The Champions Tour heads to San Francisco for the season-ending Charles Schwab Cup Championship at TPC Harding Park October 31-November 6. The purse is $2.5 million and the winner will receive $440,000 and 880 Charles Schwab Cup points. Last year, John Cook defended the title he won in 2009 outlasting Michael Allen, who opened the event with a tournament-record 61.

LAST WEEK

Regional qualifying for Champions Tour Qualifying School was held at three sites last week to determine those players who will advance to the final stage of qualifying at TPC Scottsdale November 15-18. PGA TOUR veteran Robin Freeman topped the field at Primm Valley GC in Las Vegas, NV while Angel Franco, brother of four-time TOUR winner Carlos Franco, was the medalist at the Palm Course in Disney World, Orlando, FL. Five-time European Tour winner Barry Lane was a five-stroke victor at Wood Forest GC in Montgomery, TX. A total of 49 players successfully advanced from the three sites and will join 29 players who were already exempt into the final stage in Scottsdale. All scores can be found here; http://www.pgatour.com/2011/qschool/10/25/championstour-firststage-q-school-woodforest/index.html/

A handful of Champions Tour professionals had sons competing at last week’s first stage of PGA TOUR Qualifying School. Lanny Wadkins’ son Travis finished T15 in Dallas, TX to advance to stage two. Olin Browne’s son, Olin, Jr., failed to advance out of the first stage in Port St. Lucie, finishing T62. Jason Cook, son of John Cook, and Gunner Wiebe, son of Mark Wiebe, also failed to advance, finishing T67 and T50 respectively in Hollister, CA. Bob Tway’s son Kevin was unsuccessful at Pinehurst, NC, finishing T25. Arnold Palmer’s grandson Sam Saunders shot 17-under to be medalist at the first stage at St. Johns G&CC in St. Augustine, FL.

The Principal Charity Classic at Glen Oaks GC in West Des Moines was recently presented the 2011 Iowa Tourism Award for Outstanding Event/Festival by the Iowa Tourism Office and the Travel Federation of Iowa.

The PGA TOUR and Mitsubishi Electric announced an extension of their Official Marketing Partnership and title sponsorship of the Champions Tour’s season-opening Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualalai through 2015. The Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualalai is scheduled for January 16-22 next year, and features an elite field of the past two seasons’ tournament champions and past five years of senior major championship winners.

Champions Tour professional Jim Rutledge was inducted into the B.C. Golf Hall of Fame last week at the Capilano GCC in West Vancouver. Rutledge finished No. 51 on the 2011 money list, collecting $297,666, but it wasn’t enough to stay exempt. He will be back to qualifying school Nov. 15-18 at TPC Scottsdale for the National Qualifying Tournament.

CHARLES SCHWAB CUP

With one tournament remaining, only five players have a mathematical chance of winning the 2011 Charles Schwab Cup – Tom Lehman, Mark Calcavecchia, Peter Senior, John Cook and Russ Cochran.

Tom Lehman leads the current race with 2,338, followed by Mark Calcavecchia with 1,956 (382 points behind). Peter Senior is third with 1,782 points and John Cook fourth with 1,726 points. Russ Cochran is a distant fifth with 1,508 points.

If Tom Lehman wins, or finishes solo 2^nd at the Charles Schwab Cup Championship at TPC Harding Park, no one else can win the Charles Schwab Cup.

A total of 880 points is available to the winner of the Charles Schwab Cup Championship while the player finishing 30^th will earn 48 points.

COMING UP

Tom Lehman is bidding to make history. The current leading money-winner and top points producer in the season-long Charles Schwab Cup race, Lehman is bidding to become the first player ever to claim Player of the Year honors on each of the Tours. A three-time winner this year, Lehman was the Nationwide Tour’s Player of the Year in 1991 and was the PGA TOUR Player of the Year in 1996.

John Cook will try to become the first player to win the Charles Schwab Cup Championship three consecutive times and the first since Jim Thorpe (2003, 2006 and 2007) to win the season-ending event three times overall. Tom Watson also won the Schwab Cup Championship three times (2000, 2002 and 2005).

This year’s Charles Schwab Cup Championship field has five players who are looking for their first official titles on the Champions Tour – Peter Senior, Corey Pavin, Tommy Armour III, Chien Soon Lu and Chip Beck. In the history of this event, there has never been a first-time winner.  

Four players are scheduled to make their first appearances in the Charles Schwab Cup Championship. That group includes Jay Don Blake, Kenny Perry, John Huston and Chip Beck, who joined the Champions Tour in 2006.

Hale Irwin, the Champions Tour’s all-time winner with 45 career victories is, at age 66, the oldest ever to qualify for the season-ending Charles Schwab Cup Championship. Before this year, Gil Morgan was the oldest to compete at 63.

The Champions Tour has had eight playoffs this year. In 2002, there were an all-time record nine playoffs. There have only been two playoffs in the previous 21 Charles Schwab Cup Championships and none since 1994. 

This year’s Charles Schwab Cup Championship field includes four members of the World Golf Hall of Fame: Nick Price, Bernhard Langer, Tom Watson and Hale Irwin. This year’s field also includes 10 major championship winners on the PGA TOUR.

Olin Browne, winner of the U.S. Senior Open this year, will conduct this year’s Charles Schwab Junior Golf Clinic at TPC Harding Park on Wednesday of tournament week.

NUMBERS

1/10^th – The difference, in yards, between No. 1 John Huston (293.4) and No. 2 Steve Lowery (293.3) in Driving Distance with one official event remaining.

140 – The number of holes Chien-Soon Lu has played without a 3-putt entering the Charles Schwab Cup Championship.

DID YOU KNOW?

The only statistical category in which Tom Pernice, Jr. appears in the top-10 on the Champions Tour is Sand Save Percentage (57.4%) at No. 8. Pernice would rank second behind Brian Gay in the same category on the PGA TOUR with 63.04% but did not meet the minimum number of rounds required to be officially ranked.

In his 17^th year, Hale Irwin recorded his first Champions Tour hole-in-one (No. 9, R1, Boeing Classic) but he has yet to post a double-eagle. There have been 34 double-eagles in Champions Tour history.

The winner of the last nine Champions Tour events has played in the final grouping on Sunday (since Senior British Open). 

ON THIS DATE

11/2/00 – Dana Quigley sets a new Champions Tour record when he competes in his 39^th official event, the most by one player in a season.

QUOTES TO NOTE

“I’m not sure about everybody calling me the Jackie Robinson of golf, because Jackie Robinson had a team behind him, and I had to do it alone.” – Charlie Sifford, the first African American to play full time on the PGA TOUR, comments on comparisons to Jackie Robinson. Sifford, an original Champions Tour member, was inducted into the Southern California Golf Association Hall of Fame last week.

