Major Champions Sandy Lyle, Tom Kite and Ian Woosnam Commit to 2016 Pacific Links Championship
Victoria, British Columbia, Canada (PRWEB) August 02, 2016 -- World Golf Hall of Fame members Sandy Lyle and Tom Kite, along with 1991 Masters Tournament winner Ian Woosnam, have committed to play the 2016 Pacific Links Championship. The event will be contested on Bear Mountain Golf Resort’s Mountain Course in Victoria, British Columbia the week of September 19-25, 2016, featuring a US$2.5 million purse, with 81 players competing for a winner’s share of $440,000.
Lyle, who was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2012, was one of the game’s more prolific stars throughout the 1980s, claiming the 1985 Open Championship at Royal St. George’s and the 1988 Masters Tournament, where his 72nd-hole fairway bunker shot became one of the most memorable moments in major championship history.
The five-time European Ryder Cup team member posted 20 additional combined wins between the PGA TOUR and European Tour, but is still in search of his first victory on the PGA TOUR Champions. Lyle earned a career-best runner-up finish in the 2015 Bass Pro Shops Legends of Golf at Big Cedar Lodge, where he paired alongside Woosnam in the annual team event.
Throughout his career, Kite has been known as one of the game’s premier grinders, straightest hitters and best putters. The Austin, TX native collected 19 PGA TOUR titles throughout his Hall of Fame career, including the 1992 U.S. Open, when he famously defeated an arduous Pebble Beach Golf Links course during some of the most difficult final-round conditions in tournament history.
Kite’s Masters Tournament record was full of near-misses, with nine career top-five finishes at Augusta National, including runner-up efforts during two of the events most historic weeks – in 1986, when Jack Nicklaus claimed his sixth and final title, and in 1997, when Tiger Woods shocked the golf world with a dramatic 12-shot victory.
On PGA TOUR Champions, the 66-year-old has recorded 10 career titles, including a major championship at the 2000 Regions Tradition.
Woosnam’s notoriety in the United States was defined by the 1991 Masters title, where he defeated Jose Maria Olazabal by one shot with a dramatic par putt on the 72nd hole. As a native of Wales, however, his fame was much larger abroad, with 28 career victories on the European Tour and eight appearances in the Ryder Cup – five of which either won or retained the Cup for Europe. Woosnam was a non-playing captain for Europe’s 2006 team in the biennial event.
The 58-year-old won the 2015 Insperity Invitational for his first PGA TOUR Champions title, defeating former Charles Schwab Cup winners Tom Lehman and Kenny Perry in a playoff.
“We are ecstatic to add these three major champions to our field at the Pacific Links Championship,” said Tournament Director David Skitt. “The field for this event continues to strengthen with each new commitment, and I am looking forward to a fantastic week of golf for players and fans at Bear Mountain Resort.”
World Golf Hall of Fame member Bernhard Langer and Two-time major champion John Daly have also committed to the 2016 Pacific Links Championship and will join other golf greats Rocco Mediate, Lee Janzen, Jesper Parnevik, Mark Calcavecchia, Jeff Sluman, and Larry Mize for what is sure to be a great event.
Tournament week in Victoria will begin with Pro-Ams on Wednesday, September 21 and Thursday, September 22, followed by 54 holes of championship play from Friday, September 23 through Sunday, September 25 - with no cut. All three competitive rounds will be broadcast live by Golf Channel to more than 200 million homes in 84 countries and 11 languages around the world.
The Pacific Links Championship is now accepting volunteer submissions for the tournament. With less than two months remaining until the event, we encourage everyone to be a part of the action by becoming a volunteer. The Pacific Links Championship team of volunteers consist of avid golfers, fans of the game and people looking for a fun and exciting “inside the ropes” experience.
To register as a volunteer simply visit the tournament website at http://www.pacificlinkschampionship.com/ and click the REGISTER TO VOLUNTEER button to the left of the screen.
