Nationwide Tour to play new Chiquita Classic in Cincinnati

text size

MAINEVILLE, Ohio -- The Nationwide Tour added a new tournament to its 2010 schedule Friday with the announcement of the Chiquita Classic, to be played July 12-18 at the TPC River's Bend in the Cincinnati suburb of Maineville, Ohio.

Related

Nationwide: 2010 schedule
Fresh Express joins as sponsor
Video: Event announcement

The Chiquita Classic will feature a field of 156 competing over 72 holes of stroke play for a purse of $550,000. The TPC River's Bend is a 7,180-yard par-72 layout designed by legend Arnold Palmer which opened in 2001. A pro-am will be played at TPC River's Bend on Wednesday, July 14th.

All four rounds of the Chiquita Classic will air on GOLF CHANNEL in the U.S. The tournament will also be made available around the world, including China, Japan, Korea and parts of Latin America and Europe.

Anthony Muñoz, the Pro Football Hall of Fame member and former Cincinnati Bengal who is very involved in community activities in his adopted hometown of Cincinnati, will serve as Honorary Chairman for the Chiquita Classic.

"In Chiquita Brands, the Nationwide Tour has added yet another large and prominent company that understands the value and benefit of a partnership with the PGA TOUR," said Nationwide Tour president Bill Calfee. "The Chiquita Classic will be a great platform through which Chiquita can help generate funds for charities locally and build the Chiquita brand internationally via television distribution of the event around the globe. We're excited about playing the TPC River's Bend course and welcome Chiquita to the Nationwide Tour."

"Expanding our partnership with the PGA TOUR by sponsoring the Chiquita Classic provides a great opportunity to highlight our leadership and commitment to health and wellness," said Fernando Aguirre, chairman and chief executive officer of Chiquita Brands. "It's a perfect match with our focus of helping consumers enjoy a healthy, active lifestyle, and the internationally-televised tournament provides us wonderful exposure for consumers in Europe and throughout the world. We are honored to have NFL legend and local community hero Anthony Muñoz be a part of our team at the Chiquita Classic, especially in our efforts to assist Cincinnati-area charities through this tournament."

A number of charities will benefit from the Chiquita Classic, including The Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, The First Tee and the Anthony Muñoz Foundation. TICKETS Fore CHARITY, a program that will enable Cincinnati-area charities to sell tickets to the Chiquita Classic and retain 100 percent of their sales for the benefit of their respective organizations, will be in place. Details will be announced at a later date.

"I am thrilled to accept the PGA TOUR's and Chiquita's invitation to be Honorary Chairman of the Chiquita Classic," said Muñoz. "Over the last 30 years, Cincinnati has become my home, and I will continue to do all I can to help make it a better place. I think the Nationwide Tour's Chiquita Classic is going to help a number of people and positively promote our great city. I am committed to do whatever I can to make the tournament as successful as possible."

"I'm very proud to be associated with the Nationwide Tour and for TPC River's Bend to play host to its great players for the first time," said Arnold Palmer by telephone from his Bay Hill Club in Florida. "As it did for the Champions Tour a few years ago (2002-2004), I'm sure TPC River's Bend will provide a challenging, fun test for the players. The caliber of play on the Nationwide Tour is very comparable to what you see on the PGA TOUR, so golf fans of Cincinnati are in for a real up-close and personal treat when the Chiquita Classic comes to town in July."

"This is great news that the Nationwide Tour is coming to my hometown of Cincinnati," said Nationwide Tour member Jim Herman from Port St. Lucie, Fla. "The Nationwide Tour is a fantastic tour that features some of the world's most talented players -- many of whom golf fans will get to know well when they arrive on the PGA TOUR in the next year or two. I can't wait to tee it up there, play in front of a lot of people I know and be a part of the great show the Nationwide Tour will put on."

Herman is the Nationwide Tour's most recent champion having captured his first Tour win, the Moonah Classic outside Melbourne, Australia on Feb. 7th. The 32-year-old was born in Cincinnati, grew up there and attended the University of Cincinnati. A professional since 2000, he has played on the Nationwide Tour since 2008.

With its July 12-18 dates, the Chiquita Classic follows the Ford Wayne Gretzky Classic presented by Samsung (Clarksburg, Ontario, Canada) on the Tour schedule and will precede the Nationwide Children's Hospital Invitational (Columbus, Ohio).

With the addition of the Chiquita Classic, the Nationwide Tour now has 29 tournaments on its 2010 schedule, which is equal to the number of events played last year. At season's end, "The 25" leading money winners on the Nationwide Tour will earn PGA TOUR cards for 2010.

The Chiquita Classic will be operated by HNS Sports Group, a full-service event management company headquartered in the Columbus, Ohio suburb of Dublin. HNS runs the PGA TOUR's Memorial Tournament, the Nationwide Tour's Nationwide Children's Hospital Invitational and the Wendy's 3-Tour Challenge, among other charity and professional tournaments.

On Wednesday, Chiquita Brands announced its salad and healthy snack subsidiary Fresh Express would sponsor the Nationwide Tour's San Francisco Bay area event assuming the title position. The April 15-18 tournament will be known as the Fresh Express Classic at TPC Stonebrae. Pro Football Hall of Fame honoree Jerry Rice is the tournament's new host. Proceeds from the Fresh Express Classic will also benefit charities throughout the Bay area, particularly those who participate in selling tickets through the TICKETS Fore CHARITY program. The Fresh Express Classic at TPC Stonebrae is also part of the PGA TOUR's Birdies for the Brave military outreach program.

Including the Chiquita Classic, the PGA TOUR's TPC network will host 17 tournaments across the PGA TOUR, Nationwide Tour and Champions Tour schedules in 2010.

For more information about the Chiquita Classic, call 614-764-4653.