“I still have the desire to succeed, and I’ve always felt success is measured by what you’ve done in the win column, not top 10s. We’ve romanticized the top 10. (David) Letterman put the top 10 out there, and now that’s all we talk about. On the PGA TOUR, guys finish in the top 10, make a ton of money and think they’re great players. In my era, you had to win. We didn’t settle for anything else.” – Hale Irwin shares his opinion on how success is determined. Irwin has 45 wins and 205 top-10s on the Champions Tour, both all-time records.

The Champions Tour heads to TPC San Antonio and the AT&T Canyons Course for the AT&T Championship on October 10-16. The purse is $1.8million and the winner will receive $270,000 and 270 Charles Schwab Cup points. Last year, Canadian Rod Spittle made a 4-foot par putt on the first playoff hole to defeat Jeff Sluman and become the 11^th player in Champions Tour history to open qualify and win a tournament.

LAST WEEK

Brad Faxon carded 69-65—134 for a one stroke lead after 36-holes at the Insperity Championship. Heavy rain caused the cancellation of the final round and Faxon was declared the winner of his first Champions Tour title in his sixth career start. Faxon jumped from 87^th to 47^th on the money-list and is about $200,000 behind Tom Pernice, Jr. at No. 30. 

Tom Pernice, Jr. was the only Champions Tour professional competing at the Frys.com Open on the PGA TOUR. Pernice finished T36; however he dropped from No. 27 to No. 30 on the Champions Tour money list by missing the Insperity Championship. After this week’s AT&T Championship, the top-30 advance to the season-ending Charles Schwab Cup Championship at TPC Harding Park.

Brad Faxon’s win at the Insperity Championship marks the fourth straight event won by a first-time winner on the Champions Tour – Mark Calcavecchia/Boeing Classic, Jay Don Blake/Songdo IBD Championship, Kenny Perry/SAS Championship. The last time there were four straight first-time winners on the Champions Tour was in 2001 when Bobby Wadkins (Lightpath Long Island Classic), Bruce Lietzke (3M Championship), Steve Veriato (Novell Utah Showdown), Walter Hall (AT&T Canada Senior Open) all claimed their first titles on the circuit in succession.  

The Insperity Championship announced during tournament week that it will move from its traditional October timeslot into the week of April 30-May 6 in 2012.

This year marked the third edition of “Tees For Charity”, where oversized golf balls and tees were decorated and autographed before being auctioned off during the Insperity Championship’s Pro-Am Draw Party. Almost $10,000 was raised for Golfers Against Cancer, a charitable organization in Kingwood, Texas, established by a group of local golfers wishing to help friends and family members diagnosed with the disease, bringing the three-year total for Tees For Charity to just over $30,000. Jack Nicklaus’ creation went for almost $1,000. http://together.pgatour.com/stories/insperity-chari-tee.html

The Dave Marr Award, presented annually by the Insperity Championship to a person who exemplifies honor, integrity and sportsmanship, was presented to Jay Haas at a special dinner during tournament week. Recipients of the Dave Marr Award, named for the winner of the 1966 PGA Championship, include: Arnold Palmer (2000), Brian Henning (2001), Miller Barber/Don January (2002), Ed Seay (2003), Ben Crenshaw (2006), Dan Jenkins (2007), Larry Nelson (2008), Tom Watson (2009) and Fuzzy Zoeller (2010).  

Mark Calcavecchia, Jay Haas and Kenny Perry, all winners this season, will represent the Champions Tour in the Wendy’s 3-Tour Challenge, held November 8 at Rio Secco GC in Las Vegas. The event will be aired December 13 at 7 p.m. ET on Golf Channel.

It was announced last week that the 2011 Principal Charity Classic, a Champions Tour event played at Glen Oaks CC in West Des Moines, Iowa, will donate a record $750,000 to local children’s charities. http://together.pgatour.com/stories/the-principal-charity-classic.html

CHARLES SCHWAB CUP

Corey Pavin moved from 17^th to 16^th in the Charles Schwab Cup points standings after a T10 finish at the Insperity Championship but there were no changes in the top-15 on the list.

Brad Faxon, winner of the Insperity Championship, appears on the Charles Schwab Cup points standings for the first time, in 39^th position.

A total of 13 players have appeared in the weekly top five of the Charles Schwab Cup points standings throughout the 22 tournaments this season, but only two players have made just a single appearance – Rod Spittle (5^th in Week 2), Bernhard Langer (5^th in Week 3). Tom Lehman has been No. 1 every week except for the season-opening week when he was No. 2 behind John Cook.

With two events remaining, only eight players have a mathematical chance to catch Tom Lehman in the race for the Charles Schwab Cup.

COMING UP

After nine years at Oak Hills CC, the AT&T Championship is moving to a new venue, the TPC San Antonio AT&T Canyons Course designed by Pete Dye and Bruce Lietzke.

The AT&T Championship is expected to have one of the year’s strongest fields of the year, with 30 of last year’s top 31 money winners committed. The only player missing will be Fred Funk, who is sidelined with injuries. There are seven World Golf Hall of Fame members committed to play, as well as 19 different winners of PGA TOUR major championships.

The AT&T Championship holds the distinction on the Champions Tour of being played for the longest span in one metropolitan area. The tournament will be played for the 27^th consecutive year this week. The ACE Group Classic is second in longevity, with a run of 24 years in Naples, FL.

In the 26-year history of the tournament, only three winners have recorded any round of par/higher: J.C. Snead (second round/73/1993), Jim Albus (third round/73/1994) and Phil Blackmar (first round/72/2009).

Four of the last five AT&T Championship winners have made this event their first Champions Tour victory – Fred Funk (2006), John Cook (2007), Phil Blackmar (2009) and Rod Spittle (2010). Cook also won this event in 2008.

Tom Jenkins will make his 14^th appearance in this tournament, more than any other player in this year’s field.

Last year, none of the 30 players who came into the AT&T Championship in the top 30 on the money-list were bumped out of the top 30. The top-30 at the conclusion of the AT&T Championship will earn spots in the Charles Schwab Cup Championship at TPC Harding Park in San Francisco.

NUMBERS

3 – The number of international winners on the Champions Tour in 2011. Two of the three were back-to-back (Bernhard Langer/ACE Group Classic, Nick Price/Toshiba Classic, Mark McNulty (with David Eger)/Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf).

3 – The number of golf facilities to currently hold two PGA TOUR-sanctioned events annually (TPC San Antonio, TPC Sawgrass and Pebble Beach Golf Links). TPC San Antonio hosts the Champions Tour’s AT&T Championship and the PGA TOUR’s Valero Texas Open. TPC Sawgrass annually hosts THE PLAYERS Championship and the Nationwide Tour’s Winn-Dixie Jacksonville Open. In addition to the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, Pebble Beach hosts the Champions Tour’s Nature Valley First Tee Open.

13 – The number of top-10 finishes by Mark Calcavecchia, the most this season.

431 – The total number of players who have competed in the AT&T Championship over the previous 26 years.

DID YOU KNOW?

