SAS extends commitment to Champions Tour

text size

CARY, N.C. -- Tournament officials for the SAS Championship presented by Forbes have announced that title sponsor SAS has extended its commitment to the Champions Tour through 2013. The official Champions Tour event held at Prestonwood Country Club in Cary is in its eighth year.

Halverson/Getty Images

Mark Wiebe won last year's SAS Championship.

"SAS is pleased to extend our partnership with the Champions Tour," said SAS CEO Jim Goodnight. "The SAS Championship has proven to be a valuable asset on a number of fronts. Through the tournament, we have been able to showcase our community, and proceeds have contributed to the betterment of youth educational causes in our area."

The agreement is a four-year extension from 2010 -- 2013 with an option for 2014. The event currently has one of the top non-major purses on Tour at $2.1 million, and assurances have been made to keep it as one of the elite events through the tenure of the partnership. The tournament has become a fixture on the Champions Tour fall schedule and has a distinguished list of past champions that include Bruce Lietzke, Craig Stadler, D.A. Weibring, World Golf Hall of Fame member Hale Irwin, Tom Jenkins and defending champion Mark Wiebe.

"We're gratified by Dr. Goodnight's continuing commitment to the Champions Tour and his charitable initiatives that provide so many educational programs in the Triangle region," said Champions Tour President, Mike Stevens. "The SAS Championship has quickly established itself as one of our premier events, and this extension will allow us to continue to grow the SAS Championship's legacy."

SAS is the leader in business analytics software and services. SAS software helps companies in every industry transform their data into predictive insights about company performance, customers, markets, risks and more. SAS has been the title sponsor of the event since its inception in 2001. The extension allows the SAS Championship to remain in the Triangle area and continue to grow its charitable impact with a focus on area education-based organizations. In addition, it provides unique opportunities to continue building relationships with SAS' most important customers and partners.

"We are thrilled to extend our partnership with SAS and the Champions Tour to keep growing the SAS Championship in this community," said Jeff Kleiber, Tournament Director. "SAS' commitment in the current economic climate exhibits the importance that this event plays in building their business relationships, philanthropy focus and commitment to the area where over 4,000 local employees live, work and play every day."

The SAS Championship has supported various educational organizations since 2001. In partnerships with Triangle Community Foundation, SAS has donated Tournament proceeds to non-profits such as Communities In Schools of Wake County (CIS Wake). CIS Wake operates the Tournament's signature project, the SAS Learning Center in a public housing community in Raleigh, N.C. CIS Wake offers educational programming to help young people succeed in school and in life.

Ticket, sponsor and volunteer information are available at www.saschampionship.com or (919) 531-4653.