Nationwide Tour Championship to offer $1 million purse in 2008  McKINNEY, Texas -- The Nationwide Tour and the Salesmanship Club of Dallas announced Wednesday that the Tour's season-ending event, the Nationwide Tour Championship, will be played at TPC Craig Ranch in Dallas in 2008 and offer the Tour's first $1 million purse.  Richard Johnson holds the winner's trophy after the fourth round of the 2007 Nationwide Tour Championship. (Badz/PGA TOUR)
The official name of the tournament will be the "Nationwide Tour Championship at TPC Craig Ranch". It will be played Nov. 6-9. The $1 million purse will also feature a record first prize of $180,000. GOLF CHANNEL, the exclusive television carrier of the Nationwide Tour, will provide coverage of all four rounds. As the culminating event of the Nationwide Tour season, the Nationwide Tour Championship will feature the top 60 money winners through the year's final full-field event, which will be played Oct. 23-26. PGA TOUR cards will be awarded at the conclusion of the championship to the 25 leading money winners. In addition, No. 1 on the money list will be decided, with that player earning the additional perk of an invitation to the 2009 PLAYERS Championship. TPC Craig Ranch opened for play in 2004. A Tom Weiskopf design, it is a 7,438-yard layout from the championship tees that will play to a par 36-35 -- 71 for the championship. "One of our key goals the last few years has been to elevate the Nationwide Tour Championship," said Nationwide Tour President Bill Calfee. "With today's announcement of a $1 million purse and our partnership with the Salesmanship Club and TPC Craig Ranch, there is no doubt we have accomplished that for 2008. The Salesmanship Club is one of Dallas' most respected organizations and has a long history of successfully promoting TOUR golf and generating significant sums of money for charity. TPC Craig Ranch has received many positive reviews in its first few years of operation and will be an outstanding venue and test of golf for the top 60 Nationwide Tour players who are here next year. "We now have three cities, Dallas, Houston and San Diego, and three prominent organizations, the Salesmanship Club, the Houston Golf Association and the Century Club, that form a rotation of sites that position the Nationwide Tour Championship for growth in the coming years," Calfee said. "We're proud to be associated with all three and look forward to working with them." "The Salesmanship Club is honored to once again partner with the PGA TOUR by hosting the 2008 Nationwide Tour Championship at TPC Craig Ranch," said Randy Engstrom, president of the Salesmanship Club of Dallas. "This is another opportunity to help the children and families served by our charity, Salesmanship Club Youth and Family Centers. And, we're excited to have an opportunity to host the future stars of the PGA TOUR." "With the announcement of the Nationwide Tour Championship at Craig Ranch in 2008, I definitely feel that we have a championship event with some of the world's finest players competing at the highest level," said David H. Craig, chairman and CEO of Craig International. "What makes this event even more special is that The Salesmanship Club of Dallas will be the host organization. There may not be a better organization that has bonded together with philanthropy as its cause than this fine group of individuals. Their efforts and experience in hosting events and giving back to the community are second to none and I am proud to be associated with them." Also participating in the press conference were recent Nationwide Tour graduates to the PGA TOUR and 2007 Tour winners, Roland Thatcher of The Woodlands, Texas, and Brad Elder of Dallas, Texas. Past champions of the Nationwide Tour Championship include PGA TOUR winners such as David Duval (1993), Stewart Cink (1995), Steve Flesch (1997), Bob Burns (1998), Spike McRoy (2000), Chris Couch (2003) and Nick Watney (2004). The Nationwide Tour Championship was first played in 1993 and visited Texas (Houston) for the first time in 2006. Texas is joined by Oregon (1993-94), Georgia (1995-96) and Alabama (1997-2005) in hosting the first 15 editions. TPC Craig Ranch is the first Tournament Players Club to host the championship. The Nationwide Tour Championship was held at Barona Creek Golf Club near San Diego, Calif., this year with the Century Club serving as the host organization and will return to Barona Creek in 2010. Last year the Championship was held at The Houstonian Golf & Country Club in Richmond, TX and promoted by the Houston Golf Association and will be again in 2009. |
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