When Kenny Perry won the 2011 SAS Championship he did it by shooting a higher score each day (66-69-70). The last player to do that in a 54-hole event on the Champions Tour was Russ Cochran – a year earlier, at the 2010 SAS Championship (64-67-71).

Rod Spittle earned his first Champions Tour win at last year’s AT&T Championship after open qualifying. Spittle made his Champions Tour debut in 2005 at this same tournament, then known as the SBC Championship. After open qualifying, he finished T74.

ON THIS DATE

10/11/91 – Chip Beck ties a PGA TOUR record when he shoots a 13-under-par 59 in the third round of the Las Vegas Invitational.

10/13/85 – Mike Fetchick celebrates his 63^rd birthday by winning the Hilton Head Seniors International, making him the oldest winner in Champions Tour history.

10/14/07 – In just his fourth Champions Tour start, Bernhard Langer wins the Administaff Small Business Classic with a 54-hole total of 25-under-par 191, tying the Champions Tour all-time scoring record (Bruce Fleisher/2002 RJR Championship, Loren Roberts/2006 MasterCard Championship at Hualalai). NB: David Frost matched this record at the 2010 3M Championship.

QUOTES TO NOTE

“He’s not a 19-year-old with all the answers. He really wants to learn, observe and watch. He loves to ask questions.” – Champions Tour professional John Cook sums up the No. 1 amateur in the world Patrick Cantlay. Cook and Cantlay play at Virginia CC in Long Beach, CA.

“I knew it was strong out here and difficult, but it did surprise me a little bit how tough it is to win.” – Corey Pavin, who has 15 PGA TOUR victories including the 1995 U.S. Open, remains winless on the Champions Tour after 31 career starts.

“If Jack Nicklaus and I can win a major in our 40s then why not Tiger Woods. Welcome to the family.” – Gary Player, who along with Nicklaus is a Rolex ambassador, ‘tweeted’ this message after Rolex announced an endorsement deal with Woods.

“The slowdown in golf course design the last three years has really helped my game. That time previously invested in golf course design is now given to practice.” – Tom Lehman explains one of the reasons he is No. 1 on the Charles Schwab Cup points standings.

“At the end of the day, more than anything I’m all about just trying to do my best. I’ll live with whatever I get because of the fact that I know I’ve left nothing behind.” – Tom Lehman reveals a second reason why he is No. 1.

“I don’t think I did anything I don’t always try to do.” – Michael Allen sums up his opening-round 9-under 63 at the Insperity Championship.

LAST WEEK

Mark Calcavecchia earned the Champions Tour Player of the Month award for August. Calcavecchia finished T8 at the 3M Championship before posting a solo 12^th position at the Constellation Energy Senior Players Championship. He capped the month with a win at last week’s Boeing Classic when he defeated Russ Cochran in a playoff.

Peter Jacobsen’s 36-hole charity tournament, the Umpqua Bank Challenge, featured 10 Champions Tour professionals but the winners were Steve Elkington, 48, and Scott McCarron, 46, who shot a better-ball score of 24-under 120 to win by six strokes over Jay Haas and John Cook. The winners split the first-place check of $100,000.

Mark Calcavecchia and Russ Cochran are possibly experiencing ‘good karma’ after making a visit to the Children’s Hospital of Alabama during the Regions Tradition in May this year, a tournament where Calcavecchia blew a large lead in the final round. Cochran won the Senior British Open in July after battling down the stretch with Calcavecchia. At the Boeing Classic two weeks ago, the tables were turned with Calcavecchia defeating Cochran in a playoff. Take another look at the story about the visit the two winners made earlier this year by clicking the attached link. http://together.pgatour.com/elevating-spirits.html

Champions Tour professional Andy Bean was recognized as the 13th recipient of the Billy Chase Jr. Memorial Captain’s Award last week in Lakeland at the Polk County Gator Club’s 25th annual Kickoff Party. Bean, who earned All-American and All-SEC honors while playing on the University of Florida golf team from 1972 to 1975, received the award before delivering a speech in front of the sold-out crowd of 500 Gator football faithful.

The Senior British Open will be held at the Royal Porthcawl Golf Club in 2014. The event was first held in 1987 and became part of the European Seniors Tour schedule in 1992. In 2003 it was designated as the fifth major championship on the Champions Tour.

Thailand’s Boonchu Ruangkit claimed his first win of 2011 at the Senior Masters on the European Senior Tour at Woburn GC Duke’s Course, posting a four-stroke victory over three players including Champions Tour professional Roger Chapman.

Four-time Champions Tour winner R.W. Eaks shot a final-round 6-under-par 66 to win the Colorado Senior Open at Green Valley Ranch in Denver. The Colorado Springs native finished with a three-round total of 15-under 201.

Tom Watson celebrated his 62^nd birthday last Sunday (Sept. 4) and Arnold Palmer turns 82 this Saturday (Sept. 10).

CHARLES SCHWAB CUP

Tom Lehman leads the Charles Schwab Cup race after 19 events with 1,985 points. Mark Calcavecchia’s Boeing Classic victory moved him up into second place with 1,578 points. Peter Senior remains in third place with 1,410 points.

The defending champion of the upcoming Songdo IBD Championship presented by Korean Air, Russ Cochran, is currently sixth in the Charles Schwab Cup standings.

In its 10-year history, the only year the winner of the Charles Schwab Cup wasn’t decided at the final tournament of the season was 2002 when Hale Irwin captured the Cup in the 32^nd of 35 tournaments.

Player                          Events              Points              Pts. Behind      Wins    Top-10s

Tom Lehman 16                     1,985                -                       3          9

Mark Calcavecchia 17 1,578                407                   1          10

Peter Senior 17                     1,419                566                               9

Olin Browne 18 1,370                615                   1          7

John Cook 18                     1,344                641                   3          5

COMING UP

The Champions Tour will return to Korea for the second year after Russ Cochran won the inaugural and historic event in 2010 when he defeated Fred Funk in a playoff. It was the first official Champions Tour tournament in Asia. The 2011 tournament will again be played at the Jack Nicklaus Golf Club Korea but will sport a new name – the Songdo IBD Championship presented by Korean Air.

Bob Gilder is scheduled to play in his 300^th official Champions Tour event at the Songdo IBD Championship presented by Korean Air. Gilder, 60, won the Principal Charity Classic earlier this season.

Five players in the Songdo IBD Championship field have won major championships on both the PGA TOUR and Champions Tour – Tom Kite, Bernhard Langer, Tom Lehman, Mark O’Meara and Tom Watson.

At last year’s Songdo IBD Championship, only four players posted three consecutive sub-par rounds – Fred Funk, Michael Allen, D.A. Weibring and Sandy Lyle. Funk was the only player to record three consecutive rounds in the 60s, however.

