PONTE VEDRA BEACH, FL- Five players were awarded 2009 Champions Tour cards Friday at the Champions Tour National Qualifying Tournament held at TPC Eagle Trace in Coral Springs, FL.
Robert Thompson (Huntsville, TX) claimed medalist honors in the event, helping his cause with back-to-back birdies on Nos. 15 and 16 en route to finishing one shot over John Morse (Marshall, MI) with a 72-hole total of 7-under-par 281.
The 51-year-old Thompson made 161 career starts on the PGA TOUR and played in 75 events on the Nationwide Tour. This past year he made just two starts on the Champions Tour, finishing T4 at the Turtle Bay Championship and T59 at the Senior PGA Championship. Morse made nine starts on the Champions Tour in 2008 after turning 50 early in the year with his best finish a T3 at the AT&T Championship. Prior to joining the Champions Tour, Morse competed on both the PGA TOUR and Nationwide Tour. He was a PGA TOUR regular from 1994-98 and earned one career title at the 1995 United Airlines Hawaiian Open.
The 1998 U.S. Amateur runner-up, Tom McKnight (Bluffton, SC) captured third place and James Mason (Dillard, GA), winner of the 2002 NFL Golf Classic on the Champions Tour, made a par on the second playoff hole to grab the fourth slot. Steve Thomas (Tupelo, MS), who has made 14 career starts on the Champions Tour primarily through open qualifying, earned the fifth and final fully-exempt spot on the third playoff hole.
“Congratulations to each of the five players who will be fully exempt for on the Champions Tour in 2009 and the seven who will have partial exemptions,” said Champions Tour President Mike Stevens. “These players succeeded this week among an experienced field of veteran PGA TOUR, Champions Tour, and Nationwide Tour players and noted amateurs with solid credentials in their own right. We’re delighted to have such past PGA TOUR winners as John Morse joining us next year along with a player such as Robert Thompson who is chasing every golfer’s dream and will now be inside the ropes competing with some of the most recognizable and accomplished players in the game. We wish them all much success in the coming season.”
Four regional qualifying events were held to help determine the field for the final qualifying tournament. A total of 47 players advanced from regional qualifying to join 31 current Champions Tour and past PGA TOUR members trying to improve or retain their playing status for 2009 in the final stage.
There was no cut in the 72-hole Champions Tour National Qualifying Tournament. The top-5 finishers earned fully-exempt status for the 2009 season, while the finishers 6-12 will be conditionally exempt. In addition, the top 30 finishers and ties will be eligible to compete for spots in open qualifiers at all co-sponsored events on the Champions Tour in 2009.
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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 age 50 and older. 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 26 official events offering $51.4 million in prize money in 2009 and its highest average purse ever of $1.98 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
Tel: 904-273-3470
michaelmcphillips@pgatourhq.com