Tickets are also on-sale for this premier event and can be purchased at http://www.selectyourtickets.com or by clicking HERE. Fans can choose from the following ticket options:
• Weekly Pass – Wednesday through Sunday: $99 (includes parking / Official Program)
• Daily Pass – Friday, Saturday or Sunday: $40
• Pro-Am Daily Pass – Wednesday or Thursday: $25
• Champions Club VIP Pass – Friday through Sunday: $200
About The Pacific Links Championship
The Pacific Links Championship is an official event on PGA Champions TOUR featuring the world's premier golfers aged 50 and older competing for a US$ 2.5 million purse. Tournament play at the Pacific Links Championship will be held on the Jack and Steve Nicklaus Co-Design Mountain Course at Bear Mountain Golf Resort, Victoria, British Columbia, from September 19-25, 2016. All three competitive rounds will be broadcast live by Golf Channel to more than 200 million homes in 84 countries and 11 languages around the world. For more information on the Pacific Links Championship or PGA TOUR Champions, please visit http://www.PGATOUR.com/Champions
Website: PacificLinksChampionship.com
Twitter: @PacificLinksVIC
Instagram: @pacificlinksvic
About Pacific Links International
Pacific Links was founded in 2009 to provide members with a premium golf experience through an innovative international membership structure focused on the Chinese golfer. Pacific Links offers them access to the finest collection of high quality golf clubs in the world. Since 2012, the Pacific Links Network of Affiliated and Reciprocal clubs now stands at over 500 properties located in 20+ countries around the world. With a strong membership base continuing to grow in China, the planned expansion into other parts of Asia and the aggregated population of members from all the participating clubs, Pacific Links is now expanding the brand platform to encompass more than just golf. We are positioning Pacific Links International to be the preeminent Lifestyle portal for China’s HNW customer providing high demand travel itineraries inspired by golf but encompassing concierge services, flights, accommodations, local tourism experience and travel butler assistance. The main feature of a Pacific Links membership is reciprocal access. In the next 10-15 years, PLI will further expand its international affiliate network to over 1,000 clubs in North America, Europe, Australia, Japan and the entire Southeast Asia. http://www.pacificlinks.com
About Bear Mountain Golf Resort
Located on southern Vancouver Island - a region known for its year round golf climate, stellar fishing opportunities and strong local food movement - Bear Mountain Golf Resort and Spa offers two outstanding courses that combined represent the only 36-hole Nicklaus Design golf experience in Canada. The Mountain Course, a Jack and Steve Nicklaus Co-Design, features impressive landscape and dramatic terrain that lead to breathtaking 180 degree views of nearby Victoria, the Pacific Ocean and the Olympic Mountains of Washington State. The course, a par 71 playing at 6,925 yards, sets atop a 1,100-foot mountain and has been assigned a slope rating of 142 from the back tees. The 18-hole, par 71 Nicklaus Design Valley Course, a spectacular golf setting that is nestled in a pristine natural 102 acres of mature forests, measures just under 7,000 yards. Surrounded by 3,000 acres of parks and hiking trails, Bear Mountain is one of the few golf courses in North America that offers an authentic natural setting so close to a capital city. More than a resort and an incredible community, Bear Mountain is also home to Golf Canada's National Development team, the high performance training centre of Canada’s National Mountain Bike team, and construction recently commenced on Canada’s largest indoor/outdoor clay court tennis facility supported by Tennis Canada and Tennis BC. The Westin Bear Mountain Golf Resort and Spa rounds out the amenities offering guests a luxurious getaway with outstanding fine dining options, the award-winning Sante Spa, and the Bear Mountain Golf Academy. http://www.bearmountain.ca
About PGA TOUR Champions
PGA TOUR Champions is a membership organization of golfers age 50 and older, with the most recognizable and accomplished players in the game - including 34 members of the World Golf Hall of Fame, which compete regularly in its events. PGA TOUR Champions is where Legends play, and is home to The Ultimate Clubhouse. Conceived in 1980 as the Senior PGA Tour, it started with just four events and purses totaling $475,000. The primary purpose of PGA TOUR Champions 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, protect the integrity of the game and generate significant charitable and economic impact in communities in which it plays. In 2016, the newly-introduced Charles Schwab Cup Playoffs will identify and recognize the Tour’s leading player via a season-long race for the Charles Schwab Cup. The Commissioner of the PGA TOUR is Tim Finchem. Greg McLaughlin is President of PGA TOUR Champions. The PGA TOUR’s website is pgatour.com, the No. 1 site in golf, and the organization is headquartered in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. Follow PGA TOUR Champions at facebook.com/PGATOURChampions and on Twitter @ChampionsTour.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION:
David Skitt
Tournament Director
Pacific Links Championship
250-800-0713
skitty(at)sportboxgroup(dot)com
Amber Liptai, BIG YAM, The Parsons Agency, +1 (480) 410-6076, [email protected]
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