Russ Cochran’s win in Korea last year was his first Champions Tour victory and the first by a left-hander on the Champions Tour since Bob Charles at the 1996 Hyatt Regency Maui Kaanapali Classic.
Russ Cochran followed up last year’s victory in Korea with a win in his next start at the SAS Championship. Cochran also captured his first major championship at the Senior British Open this year.
NUMBERS

398 – The number in yards of the longest recorded drive on the Champions Tour this season. Scott Simpson’s tee shot at the 2^nd hole during the third round of the Senior PGA Championship at Valhalla GC traveled 20 yards further than the next-longest recorded drive of the season.

16 – The number of players in the Songdo IBD Championship field who have won major championships on the PGA TOUR. The 16 players account for a total of 26 major championship wins.

DID YOU KNOW?

Tom Kite is closing in on 1,000 combined career starts on the PGA TOUR and Champions Tour. The Songdo IBD Championship will be Kite’s 999^th start. Only 11 players have reached the milestone, most recently Hale Irwin. Miller Barber, with 1,292, has the most combined career starts on both Tours.

ON THIS DATE

9/11/77 – Gil Morgan wins his first PGA TOUR title when he is a five-stroke victor over Lee Elder at the B.C. Open.

9/11/83 – Mark Lye wins his lone PGA TOUR title when he comes from eight strokes back on Sunday to win the Bank of Boston Classic in Sutton, MA.

9/11/05 – Despite making just one birdie over his final 36 holes, Mark Calcavecchia became the oldest winner (45 years, 2 months, 29 days) in the 101-year history of the RBC Canadian Open at Shaughnessey Golf and CC in Vancouver. It was his second win in the city, having won the Greater Vancouver Open in 1997.

QUOTES TO NOTE

“Playing 36-holes the last two days is the most I’ve played in a year. Kind of got me a little excited. I may go home and practice.” – Arnold Palmer catches the golf bug again after partnering with host Peter Jacobsen at the Umpqua Bank Challenge in Portland last week.

“I know I can play out here. It might be a matter of time.” – Brad Faxon shares his thoughts on the possibility of winning on the Champions Tour. Faxon has finished T53, T68 and T16 in his first three starts since turning 50.

“I’m very aware of what my best golf can produce and my goal is to simply play my best golf. You can only control two things, your effort and your attitude.” – Tom Lehman, the current Charles Schwab Cup points leader, discusses his plan for the remainder of the season.

Matthews has pulled “double-duty” throughout the years serving as a walking scorer along with the transportation and player registration committees.  She was presented with a Waterford crystal trophy – a small-scale replica of the tournament champion’s trophy – during an Aug. 18 awards ceremony ­­­­­­­­­­­­­at Rock Barn Golf & Spa.

“Taking it upon herself to work several different roles throughout the tournament is exactly what makes Ella Rae Matthews an outstanding volunteer,” Greater Hickory Classic executive tournament director Jim Correll said.  “Her exemplary service as a volunteer is definitely worthy of being honored as our volunteer of the year.

“Ella Rae sets forth a complimentary presence in any task she accepts. With her always positive attitude Ella Rae is a joy to be around while she works diligently on several different committees. On behalf of our board of directors, tournament staff and all of our volunteers, we are proud to name Ella Rae our volunteer of the year and to show our gratitude for her dedication and hard work.”

Other nominees for the award, also recognized during the event, were Jerry Campbell of Gastonia, N.C. (transportation volunteer since 2008), Barry Henline of Statesville, N.C. (first year as carts & shuttle volunteer), Jim Turner of Hickory, N.C. (first year as media center volunteer) and Phyllis Yount of Conover, N.C. (uniforms committee since 2004).

All nominees have been inducted into the tournament’s Volunteer Hall of Fame, which recognizes volunteers who have made exceptional efforts during the nine-year history of the Greater Hickory Classic at Rock Barn.  A complete list of the Volunteer Halls of Fame follows below.

In addition to its Volunteer Hall of Fame, the Greater Hickory Classic also honors its volunteer chairmen, volunteers who, in addition to donating their time, take on the additional responsibility of recruiting, scheduling and training other volunteers for the tournaments various volunteer committees.  A complete list of the Chairman Hall of Fame follows below.

The following volunteer chairmen were inducted into the Chairman Hall of Fame on Aug. 18:  Tom Devlin of Hickory, N.C. (hole marshal since 2006), Dick Henchey of Conover, N.C. (admissions/will call since 2007), Paula Hollar of Conover, N.C. (player registration since 2003), Mike Rozea of Hickory, N.C. (hole marshal since 2006) and Frank Willis of Hickory, N.C. (hole marshal since 2003).

“We are very fortunate to have outstanding volunteers at the Greater Hickory Classic,” Correll said.  “We owe much of the tournaments success to our volunteer chairmen. They are a vital part in training the new volunteers, scheduling the volunteers hours, and overseeing their individual committee. We value all of them because we truly could not present the Greater Hickory Classic without them, but our volunteer chairmen are necessary for our tournament operations. We appreciate all they do for our event; we couldn’t do it without them.”

The annual Greater Hickory Classic at Rock Barn presented by Kia Motors event features a week of special events and attractions, including exhibitions, pro-ams and three days of Champions Tour competition among some of the greatest legends in golf.  Operated by the Greater Hickory Classic Foundation, a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit, the tournament donates all net proceeds to charities throughout the Greater Hickory Metro area each year. For more information, please call (828) 459-4000 or visit www.greaterhickoryclassic.com.

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Greater Hickory Classic at Rock Barn Presented by Kia Motors

Volunteer Hall of Fame

2011 Volunteer Hall of Fame

Jerry Campbell (Transportation)

Barry Henline (Carts & Shuttles)

Ella Rae Matthews (Player Registration, Transportation, Walking Scorers)*

Jim Turner (Media Center)

Phyllis Yount (Uniforms)

2010 Volunteer Hall of Fame

Tommy Hedrick (Walking Scorer & Transportation)*

Shirley Key (Admissions/Will Call)

Bill LePage (Marshal)

Timothy “Blue” Pittman (Standard Bearer)

Charlene Shumate (Uniforms, Driving Range and Office Administration)

2009 Volunteer Hall of Fame

Tom Boesman of Hickory (volunteer services)

Pete Lail of Newton (transportation)

Allen Payne of Statesville (standard bearer)*

Flo Stines of Morganton (hole marshal)

2008 Volunteer Hall of Fame

Mike Iduni of Conover (transportation)

Earl & Freida Jackson of Taylorsville (marshals)

Janet Mitchell of Hickory (office administration)

Harold Shook of Hickory (carts and shuttles)*

Rodney Teague of Taylorsville (marshal)

2007 Volunteer Hall of Fame

Mitch Atkinson of Granite Falls (marshal)

Larry Isenhour of Hickory (walking acorer)

Tom Johnston of Catawba (support committees)

Pat Rice of Conover (transportation)*

2006 Volunteer Hall of Fame

Alice Averitt of Vale (distribution committee and

coordinator, Greater Hickory High School Classic)

Frank Azzarita of Hickory (marshal)*

Teresa Foster of Hickory (transportation)

Craig Howes of Granite Falls (standard bearer)

Sylvia Sigmon of Conover (uniforms & volunteer services)

