 29 official events offering $55.5 million in prize money in 2008 and its highest average purse ever of $1.91 million. The Champions Tour operates under the umbrella of the PGA TOUR which includes the PGA TOUR, Champions Tour and Nationwide Tour. The Champions Tour’s primary purpose as an entity of the PGA TOUR is to provide significant competitive and earnings opportunities for players age 50 and older; to protect the integrity of the game; and to help grow the reach of the game in the U.S. and around the world. In addition to providing competitive opportunities for its membership, Champions Tour events also generate significant sums of money for charity. The commissioner of the PGA TOUR is Tim Finchem. Mike Stevens is president of the Champions Tour. TOUR headquarters is in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida.
Contact:
Michael McPhillips
Director, Communications
Champions Tour
(904) 273-3470
michaelmcphillips@pgatourhq.com
