Toshiba Classic

Contacts:
Toby Zwikel/Brian Robin/Damian Secore Jessica Roswell
949/660-1001
JRoswell@toshibaclassic.com

FIFTH-ANNUAL ‘SHOT FROM THE TOP' RETURNS TO THE ROOF OF NEWPORT BEACH MARRIOTT HOTEL & SPA
Former Toshiba Classic champion Gary McCord is back as emcee of unique event once again benefiting Orange County high schools

NEWPORT BEACH, Calif., February 25, 2009 - It's the only event on the Champions Tour that requires you to overcome more than your fears of choking on a golf shot. At the same time, it's one of the only events that gives you a golf shot worthy of your Bucket List.

The addition to the "Bucket List" is the fifth-annual "Shot from the Top" of the Newport Beach Marriott Hotel & Spa, which is once again one of the featured events of Toshiba Classic tournament week, March 2-8 at Newport Beach Country Club. The event, scheduled for Tuesday, March 3 at 10 a.m., once again brings Champions Tour professionals such as Gary McCord and Andy Bean, standout area high school golfers and members of the media together in a unique athletic setting.

"This is one of the most anticipated mornings of the year on the Champions Tour because of the novelty and how fun it is to hit a ball off a 16-story building, but also because of the charitable element the Shot from the Top has brought to the Toshiba Classic," Executive Tournament Director Jeff Purser said. "The sheer fun of hitting a ball off the Newport Beach Marriott Hotel & Spa works well with spotlighting some worthy charitable beneficiaries and every year, it gets better and better."

This year's beneficiaries are once again, eight Orange County high schools, which compete for laptop computers from Toshiba America Information Systems, Digital Products Division. Two-player golfing tandems (one boy, one girl) from Beckman, Dana Hills, El Toro, Estancia, Foothill, San Clemente, University and Woodbridge high schools will team with a Champions Tour pro and a media member on the roof of the Newport Beach Marriott Hotel & Spa.

There, each player will hit shots from the roof to the second green of the Newport Beach Country Club - 162 feet below. Scoring is based on a point system geared around the distance of the players' shots to the pin. That explains how Trabuco Hills High captured the title in both 2007 and 2008, but the Mustangs failed to qualify for the eight-team finals this year.

Last year, Toshiba Digital Products Division, a division of Toshiba America Information Systems, donated more than 150 laptops to area high schools and local charities. Each team participating in the finals is guaranteed seven laptops for their respective schools, with the winning team bringing back 25.

A unique event like the "Shot from the Top" demands not only perfect command of your nerves, but the perfect emcee to stretch and tease those nerves with the perfect quip - which brings in longtime event emcee Gary McCord. The 1999 Toshiba Classic champion and 2006 "Shot from the Top" winner, McCord returns to not only tease and taunt his fellow pros and the media members about everything from their outfits to their golf swings, but to compete.

Last year, McCord hit both of his shots inside of 15 feet, helping Woodbridge High to a second-place finish and Laguna Hills High to a tie for third.

The fifth-annual "Shot from the Top" is another reason to purchase tickets early for the 2009 Toshiba Classic, which returns to the Newport Beach Country Club with one of the best fields Champions Tour fans will see in 2009. That deep and talented field includes defending champion and Champions Tour Player of the Year Bernhard Langer, Charles Schwab Cup champion and 2007 Toshiba Classic champion Jay Haas, and major champions Hale Irwin, Ben Crenshaw, Mark O'Meara, Tom Kite, Nick Price, Craig Stadler, Curtis Strange, Tom Watson and Fuzzy Zoeller.

Daily tickets are $20 if purchased in advance and are $25 at the gate. Season clubhouse badges providing admission to the grounds and clubhouse for practice rounds and the tournament are $100. All tickets, including corporate ticket packages, can be obtained by calling 949-660-1001 or visiting www.ToshibaClassic.com.

The 2008 Toshiba Classic raised $1 million for Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian and other local Orange County organizations. In its 11-year history, the Toshiba Classic has raised more than $11.1 million for charity, the most on the PGA Champions Tour.

The Toshiba Classic
Hoag Hospital Foundation produces the annual Toshiba Classic. During the last 11 years, the Toshiba Classic has raised more than $11.1 million for charity, the most on the Champions Tour. In the PGA Champions Tour's 29-year history, only nine out of more than 600 tournaments have raised $1 million in net proceeds from an event in a single year. The Toshiba Classic has reached the $1 million mark nine consecutive years out of those 10. Televised to an international audience on Golf Channel, the Toshiba Classic enables millions of viewers to see some of Orange County's greatest attractions. The tournament generates an estimated $20 million in annual economic impact for the county and state. For more information, please call 949/660-1001 or log onto ToshibaClassic.com.

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