2005 Volunteer Hall of Fame

Joel Carroll of Hudson (walking scorer)

Gary Delp of Valdese (marshal)

Frank Garriga of Hickory (marshal)

Tony Godinho (transportation)*

Paula Hollar of Claremont (player registration)

Jim & Sharon Pennington of Sherrills Ford (uniforms, volunteer services and marshals)

Gary Stone of North Wilkesboro (volunteer services)

2004 Volunteer Hall of Fame

Alan Bohler of Newton (marshal)

Kim Bolick of Conover (office administration)*

Dan Huene of Hickory (finance)

Dan Marshburn of Hickory (carts and shuttles)

Butch McSwain of Morganton (marshal)

Eric Shook of Newton (carts and shuttles)

Bill Wilson of Morganton (marshal)

2003 Volunteer Hall of Fame

Elaine Godinho of Conover (volunteers)

Jim Green of Granite Falls (hole captain)

Jean Hampton of Conover (transportation)*

Dale Sherrill of Claremont (marshal)

Jim Thompson of Lenoir (walking Scorer)

*Denotes Volunteer of the Year

Greater Hickory Classic at Rock Barn Presented by Kia Motors

Chairman Hall of Fame

2011 Chairman Hall of Fame

Tom Devlin (hole no. 7 co-chair)

Dick Henchey (admissions/ will call)

Paula Hollar (player registration)

Mike Rozea (hole 12)

Frank Willis (hole No. 7 co-chair)

2010 Chairman Hall of Fame

Gary Delp (marshal)

Tony Godinho (transportation)

Larry Isenhour (walking scorers)

Sandy Johnson

Steve Jones (volunteer services/pool)

Tom Lilly (marshal)

2009 Chairman Hall of Fame

David Daly of Hickory (standard bearers)

Elaine Godinho of Conover (volunteer services)

Steve Graff of Newton (hole No. 14 marshals)

Dick Jessee of Hickory (hole No. 4 marshals)

Jim Powers of Hickory (transportation)

2008 Chairman Hall of Fame

David Bloom of Hickory (hole captain)

Don Brittain of Hickory (co-chair, transportation)

Angela Dean of Claremont (co-chair, admissions/will call)

Larry Hale of Connelly Springs and Tom Rykaceski of Hickory (co-captains, hole No. 5)

Sandy Hardin of Claremont and Susan Knowles of Hickory (co-chairs, driving range)

2007 Chairman Hall of Fame

Marlene Cruise of Conover (player registration)

Richard Dickey of Hickory (front nine marshals)

Keith Garland of Conover (caddy support committee)

Bob & Nancy Meek of Hickory (back-nine marshals)

Tom Neff of Claremont (television)

2006 Chairman Hall of Fame

Nancy Hilderbran of Conover (support, uniforms)

Norm Lefort of Mooresville (marshals)

Bob Patrick of Conover (marshals)

Eric Shook of Newton (carts and shuttles committee)

Jim TenKate of Conover (finance committee)

LAST WEEK

Fred Couples made a three-foot birdie putt on the third playoff hole to defeat John Cook to win the Constellation Energy Senior Players Championship, his first senior major championship.

The Fred Couples/John Cook playoff was the longest in the history of the Constellation Energy Senior Players Championship. All three of the other playoffs at this event went only one hole.

Fred Couples joined Jack Nicklaus and Raymond Floyd as just the third player to claim both a PLAYERS Championship title and a Constellation Energy Senior Players Championship crown. Couples’ win also earns a return trip to the 2012 PLAYERS Championship at TPC Sawgrass.

Fred Couples earned 810 Charles Schwab Cup points and moved into 11^th place in the season-long standings (880 total points). His check for $405,000 allowed him to jump from 66^th to 22nd on the 2011 money list — $522,032.

John Cook is now 0-20 in major championships on the Champions Tour. On the PGA TOUR, Cook was 0-62 with his best finishes being a T2 at the 1992 British Open and second at the 1992 PGA Championship.

Peter Senior’s third-place finish at the Constellation Energy Senior Players Championship made him the only player to finish among the top-10 in four of the Champions Tour’s five majors this year. Senior lost in a playoff at the Regions Tradition, was T5 at the Senior PGA Championship and was sixth at the U.S. Senior Open. He was T31 at the Senior British Open.

Barry Lane was eligible but decided not to compete in last week’s Constellation Energy Senior Players Championship. Instead, Lane defended his Scottish Senior Open title on the European Senior Tour, producing an eagle on the final hole to defeat NBC announcer and Champions Tour professional Gary Koch by two strokes.

Champions Tour professional Tom Pernice, Jr. missed the cut at the final PGA TOUR regular season event, the Wyndham Championship. Pernice finished No. 163 in the standings and missed the Playoffs for the FedExCup. He is currently No. 137 on the PGA TOUR money list and No. 31 on the Champions Tour money list.

CHARLES SCHWAB CUP

At the start of July, Tom Lehman enjoyed a 480-point lead over Nick Price. Before last week’s final major championship of the season, Lehman had four players within 500 points of his 1,661 total. With his fourth-place finish at the Constellation Energy Senior Players Championship, Lehman continues to lead with 1,985 points, 566 points in front of Peter Senior (1,419). U.S. Senior Open winner Olin Browne is third with 1,370 points (615 behind) followed by John Cook (1,344) and Mark Calcavecchia (1,278). The winner of this week’s Boeing Classic will receive 300 points.

Player                          Events              Points              Pts. Behind      Wins    Top-10s

Tom Lehman 15                     1,985                -                       3          9

Peter Senior 16                     1,419                566                               9

Olin Browne 17 1,370                615                   1          7

John Cook 17                     1,344                641                   3          5

Mark Calcavecchia 16 1,278                707                               9

Here’s a past history of how the Charles Schwab Cup race has stood the week after the last major championship has been played and how it’s ended up. Tom Watson made up the most ground after the last major to eventually win (2005) while Loren Roberts made up the most ground prior to the last major (2007).  In 2003, Watson also enjoyed the biggest lead ever after the last major.

COMING UP

Tom Lehman will be making his first start in the Boeing Classic. The current leading money winner and the point’s leader in the season-long Charles Schwab Cup race, Lehman is bidding to make history this year. Lehman has won Player of the Year honors on both the Nationwide Tour (1991) and PGA TOUR (1996). Should he go on to earn similar honors on the Champions Tour, he would become the first player in history to accomplish that feat.

This year’s Boeing Classic includes 27 of last year’s top 30 money winners. The only players missing are Fred Funk, who finished 6^th on the final 2010 list, Corey Pavin, who was 17^th, and Tom Watson, who was 23rd. Funk is sidelined with a thumb and knee injuries.

In the six-year history of the Boeing Classic, no first-round leaders/co-leaders have gone on to win.

The seven-man playoff in 2007, won by Denis Watson, was the largest ever in a PGA TOUR-sanctioned tournament.

