Nine-Time Major Champion, Popular Champions Tour Mainstay Deepen Already Strong Field
Newport Beach, Calif., Feb. 23, 2009 – The Toshiba Classic’s star-studded field, one already established as one of the best fields fans on the Champions Tour will see this season, became even better with the additions of nine-time major champion Gary Player and the very popular Fred Funk to the March 2-8 event at Newport Beach Country Club.
Player’s second consecutive appearance at Newport Beach Country Club will mark his seventh appearance at the Toshiba Classic. His best finish in the event was a tie for 11th in 1996, his first Toshiba Classic. He also played in the Classic from 1997-99 and while he points out he likes to support as many Champions Tour events as he can, Player typically skips an event the year after he plays in it.
But the South African native and golf icon, the most traveled athlete in the history of professional sports with more than 14 million air miles logged during his remarkable career, is such a fan of Newport Beach Country Club, specifically and Southern California in general, that he decided to return for the second consecutive year.
“I am delighted to be returning to the Toshiba Classic and always enjoy visiting the Newport Beach area in Southern California,” Player said. “Not only is it a great event and one of my favorite stops on the Champions Tour schedule, it is also one of the most successful tournaments in Champions Tour history, raising millions of charitable dollars for Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian and other Orange County charities, thanks to the generous support of the title sponsor, Toshiba, the fans and other tournament sponsors.”
Earlier this season, Player made another appearance at the Wendy’s Champions SKINS GAME, where he teamed with reigning Toshiba Classic champion Bernhard Langer for a third-place finish in the alternate-shot event in Maui. The pair was one of the most decorated tandems in event history, sporting a combined 231 worldwide victories.
Eleven of those combined victories came in major championships, with Player accounting for nine of those. His nine major championships are broken down thusly: three Masters (1961, 1974, 1978), three British Opens (1959, 1968 and 1974), two PGA Championships (1962 and 1972) and the 1965 U.S. Open. On the Champions Tour, Player has won six majors – the 1986, 1988 and 1990 Senior PGA Championship, the 1987 and 1988 U.S. Senior Open and the 1987 Constellation Energy Senior Players Championship.
Player is one of 12 members of the World Golf Hall of Fame, one of 22 major champions on the PGA TOUR and one of 17 additional 2009 Toshiba Classic players who own major titles on the Champions Tour.
Funk, meanwhile, makes his second appearance of 2009 at the Toshiba Classic, after finishing T24 at the ACE Group Classic in Florida. He returns to action after suffering a staph infection in his knee following arthroscopic surgery he underwent last year.
The knee surgery didn’t prevent Funk from winning twice on the Champions Tour in 2008 – including the JELD-WEN Tradition – finishing third on the Charles Schwab Cup standings and making seven of 14 cuts on the PGA TOUR, where he is fully exempt as a byproduct of his 2005 PLAYERS Championship victory.
Always a gallery favorite; his fans are called “Funk’s Punks,” and Funk once wore a skirt in the SKINS GAME after Annika Sorenstam outdrove him on one hole, Funk is noted as one of the straightest drivers on either the PGA TOUR or the Champions Tour. He has won four times in 24 Champions Tour starts since joining the circuit in 2006.
“With Gary Player and Fred Funk joining our field, this reinforces what was already shaping up to be the best field on the Champions Tour this year,” Toshiba Classic Executive Tournament Director Jeff Purser said. “Player and Funk bring personality, talent and impeccable golfing and charitable credentials to a golf audience we know will appreciate them because of what they represent – class, talent and charisma.”
The $1.7 million Toshiba Classic will award a $255,000 winner’s check and will be televised on Golf Channel (tape delay) on Friday, March 6 from 3:30-5:30 p.m. PST and Saturday and Sunday, March 7-8 from 3:30-6 p.m. PST.
Langer is the defending champion of the Toshiba Classic. He captured the title in his event debut by besting 2007 Classic champ Jay Haas in an epic, seven-hole playoff. Like Haas did after winning the Classic, Langer went on to win the Champions Tour’s Player of the Year award and money list title. For good measure, Langer also won the Champions Tour’s Rookie of the Year award and scoring average title in 2008.
Daily tickets are $20 if purchased in advance and are $25 at the gate. Season clubhouse badges providing admission to the grounds and clubhouse for practice rounds and the tournament are $100. All tickets, including corporate ticket packages, can be obtained by calling 949-660-1001 or visiting www.ToshibaClassic.com.
The 2008 Toshiba Classic raised $1 million for Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian and other local Orange County organizations. In its 11-year history, the Toshiba Classic has raised more than $11.1 million for charity, the most on the PGA Champions Tour.
The Toshiba Classic
Hoag Hospital Foundation produces the annual Toshiba Classic. During the last 11 years, the Toshiba Classic has raised more than $11.1 million for charity, the most on the Champions Tour. In the PGA Champions Tour’s 29-year history, only nine out of more than 600 tournaments have raised $1 million in net proceeds from an event in a single year. The Toshiba Classic has reached the $1 million mark nine consecutive years out of those 10. Televised to an international audience on Golf Channel, the Toshiba Classic enables millions of viewers to see some of Orange County’s greatest attractions. The tournament generates an estimated $20 million in annual economic impact for the county and state. For more information, please call 949/660-1001 or log onto ToshibaClassic.com.
Contact:
Toby Zwikel/Brian Robin/Damian Secore
818-462-5599/5610/5614
Jessica Roswell
949/660-1001
