Nationwide Tour announces first event in South America

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PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. -- The PGA TOUR's Nationwide Tour and a delegation of Colombian officials announced at a reception at PGA TOUR headquarters Wednesday that the Nationwide Tour will play a new tournament in Bogota, Colombia beginning in 2010.

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The Pacific Rubiales Bogota Open presented by Samsung will be the Nationwide Tour's first tournament in South America and the first time a PGA TOUR-sanctioned event has been played for official money on the continent.

The Country Club of Bogota will host the event, March 4-7. It will feature a 132-player field and a purse of $600,000.

A three-year agreement is in place.

Pacific Rubiales is a Canadian-listed producer of oil and natural gas. The company is the largest independent oil and gas exploration and production company in Colombia.

Nationwide Tour alumni, current PGA TOUR star and Medellin, Colombia native Camilo Villegas was pivotal in bringing the event to his native country. He will play an active role in the Pacific Rubiales Bogota Open, including playing in the Tuesday pro-am and officially welcoming the Nationwide Tour to Colombia at that evening's social function. Villegas will also personally provide an opportunity for a large number of Colombian youth to attend the event and meet the country's golf hero.

"I wouldn't be the player I am today without the Nationwide Tour," said Villegas. "It means a great deal to me to see an event of this stature come to my country. I am delighted my fellow players will experience a country and a culture full of hospitality and wonderful people. Most importantly, I'm looking forward to Colombian youth being exposed to the PGA TOUR's next stars in person and planting the seeds for them to dream of a career in golf."

Popular NASCAR star and Bogota, Colombia native Juan Pablo Montoya will also be affiliated with the tournament as host of the Juan Pablo Montoya Celebrity Pro-Am presented by Helm on Tuesday of tournament week. Montoya, an avid golfer and friend of Villegas, serves on the board of The First Tee of South Florida.

Proceeds from the tournament will support the Camilo Villegas Fund and Montoya's Foundation, Formula Sonrisas. The Camilo Villegas Fund, which Villegas recently created with Give to Colombia, a U.S.-based non-profit organization that channels funds to Colombia, focuses on education, health and nutrition and economic development. Formula Sonrisas supports youth development through sports.

"Developing this event with our new friends in Colombia has been an enlightening process," said Nationwide Tour president Bill Calfee. "When you visit Colombia, experience its culture and meet its people, the perception and reality gap really hits home. This is not only an exciting international sporting endeavor, it is an opportunity to share the story of the new Colombia with the world."

"We are honored to join the PGA TOUR in bringing the Nationwide Tour to Colombia," said Jose Francisco Arata, president and executive director of Pacific Rubiales Energy. "Our alliance will demonstrate on an international stage the greatness of Colombia and the value of investing in the country. Colombia and Pacific Rubiales have much to be proud of and to promote both inside and outside the country's borders. The Pacific Rubiales Bogota Open presented by Samsung provides an ideal forum by which to do this. We look forward to welcoming the Nationwide Tour to Colombia in March."

"On behalf of International Golf Corporation, it is with great pride we are able to announce that Colombia and South America will host a PGA TOUR-sanctioned event that offers official money for the first time," said German Calle, president of Golf International Corporation and executive director of the tournament. "The Pacific Rubiales Bogota Open presented by Samsung is a great opportunity for the world to see what a beautiful and inviting country Colombia is, as well as the great potential it holds for investment. I'm sure the tournament is just the beginning of a very strong relationship between Colombia, South America and the PGA TOUR."

Joining Mr. Arata and Mr. Calle in the Colombian delegation were other representatives from the Colombian government, Pacific Rubiales and Bogota Country Club.

A reception similar to the one hosted by the PGA TOUR today will be held in Bogota in the near future.