Medal of Honor recipient Sgt. 1^st Class Leroy Petry will participate in the Boeing Classic’s first Military Appreciation Day on Sunday. During the tournament’s final round, Petry will walk with the leaders in the final group and will participate in the ceremony when the champion is awarded the trophy. Petry is the second living Medal of Honor recipient from Afghanistan and is currently stationed at Joint Base Lewis-McChord.

Nick Price was the most recent Champions Tout professional to join the field for the Umpqua Bank Challenge, a best-ball team event to be played August 29-30 at Portland Golf Club in Oregon. Price joins tournament host Peter Jacobsen, along with Arnold Palmer, John Cook, Ben Crenshaw, Jay Haas, Bernhard Langer, Tom Lehman, Mark O’Meara and Fuzzy Zoeller. Two more players, from the PGA TOUR, will be announced this week.

NUMBERS

11 – The number of bogey-free rounds Peter Senior has recorded in 50 rounds on the 2011 Champions Tour (through the Constellation Energy Senior Players Championship).

DID YOU KNOW?

Five players who won major championships on the PGA TOUR are set to become eligible for the Champions Tour in the next four years – Steve Elkington and Vijay Singh in 2013, Davis Love III and Lee Janzen in 2014 and Todd Hamilton in 2015.

ON THIS DATE

8/23/98 – Just two months shy of his 63^rd birthday, Gary Player became the second-oldest winner on the Champions Tour at the Northville Long Island Classic (Mike Fetchick remains the Tour’s oldest winner. His 1985 Hilton Head Seniors Invitational victory occurred on his 63^rd birthday).

8/27/89 – David Frost claims the NEC World Series of Golf and earns a 10-year exemption into all PGA TOUR co-sponsored events.

8/28/83 – Nick Price wins the first of 18 PGA TOUR victories when he goes wire-to-wire to beat Jack Nicklaus by two strokes for the World Series of Golf crown in Akron, OH.

8/28/88 – Mike Reid makes par on the first extra hole to defeat Tom Watson at the NEC World Series of Golf. Reid’s win earned him a 10-year exemption on the PGA TOUR.

QUOTES TO NOTE

“That’s great. I get to play with the studs – or try to.” – Fred Couples’ comment when he discovers his Constellation Energy Senior Players Championship victory earns him a spot in the 2012 PLAYERS Championship.

“I’m the captain, and he wants to be on the team. This is my chance to hold my rank above him one time.” – Fred Couples, the Presidents Cup U.S. Team Captain speaks about the possibility of using one of his two captain’s picks on Tiger Woods.

“The game is strong. Without Tiger, you’ve got a whole new lineup now that you have to talk about. Phil’s in the mix but you’ve got a lot of kids who have been just waiting for their opportunities and they’re taking them now.” – Tom Watson talks about the present state of the professional game.

“I used to putt with it on my chin. Then I forgot which chin to put it on.” – Peter Senior jokes why he went from resting a 46-inch long putter on his chin in 1989 to a 45-inch long putter on his chest nowadays.

“If I hadn’t gone to Germany, I wouldn’t be playing right now. So that’s basically why I’m here after going there.” – Fred Couples explains how he played last week’s Constellation Energy Senior Players Championship virtually pain-free after traveling to Germany for treatment on his back a couple of months earlier.

“Split down the middle with the buns grilled.” – Tom Watson describes the hot dogs at Westchester CC, which he says are the best in the world.

#  #  #

Two-Time Greater Hickory Classic at Rock Barn “Champ” Jay Haas birdied the final hole to post a one-stroke victory over Kenny Perry, Peter Senior and local favorite Tom Lehman at the 3M Championship.

The win at the 3M Championship was Jay Haas’ 15^th career victory, tying him with Bernhard Langer on the all-time list for Champions Tour victories. The pair is tied for 16^th on the list.

Jay Haas made an opening-round ace at the 3M Championship and became the first player since Jeff Sluman to make an ace and go on to win the event. Sluman did so at the 2009 Walmart First Tee Open at Pebble Beach.

Kenny Perry had his best individual showing in a Champions Tour event with his T2 finish at the 3M Championship.

Hale Irwin matched his age for the second consecutive week and the third time in his career when he fired a 6-under-par 66 in the final round of the 3M Championship. Irwin also added another top-10 finish (T8) to his record career total and now has 205 for his career.

Champions Tour professional Tom Pernice, Jr. finished T21 at the Reno-Tahoe Open on the PGA TOUR.

Russ Cochran was the Champions Tour Player of the Month for July. The left-hander was out of action for the two previous months with a wrist injury and also missed the Montreal Championship in the first week of July before returning with a T10 at the Nature Valley First Tee Open at Pebble Beach. Two weeks later he captured his first major championship, winning the Senior British Open by two strokes at Walton Heath. He followed up the victory with a T17 finish at the U.S. Senior Open at Inverness Club.

In a contest conducted via Facebook, the Dick’s Sporting Goods Open was determined the winner of the 2011 Fan Favorite Champions Tour Event.

World Golf Hall of Fame Member Nick Price received the 2011 Ambassador of Golf Award last week at Firestone Country Club. The Ambassador of Golf Award is presented annually to a person or persons who have fostered the ideals of the game on an international level and whose concern for others extends beyond the golf course.

World Golf Hall of Fame member Tom Watson was guest speaker at last week’s Junior PGA Championship. Watson addressed more than 400 people including Junior PGA Championship participants, parents, volunteers and Fort Wayne residents. Established in 1976, the Junior PGA Championship brings together the best junior golfers from around the country to compete for the Jack Nicklaus Trophy in the Boys’ division and the Patty Berg Trophy in the Girls’ division.

Curt and Tom Byrum will be inducted into the South Dakota Golf Hall of Fame during a ceremony on August 8 in Sioux Falls. The brothers become the 40th and 41st members of the South Dakota Golf Hall of Fame, which was established in 1977. Curt Byrum is currently a Golf Channel analyst covering the Nationwide Tour, PGA TOUR and Champions Tour. Tom Byrum has played three Champions Tour events this year, most recently posting a T23 finish at the Senior British Open. They won one PGA TOUR event each in 1989 – within 50 days of each other.

COMING UP

World Golf Hall of Fame member Larry Nelson will receive the highest honor accorded by the PGA of America when he will be awarded the Distinguished Service Award in a ceremony on August 10 in conjunction with the 93^rd PGA Championship at the Atlanta Athletic Club. The award coincides with the 30^th anniversary of Nelson’s first major championship win at the same venue. Mark Brooks, the 1996 PGA Championship winner, will join Nelson as the two Champions Tour professionals in the field at this week’s championship.

The Constellation Energy Senior Players Championship is the fourth-oldest event on the Champions Tour, being contested for the 29^th consecutive season this year. Only the Senior PGA Championship (72 years), Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf (34 years) and the U.S. Senior Open (32 years) are older.

With 10 top-10 finishes in 15 appearances, including a win in 1999, Hale Irwin has earned more money at the Constellation Energy Senior Players Championship than any other player in tournament history — $1,544,435.

