The International Players Tour announces The Glenlivet as a presenting sponsor for its IPT Tour Championship. The distiller will feature a Tasting Party at Horseshoe Bay Resort in Saginaw, Texas, on Nov. 22. … Golf course architecture firm Thomson Perrett & Lobb launches a new website (www.tpl.eu.com) featuring exclusive video interviews and project insights. … Golf Channel will air live coverage of the first three rounds of the ADT Championship, Thursday-Saturday beginning at 2 p.m. NBC Sports will televise Sunday’s final round beginning at 3 p.m. ET. Golf Channel also announces the addition of Joe Riley, Bill Hentschel and Courtney Holt to the network’s news staff. Riley will assume the position of senior director of news and will be responsible for news-related event coverage, as well as the network’s daily flagship program, “Golf Central.” Hentschel joins the network as senior director of studio production. In this role, he will be responsible for all talk programming, and will work together with Riley on news and event coverage. Holt joins the network in a newly-created position of director of booking and player relations. … The Incline Village Golf Courses in Incline Village, Nev., earns the 2009 National Golf Course Owners Association‘s Player Development Award. Since 2005, Incline Village has implemented 10 player development programs. … Vance Welch wins the Maryland State Golf Association‘s Player of the Year honor. Also, Michael Kelly earns the Senior Player of the Year award. … The LPGA and Anheuser-Busch announced that Michelob Ultra will continue as the official beer of the LPGA through 2009. … Kodak and the PGA Tour announce the 24 holes that will make up the Kodak Challenge, a first-of-its-kind competition for PGA Tour players that offers $1 million to the winning player. Players must play at least 18 of the 24 Kodak Challenge holes throughout the 2009 season to compete for the Kodak Challenge title. A player’s lowest score relative to par on 18 of the Kodak Challenge holes will be counted. For information, go to kodakchallenge.com. … The SportsOneSource Group releases its 2009 Brand Strength Index, indicating that Nike, Adidas, New Balance, Reebok and Under Armour have the strongest connection with consumers going into 2009. The Index was developed by SportsOneSource to more accurately measure a brand’s strength in the eyes of the consumer. Nike took the top spot, driven in large part by its broad brand awareness levels, but also by the number of purchases and the consumer’s intent to re-purchase the brand in the future. … KPMG Golf Advisory Practice publishes its “Golf Travel Insight” report for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, revealing Portugal, Spain, Turkey and Dubai as golf tourism’s future hot spots. The report can be downloaded at www.golfbenchmark.com. … Dataw Island, located just outside of Beaufort, S.C., is recognized by Links magazine as one of the “Best in Value” golf communities in America in the publication’s 2008 “Premier Properties” edition.
The ACE Group Classic in Naples, Fla., is offering a new ticket package designed to celebrate the tournament’s first year at TPC Treviso Bay, Feb. 16-22. The TPC Experience, available in limited quantities, includes a one-day hospitality ticket to the TPC Skybox and one free round of golf at TPC Treviso Bay. To purchase the package, call 800.566.3470. For other ticket information, go to www.acegroupclassic.com. … Tournament manager Octagon and the LPGA announce that Tulsa, Okla., will be without an official tour event in 2009. This comes following the recent announcement that former title sponsor SemGroup would be unable to fund the event in 2009 and beyond. In addition, an extensive search for replacement sponsors has been unsuccessful.
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