New format draws big names, exciting teams

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SAVANNAH, GA -- The 31st annual Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf returns to the Westin Savannah Harbor Golf Resort & Spa and players have announced their final team selections for the Legends Division (ages 50+). Played as an individual stroke-play event over the past six years, the new all-team, official money/win format has created an exciting buzz among players and golf fans alike.

Mark O'Meara and Nick Price have announced that they will team up next week in Savannah. O'Meara is a 16-time winner on the PGA TOUR who notably captured a pair of major championship wins in 1998 at the Masters and British Open. The Class of 2007 rookie has logged four runner-up finishes in 19 Champions Tour starts.

2003 World Golf Hall of Fame inductee Price is a three-time major champion with a total of 18 PGA TOUR titles. The South African, and fellow Class of 2007 rookie, earned his best Champions Tour finish at last year's Senior PGA Championship where he came in third to childhood friend Denis Watson.

Tom Kite and Gil Morgan have announced that they will join forces in the Legends Division. World Golf Hall of Fame Member Kite, is a 19-time winner on the PGA TOUR who's most memorable victory came at the 1992 U.S Open at Pebble Beach where he earned a two-stroke victory over Jeff Sluman. The 1989 PLAYERS Championship winner has found continued success on the Champions Tour, capturing nine wins and one major at the 2000 JELD-WEN Tradition.

Morgan has enjoyed a phenomenal career on the Champions Tour since his debut in 1996, dominating 25 events including back-to-back major championships at the JELD-WEN Tradition (1997-98). The Edmond, OK native is a seven-time winner on the PGA TOUR.

John Cook and Joey Sindelar will also tee it up together. Cook won 11 times on the PGA TOUR before joining the Champions Tour last year and earned a win in his second start at the 2007 AT&T Championship- just 19 days after celebrating his 50th birthday.

Sindelar, who will make his third Champions Tour start in Savannah, is a seven-time winner on the PGA TOUR, who won twice at En-Joie Golf Course (1985 & '87 B.C. Open) in his native upstate New York, now home to the Champions Tour's Dick's Sporting Goods Open.

Don Pooley and Morris Hatalsky have also declared themselves a team. A native of Arizona, Pooley is a two-time winner on both the PGA TOUR and Champions Tour who made history in 2002 by outlasting Tom Watson in a five-hole playoff to become the first open qualifier to win a U.S. Senior Open.

A four-time winner on the PGA TOUR, Hatalsky earned the first of three Champions Tour titles in his freshman season and was voted 2002's Rookie of the Year by his peers.

NBC Sports' analysts Gary Koch and Roger Maltbie will return as a team in the two-day, better-ball Raphael Division for players ages 50-69. The winning duo claimed the division title in 2003. Koch is a six-time winner on the PGA TOUR, while Maltbie has five PGA TOUR titles.

Weeklong Emerald Club passes are still available for $75 ($65 for age 60+) and include admission into the National Car Rental Emerald Club Pavilion Wednesday-Sunday. Daily passes are $25 in advance (price of single day tickets increases to $30 at the gate). Tickets may be purchased by calling toll free, 877-942-1123 or visiting the tournament's Web site at www.libertymutuallegends.pgatour.com.

The Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf is part of the Champions Tour's "The Road to the Charles Schwab Cup", a season-long points race that kicks off in Hawaii with 29 official events and culminates in Northern California at Sonoma Golf Club October 27 -- November 2, with $2.1 million in payouts awarded to the season's top five leading performers.