Last year’s playoff between Michael Allen and Mark O’Meara was just the third overtime session in the previous 28 Constellation Energy Senior Players Championships. Ironically, all three playoffs have ended quickly with each going only one extra hole.

Mark O’Meara will attempt to become the second player in event history to repeat as Constellation Energy Senior Players champion. Arnold Palmer was the first player with consecutive Senior Players in 1984-85.

There has not been a hole-in-one at the Constellation Senior Players Championship since 2006.

NUMBERS

70.333 – The scoring average for the field at last week’s 3M Championship, the same exact average as in the 2010 3M Championship.

104 – The number of rounds in the 60s at last week’s 3M Championship, the same number as in the 2010 3M Championship.

3 – The number of aces on the Champions Tour this season (Olin Browne/Allianz Championship, D.A. Weibring/U.S. Senior Open & Jay Haas/3M Championship). Last year, five aces were recorded on the Champions Tour, including two by Bob Tway.

DID YOU KNOW?

No player has ever won the Senior British Open and Constellation Energy Senior Players Championship in the same season. Russ Cochran is the 2011 Senior British Open champion.

A head cover shaped like a cartoon bomb with a flaming wick and the words “Time Bomb,” was made available to the public last week. The head cover was developed to commemorate Champions Tour rookie Steve Pate‘s 50^th birthday (his birth date, 05:26, is in red numerals replicating a clock counting down). It can be purchased for $25 at www.abgolfdesigns.com. Pate’s nickname throughout his career was “Volcano” due to his temper.

ON THIS DATE

8/9/81 – Larry Nelson is a four-stroke winner at the PGA Championship at the Atlanta Athletic Club.

8/9/87 – Larry Nelson added his second PGA Championship to his resume when he came from three strokes off the pace to earn a spot in a playoff with Lanny Wadkins at PGA National GC. Nelson became the 15th multiple winner of the event when he makes par on the first extra hole to defeat Wadkins.

8/10/86 – Bob Tway holes a bunker shot on the final hole to win the PGA Championship at Inverness after a tense duel with Greg Norman. Tway’s major championship is his fourth title of the season and he goes on to be named the PGA Player of the Year.

8/14/77 – For the first time ever, a major championship was decided in sudden death when Lanny Wadkins made a six-foot par putt to defeat Gene Littler on the third extra hole at the PGA Championship at Pebble Beach.

QUOTES TO NOTE

“I just feel like it’s a matter of time but when you get to our age, time is important. It’s of the essence.” – Corey Pavin, who has yet to win on the Champions Tour after 15 victories in his PGA TOUR career, shares his thoughts on the possibility of capturing his first win. Pavin has finished T4-T3-T7 and T17 in his last four starts on the Champions Tour.

“They ask me why my hair is so long, I ask them why they don’t have any.” – Newcomer Brad Faxon’s response to his peers’ ribbing upon joining the Champions Tour. Faxon missed 17 consecutive cuts on the PGA TOUR before making his debut at the 3M Championship last week where he finished T53 with rounds of 68-72-74.

“We can still make a heck of a lot (money) playing at a later age in life. All other sports, all other athletes, there is no such arena.” – Tom Watson agrees that the Champions Tour is the greatest ‘mulligan’ in life.

“I had a nun in first grade who called me Frank, and I never answered. Nobody called me Frank. In second grade, I figured it out.” – Frank Urban Zoeller (aka Fuzzy) thinks his life may have been different if he went by Frank instead of Fuzzy.

LAST WEEK

Olin Browne birdied the 72^nd hole for a three-stroke win over Mark O’Meara in the U.S. Senior Open. It was Browne’s first Champions Tour victory.

Olin Browne set a U.S. Senior Open 9-hole scoring record with a 5-under-par 29 on the back nine in Round 3. Browne’s 29 broke the 9-hole scoring record of 30 which was set in 1983 by Richard King and was matched 15 times, most recently by Browne on the front nine in last year’s final round at Sahalee CC.

Olin Browne’s 54-hole total of 198 is the best 54-hole total in U.S. Senior Open history, breaking Simon Hobday’s mark of 199 in 1994.

Olin Browne has now won at least one event on the Nationwide Tour, PGA TOUR and Champions Tour, joining Ron Streck, Keith Fergus, Tom Lehman and Gary Hallberg with that honor.

Hale Irwin became the Champions Tour’s all-time leader in top-10 finishes with his T4 at the U.S. Senior Open. It was the 204^th of his career, one more than Bob Charles. Irwin also fired a 5-under-par 66 in Round 3, matching his age for the second time in his career. He posted a 65 at last year’s AT&T Championship in San Antonio.

D. A. Weibring made the 18^th ace in U.S. Senior Open history and the first since 2007 when he made one at No. 3 on Friday. Weibring used a 6-iron on the 170-yard hole.

Mark Calcavecchia (3^rd) was the only player in the U.S. Senior Open field who posted four consecutive rounds in the 60s.

Defending champion Bernhard Langer finished T9 in defense of his U.S. Senior Open title while Tom Lehman, the current Charles Schwab Cup leader and the leading money winner finished T23.

Champions Tour professional Tom Watson played with Phil Mickelson and Stuart Appleby in the featured pairing during the first two rounds of The Greenbrier Classic. All three players failed to make the cut. The other two Champions Tour professionals in the field had more success – Kenny Perry finished T39 and Tom Pernice, Jr. was T49.

Peter Jacobsen, a two-time winner on the Champions Tour (both majors), has been awarded the Old Tom Morris Award, the highest honor given by the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America. The award is given annually to a person who “through a continuing lifetime commitment to the game of golf has helped to mold the welfare of the game in a manner and style exemplified by Old Tom Morris.” Jacobsen, who has designed several golf courses with Jim Hardy, will be the 30^th recipient of the Award.

Current Champions Tour professional Mark Mouland will compete in the British Par 3 Championship in Warwickshire beginning August 9 along with celebrities and other golf professionals including Tony Jacklin, Larry Laoretti and Doug Sanders.

The Boeing Classic, a Champions Tour event held annually at TPC Snoqualmie Ridge in Seattle, WA, was recently highlighted as the newest member of the Green Sports Alliance, a non-profit organization with a mission to reduce the environmental impact of professional sports and to inspire fans to join in these efforts. The Boeing Classic is the first and only professional golf tournament in this group which includes an unprecedented collaboration of six different professional sports leagues. The founding Alliance members include teams from the NHL, WNBA, MLB, NFL, NBA and MLS.

CHARLES SCHWAB CUP

Double Charles Schwab Cup points were awarded at last week’s U.S. Senior Open and Olin Browne’s victory earned him 1,000 points. He now has 1,330 points and jumped from 23^rd to second behind Tom Lehman, who leads with 1,533 points. Mark Calcavecchia is now third with 1,238 points and Nick Price is fourth with 1,181. Mark O’Meara, runner-up to Browne last week, jumped from 34^th to 10^th in the standings.

