PONTE VEDRA BEACH, FL- The Champions Tour Tournament Association (CTTA) announced that Bob Goalby has been named the 2008 winner of the Bruno Award. The announcement was made by CTTA Board Member, Jim Correll today at the Greater Hickory Classic at Rock Barn in Hickory, NC.
Goalby will be presented the prestigious award during the Champions Tour Tournament Association’s annual November meeting in Ponte Vedra Beach, FL. The “Bruno Award” is presented annually to an individual judged to have made special and outstanding contributions to the Champions Tour.
Goalby was involved in the formation of the Champions Tour (known as the SENIOR PGA TOUR at that time) and competed until the mid-90’s and later served on the Policy Board. He is being honored for his contributions “outside the ropes.” In the early days, Goalby was the unofficial spokesman of the Tour and was instrumental in establishing a relationship with ESPN as a broadcast partner for the events. He continues today as a shepherd of the Great Grand Champions. Goalby is always eager to serve as a speaker or emcee at any of the Champions Tour events. He is an excellent story teller who holds audiences captive, and often enlists other “founding” players such as Don January, Miller Barber and Charlie Sifford to pitch in with entertaining and humorous tales of the early days of the Senior PGA TOUR.
Goalby’s ties to the Champions Tour remain to this day. In addition to his role with the Great Grand Champions, Goalby is also uncle to Jay Haas, the Champions Tour’s 2007 Player of the Year and current Charles Schwab Cup points leader.
The Bruno Award is named in honor of Brian “Bruno” Henning, formerly vice president of competitions for the Champions Tour. Henning was a pioneer for the Champions Tour, handling a myriad of tournament-related details, including course selection and set-up, sponsor recruitment and conduct of the competition from 1981 to 2001. The South African was named the inaugural recipient of the award in 2001.
In addition to Henning, past recipients include: Fred Raphael (2002); Deane Beman (2003); Mark Kizziar (2004); Liberty Mutual (2005) and Jack Russell (2007).
Nominations for the award are solicited from the members of the Champions Tour Tournament Association, Champions Tour, former award recipients and the Bruno Award Committee. A permanent bronze statuette and plaque identifying the winners is maintained at the CTTA headquarters and placed on display at their annual meeting. Recipients receive replicas of the Award.
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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:
Lana Manning
Executive Director,
Champions Tour Tournament Association
(904) 285-6650
lanactta@bellsouth.net
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