New $1 million Soboba Classic to debut in 2009

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Oct. 28, 2008
By PGA TOUR Staff

SAN JACINTO, Calif. -- The PGA TOUR's Nationwide Tour and the Soboba Band of Luiseno Indians announced Tuesday that a new Nationwide Tour event offering a $1 million purse will be played at the Country Club at Soboba Springs in San Jacinto, Calif., beginning in the fall of 2009.

The Soboba Classic will be one of just three events offering $1 million in prize money on the Nationwide Tour in 2009. It joins the Nationwide Tour Players Cup in West Virginia and the season-ending Nationwide Tour Championship in having the largest purse on Tour.

First prize at the Soboba Classic will be $180,000.

The tournament will be played in the fall. Specific tournament dates soon will be announced pending completion of the 2009 Nationwide Tour schedule.

The PGA TOUR and the Soboba Band of Luiseno Indians have entered into a four-year agreement.

Golf Channel will televise all four rounds of the tournament.

The Soboba Classic will also participate in the Nationwide Tour's "TICKETS Fore CHARITY" program that provides charities the opportunity to sell tournament tickets and retain 100 percent of the revenue.

"We are very pleased to bring this world-class tournament to the region, which will help generate valuable national exposure to the Hemet/San Jacinto Valley area," said Soboba Tribal Chairman Robert Salgado Sr. "This is one of the most beautiful golf courses in the world, and we look forward to many years of hosting top players and tournaments, and attracting visitors to the community. We encourage local charities to take full advantage of the 'TICKETS Fore CHARITY' program and utilize the tournament to positively impact lives."

About Soboba

Located in San Jacinto, Calif., equidistant (approximately 25 miles) from the Cities of Riverside and Palm Springs, The Country Club at Soboba Springs opened for play in late 2004 under the new ownership of The Soboba Band of Luiseno Indians.

Shortly thereafter, the course was closed for a complete renovation by golf course architect Cary Bickler. The golf course was originally designed by Desmond Muirhead and opened in 1966 as Soboba Springs Country Club.

Bickler, a Muirhead disciple, was able to maintain the original playing characteristics of this classic design while adding much needed length and special features. The course reopened in early 2006 and now stretches to 7,053 yards and plays to a par of 72. The Country Club features a new 31,000-square-foot clubhouse.

In addition to The Country Club at Soboba Springs, the Soboba Band of Luiseno Indians owns and operates a number of various enterprises that serve to promote tribal self-sufficiency and provide world-class leisure & entertainment to the region, including Soboba Casino and The Oaks Retreat.

For more information, please visit soboba-nsn.gov.

"The Nationwide Tour welcomes the Soboba Classic to our family of tournaments," said Nationwide Tour president Bill Calfee. "When next fall rolls around, the competition on the Nationwide Tour to earn one of the 25 PGA TOUR cards for 2010 will be entering a crucial stage. Golf fans who come out to Soboba Springs will witness a much heightened competitive environment as each and every stroke will have potential bearing on whether or not a competitor plays his way onto the golf world's greatest stage, the PGA TOUR, beginning in January 2010."

"Southern California is an area of the country that has produced many PGA TOUR champions and promising Nationwide Tour stars," said California native Ricky Barnes, who is currently 21st on the Nationwide Tour money list. "I have no doubt the Soboba Classic will be a great addition to the Nationwide Tour and that my fellow players will look forward to returning to Southern California.

"My plan is to be on the PGA TOUR next year but regardless of which tour I'm on, I have no doubt the Soboba Classic, with its $1 million purse and strong golf course, will be a great addition to the Nationwide Tour. The Nationwide Tour is a terrific tour and will be well-received by everyone who gets involved in the tournament."

"My recollections of my days on the Nationwide Tour are very positive," said two-time PGA TOUR winner Tom Pernice Jr., who played on the Nationwide Tour full-time in 1995 and '96. "The competition was strong back then and the Tour has grown into what is now one of the most competitive places in the world to play professional golf. Every year I see the new talent that comes from the Nationwide Tour to the PGA TOUR and I am always very impressed.

"Golf fans of Southern California should make a point of coming to Soboba Springs next September. They will truly get an up-close and personal look at the future of the PGA TOUR. I also think they will be very surprised and impressed with the traditional layout and exceptional conditions of the golf course at Soboba Springs. It is a real sleeper."

A number of Nationwide Tour players who are inside the top 75 on the current money list have ties to Southern California: Rich Barcelo (Long Beach), J.J. Killeen (San Diego), Bill Lunde (San Diego), Bob May (Lynwood), Brian Smock (Coronado), Roger Tambellini (USC), Peter Tomasulo (Long Beach) and Chris Tidland (Torrance).