Gary Nicklaus To Make PGA TOUR Champions Debut At Oasis Championship In Boca Raton
BOCA RATON, Florida – Gary Nicklaus rarely makes a big deal about his birthday, but he threw a big bash last week when he turned 50.
He had reason to celebrate: He’s now eligible to play on PGA TOUR Champions. He’ll make his debut in two weeks after receiving a sponsor exemption into the Oasis Championship, February 4-10, at The Old Course at Broken Sound.
“This is something I’ve been thinking about for several years,” Gary said. “I’m thrilled to get a sponsor exemption from Oasis. I can’t wait to start competing again.”
Gary followed in the footsteps of his legendary father Jack Nicklaus by playing on the PGA TOUR. He stepped away from competing in 2003 after 122 PGA TOUR events and regained his amateur status in the summer of 2007. Soon after, Gary won the prestigious Palm Beach County Amateur, holding off a talented teenager by the name of Daniel Berger – the same Berger who has since gone on to PGA TOUR success as a two-time winner of the FedEx St. Jude Classic and a member of the 2017 Presidents Cup team.
Gary Nicklaus is eager to take advantage of the 50-and-older tour.
“I feel like my game is better than when I was on the regular tour,” said Gary, who qualified for last year’s U.S. Amateur at Pebble Beach. “When you are on the tour, you’re grinding every day to keep your card, so it’s hard to work on your game.
“My game was immature. On a good day, I shot a good score. On a bad day, I shot a bad score. You need to be able to shoot a good score when you’re not playing well. When I took time off after becoming an amateur, it’s like my game matured.”
Gary was motivated to work on his game while playing with his son, GT, who memorably made a hole-in-one while caddying for his grandfather Jack in last year’s Par-3 Contest at the Masters.
“Being out with GT is great,” Gary said. “It reminds me of when I played with my dad. I’d hit it straighter and longer, and hit more greens, but when the round was over, my dad would have the lower score. GT is like, ‘Dad, why are you not playing out there?’”
Gary knows how tough the competition is on PGA TOUR Champions. But he believes he has the game and the drive to succeed.
“If I didn’t think I could compete at that level, I wouldn’t go out there,” he said. “If I play well, I should be able to win a tournament. If I find out my expectations are wrong and I’m not that good, I won’t play there long.”
Nicklaus joins John Daly, John Harris and Stuart’s Ken Duke as receiving sponsor exemptions for the Oasis Championship, the season’s first full-field event on PGA TOUR Champions.
Already committed to the Oasis Championship are defending champion Mark Calcavecchia, World Golf Hall of Famers Bernhard Langer, Colin Montgomerie and Mark O’Meara; former major champions David Toms, Corey Pavin and Hal Sutton; Miguel Angel Jimenez, Jesper Parnevik and past Oasis champions Scott McCarron (2017), Paul Goydos (2015), Rocco Mediate (2013) and Pavin (2012).
The 2019 Oasis Championship will be played at The Old Course at Broken Sound for the 13th consecutive year. Along with the Women’s Day Pro-Am on Monday, there are pro-ams Wednesday and Thursday, with the 54-hole championship running Friday through Sunday. The 78-player field will compete for a $1.7 million purse, with all three rounds being televised live on the Golf Channel.
The Oasis Championship is offering an advance-purchase Foursome Value Pack that includes four any-day tickets to the tournament and four lunch vouchers for $95. Tickets are $25 in advance and $30 at the gate. Kids 18 and under are admitted free and fans 70 and older, with proper ID, also get in for free. For more information about the Oasis Championship visitwww.oasischampionship.com.
About Oasis Outsourcing Holdings, Inc.
Oasis, A Paychex Company, is a Florida-based Professional Employer Organization (PEO) serving more than 8,400 clients nationwide. Founded in 1996, it specializes in providing human resources services, employee benefits administration, payroll and tax administration, risk management services and staffing solutions to small- and medium-sized businesses throughout the United States. Oasis is accredited by the Employer Services Assurance Corporation (ESAC), ensuring the highest level of ethical, financial and operational standards in the PEO industry and has received SOC 1 Type II (formerly SAS 70) certification for its high level of accuracy and performance. Oasis, through its subsidiaries, is qualified to offer IRS-certified professional employer organization (CPEO) services.
Offices are located in Atlanta, GA; Austin, TX; Boca Raton, FL; Boston, MA; Charlotte, NC; Dallas, TX; Denver, CO; Edison, NJ; Houston, TX; Jacksonville, FL; Los Angeles, CA; Manhattan, NY; Miami, FL; Minneapolis, MN; Nashville, TN; New Haven, CT; Orlando, FL; Phoenix, AZ; Provo, UT; San Diego, CA; Sarasota, FL; St. Louis MO; Tampa, FL; Tucson, AZ; West Des Moines, IA and West Palm Beach, FL. For more information about Oasis Outsourcing, visit www.oasisadvantage.com.
About PGA TOUR Champions
PGA TOUR Champions is a membership organization of professional golfers age 50 and older, including 32 members of the World Golf Hall of Fame. The Tour’s mission is to provide financial opportunities for its players, entertain and inspire its fans, deliver substantial value to its partners, create outlets for volunteers to give back and generate significant charitable and economic impact in tournament communities. In 2019, the PGA TOUR Champions schedule includes 27 tournaments across the United States, Japan, England and Canada, with purses totaling nearly $58 million. The Charles Schwab Cup, which includes the Regular Season and the Charles Schwab Cup Playoffs, is used to determine the season-long champion. All events are televised in the United States, with most receiving complete coverage on Golf Channel, the exclusive cable-television partner of PGA TOUR Champions. Internationally, telecasts air in excess of 170 countries and territories, reaching more than 340 million potential households, and distributed in 15+ markets via GOLFTV. Follow PGA TOUR Champions online at PGATOUR.com, at facebook.com/PGATOURChampions, on Twitter @ChampionsTour and on Instagram @pgatourchampions.
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Media contact: Rebecca Seelig, APR; PBPR; 561-628-5929; rebecca@pb-pr.com
