CA Championship changes eligiblity requirements  DORAL, Fla. -- As the FedExCup brings a new era in golf to the PGA TOUR in 2007, the World Golf Championships-CA Championship will be tweaking the tournament's eligibility requirements to include top performers from the PGA TOUR's first season-long competition. Several other field changes were also announced for the tournament's South Florida debut at the Blue Monster Course at Doral Golf Resort and Spa in Doral, Florida, on March 19-25.
Players finishing 2006 atop the money list of their respective home Tours have already qualified for next year's event. For instance, the top 30 players from the 2006 PGA TOUR Money List as well as the top 20 players from the 2006 European Tour Order of Merit have earned a place in the field. This means players like 2006 PGA TOUR Player of the Year Tiger Woods, European Tour standouts Padraig Harrington, Paul Casey and David Howell, as well as Jim Furyk, Phil Mickelson, Adam Scott and Ernie Els, who all finished inside one of the two money lists have qualified for the tournament. If the standings for qualification expired today, the field would be 70 players from 19 different countries. Not included in that list are the 10 spots open for players within the top 10 of the FedExCup on the PGA TOUR through March 12, 2007 and then again on March 19, 2007. "World Golf Championships have proven to be a great test for the world's best players. The stature of these global events is reflected in the way that more credit is given to these events than regular PGA TOUR events in the FedExCup points system," said Executive Director Eddie Carbone. "We look forward to watching how the season unfolds and also how these news standings help us to build what was already one of the strongest fields in golf with the world's best players." Eligibility for the tournament is as follows: Estimated field size - 70 players • The top 50 players, including any players tied for 50th available place, from the Official World Golf Ranking as of Monday, March 12, 2007. There are two ways to order tickets to the 2007 CA Championship: • Go to www.worldgolfchampionships.com to order tickets on-line. For information on other ticket specials, log on to www.worldgolfchampionships.com and look for the ticket information section. The 2007 World Golf Championships-CA Championship will have an $8 million purse, with the game's top players competing for the $1.35 million first-place prize and the Gene Sarazen Cup. The event is also a part of the PGA TOUR's new FedExCup, the season-long competition where PGA TOUR member players will amass points based on their performance, set to debut next year. One of four World Golf Championships events, the CA Championship will feature the top-50 players from the Official World Golf Ranking along with top finishers on the money lists of the six Tours comprising the International Federation of PGA Tours (PGA TOUR, European Tour, Australasian Tour, Japan Golf Tour, Asian Tour and Sunshine Tour). The first two rounds will be televised by The Golf Channel and NBC will broadcast the final two rounds. The tournament will be televised in 140 countries. Some of golf's best players have emerged victorious during the tournament's seven-year history. Tiger Woods counts five victories in this tournament among his 13 World Golf Championships titles. He won the inaugural event in 1999 at Valderrama in Spain and followed that up with victories in 2002 in Ireland, in 2003 and 2005 in the United States. Earlier this year, he was victorious in London. In 2000, Canadian Mike Weir captured the title, and in 2004, Ernie Els of South Africa triumphed. The World Golf Championships feature elite players in a variety of competitive formats at venues around the world. Since the series debut in 1999, World Golf Championships have been held in 10 countries. The CA Championship has been played five times in Europe and twice previously in the United States. |
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