Player                          Events              Points              Pts. Behind      Wins    Top-10s

Tom Lehman 13                     1,533                -                       3          7

Olin Browne 15 1,330                203                   1          6

Mark Calcavecchia 14 1,238                295                               8

Nick Price 14                     1,181                352                   1          9

Russ Cochran 10                     1,163                370                   1          7

COMING UP

Eight-time PGA TOUR winner Brad Faxon turned 50 on August 1 and is scheduled to make his Champions Tour debut at the 3M Championship. Nationwide Tour veteran Ben Bates will also make his first appearance on the Champions Tour via a sponsor exemption. Bates has made 409 starts for two wins on the Nationwide Tour. He has also played in 122 PGA TOUR events.

Minnesota native Tom Lehman will make his first appearance in the 3M Championship. Lehman is the current Champions Tour point’s leader in the season-long Charles Schwab Cup race and sits atop the money list as well. He also served as a co-designer of the TPC Twin Cities with Arnold Palmer.

Fred Couples is scheduled to make his first appearance in a PGA TOUR or Champions Tour event since June 3^rd when he missed the cut at the Memorial Tournament. He has been sidelined with injuries.

The 3M Championship continues to be among the leaders on the Champions Tour in terms of charitable contributions. In the previous 18 years, the tournament has donated $17.5 million to Minnesota area charities, helping impact the lives of countless people in the Twin Cities area.

The Greats of Golf Challenge presented by Post-It Brand Products will take place on Saturday and Sunday at TPC Twin Cities during the 3M Championship. Four teams of three players will compete in the better-ball exhibition. Those scheduled to play include;

Arnold Palmer* , Billy Casper* , Lee Trevino* , Gene Littler* , Miller Barber, Don January , Chi Chi Rodriquez* , Dave Stockton, Al Geiberger , David Graham, Charles Coody, & Andy North

* denotes World Golf Hall of Fame member.

This year’s Orion Classic in Sioux Falls – formerly known as the Hot Stuff Foods Challenge – will be a pro-am event as opposed to a ‘shootout’. The classic has raised more than $3.5 million for the Children’s Home Society, with Champions Tour veteran Graham Marsh attending every year. Marsh, 67, will be joined again this year by Onida, SD natives Tom and Curt Byrum along with Senior British Open champion Russ Cochran, Morris Hatalsky, Bruce Fleisher, and David Peoples. The event takes place August 8, followed by a free kid’s golf clinic with the First Tee program.

Former Masters champion and Cedar Rapids native, Zach Johnson, is headed to Elmcrest Country Club with a few of his friends, including his caddie, Damon Green, who just completed playing back-to-back Champions Tour majors with a T70 at the Senior British Open and a T13 at the U.S. Senior Open. The August 1 Pro-Am will support a pilot program, Kids on Course, designed by the Zach Johnson Foundation in concert with the United Way of East Central Iowa and the Cedar Rapids Community School District.

NUMBERS

2233 – The number of official rounds Brad Faxon played as a professional on the PGA TOUR in his 29-year career before joining the Champions Tour this week.

2,303 – The number of dollars separating Hale Irwin and Kenny Perry on the all-time money leader’s list. Irwin’s T4 at the U.S. Senior Open earned a check of $117,077 to move him just ahead of Perry as the ‘all time money leader’. Irwin has $32,032,585 while Perry, who earned $25,200 for his T39 at last week’s Greenbrier Classic has $32,030,282.

DID YOU KNOW?

In the 18-year history of the 3M Championship, no player has managed to defend his title at this event.

Hale Irwin was the closest, tying for second in 2000.

CONOVER, N.C. – The Greater Hickory Classic at Rock Barn presented by Kia Motors and the Kiwanis Clubs of Catawba County raised $10,000 through the “Birdies for Zahra” program during the annual Champions Tour event to help build Zahra Baker’s All Children’s Playground, it was announced today.

In the fall of last year, two-time cancer survivor Zahra Baker, a 10-year-old Australian girl who had moved to Hickory with her Australian father and her stepmother, was murdered.   Through its partnership with the Kiwanis Clubs, the Greater Hickory Classic at Rock Barn raised funds to help build a playground suitable for all children in Baker’s memory through the “Birdies for Zahra” program.

The Kiwanis Clubs in Catawba County, including the Kiwanis Clubs of Newton, Western Catawba and Hickory and the Catawba County Golden K Club in conjunction with the Greater Hickory Classic at Rock Barn created the program. Its sole purpose was to raise money for the playground by asking fans and local businesses to pledge money for each birdie made in the 2011 Greater Hickory Classic at Rock Barn Champions Tour event June 10-12.

Through the first eight years of the event, Champions Tour professionals made approximately 900 birdies during the three rounds of official tournament play.  However, due to course conditions during this year’s event, professional golfers set a Champions Tour record for birdies during an official event with 1,147 birdies recorded.

It was perfect timing for the Birdies for Zahra program as more than $7,000 was raised through per-birdie pledges and contributions.  With the Greater Hickory Classic at Rock Barn contributing its $3,000 matching donation, the tournament and Kiwanis Clubs made a $10,000 donation today to help build the playground.  Multiple Champions Tour players and staff members made donations.

“In Kiwanis, our motto is ‘Serving the Children of the World,’” said Hickory Kiwanis Club member and Kiwanis district governor Bill Wiggs who also serves on the Zahra Baker All Children’s Playground committee.  “The Greater Hickory Classic, the Champions Tour, volunteers, contributors and PGA fans helped make ‘Birdies for Zahra’ a success.  Because of the generous support from golf fans and the Greater Hickory Classic at Rock Barn, we will be able to build a park in memory of Zahra Baker.  Children of all abilities from Catawba County and beyond will be able to enjoy this state-of-the-art playground in her memory.”

“All Champions Tour events are focused on raising money for local charities because it’s at the heart of what we do,” Greater Hickory Classic executive tournament director Jim Correll said.  “But when the cause is something so close to all of our hearts like Zahra’s playground, it is especially rewarding to see our community rally behind such an important cause.  Nothing can ever bring Zahra Baker back, but the playground will at least bring something positive out of this tragedy.  We are proud to have played a small role in making this donation possible, and we appreciate everyone who participated in this significant effort.”

For more information about the Zahra Baker All Children’s Playground or to make a contribution to the playground project,   please visit www.playgroundforzahra.org.

The ninth annual Greater Hickory Classic at Rock Barn presented by Kia Motors was played June 6-12, 2011 at Rock Barn Golf & Spa in Conover, N.C.  The event featured a week of special events and attractions, including exhibitions, pro-ams and three days of Champions Tour competition among some of the greatest legends in golf.  Operated by the Greater Hickory Classic Foundation, a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit, the tournament donates all net proceeds to charities throughout the Greater Hickory Metro area each year. For more information, please call (828) 459-4000 or visit www.greaterhickoryclassic.com.

Final round times.

All times are local.