IN THE NEWS
Winn-Dixie Jacksonville Open presented by Planters Extends Sponsor Exemption to AJGA’s Junior PLAYERS Championship Winner
PONTE VEDRA BEACH, FL – The Winn-Dixie Jacksonville Open presented by Planters announced today that the winner of the 2010 AJGA Junior PLAYERS Championship will receive an exemption into the October Nationwide Tour event.
The Winn-Dixie Jacksonville Open presented by Planters is a new event on the Nationwide Tour schedule in 2010 and marks the first time in the Tour’s 21-year history it will conduct an event at TPC Sawgrass, home of the PGA TOUR. It will be played Oct. 18-24 on Dye’s Valley at TPC Sawgrass and feature 144 players aspiring to secure one of “The 25” PGA TOUR cards for 2010 that are available via the Nationwide Tour.
The tournament will be the 28th of 29 Nationwide Tour events in 2010 and will have plenty at stake. As the final full-field event of the year, it will determine the top-60 money winners who will compete in the following week’s season-ending $1 million Nationwide Tour Championship at Daniel Island in Charleston, S.C. At the very least, those top-60 money winners will earn fully-exempt Nationwide Tour status for 2011. Every player in the field in Charleston will also have a chance to earn one of the 25 PGA TOUR cards.
The Junior PLAYERS Championship will be played for the fourth time on THE PLAYERS Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass, Sept. 2-5. Annually it attracts a world-class field of junior players with the golf course set up to replicate THE PLAYERS Championship. Last year Bobby Wyatt of Mobile, Ala. outlasted a field of 78 players representing 18 states and 15 countries outside the U.S. Wyatt earned a three-shot victory shooting 6-under-par 210 for his three trips around the 7,215-yard layout. He has signed to play golf at University of Alabama in the fall.
“Winn-Dixie is thrilled to award a Winn-Dixie Jacksonville Open presented by Planters sponsor exemption to this year’s Junior PLAYERS champion,” said Peter Lynch, President and CEO of Winn-Dixie and Tournament Chairman. “We believe that providing one aspiring, outstanding junior golfer this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to play against the best on the Nationwide Tour will add excitement to both the Junior PLAYERS and the Winn-Dixie Jacksonville Open.”
“We’ve witnessed the Junior PLAYERS Championship first hand at TPC Sawgrass and seen how strong the level of competition is on the AJGA,” said Nationwide Tour president Bill Calfee. “Many PGA TOUR and Nationwide Tour members once competed on the AJGA and have gone on to great heights in professional golf. The Nationwide Tour supports the decision by the Winn-Dixie Jacksonville Open presented by Planters to invite this year’s Junior PLAYERS champion to tee it up alongside our members.”
“This is very exciting news for our boys’ membership and will be an absolute thrill for the young man who earns the chance to play in the Nationwide Tour’s Winn-Dixie Jacksonville Open at TPC Sawgrass,” said Stephen Hamblin, Executive Director of the AJGA.
Tickets for the Winn-Dixie Jacksonville Open presented by Planters, which is produced by Jeff Sanders Promotions, Inc., are on sale now at www.winndixiejacksonvilleopen.com. Through the PepsiCo TICKETS Fore CHARITY™ program, 100% of the tournament’s ticket sales will be donated to Jacksonville-area non-profit organizations.
About Winn-Dixie
Winn-Dixie Stores, Inc. is one of the nation’s largest food retailers. Founded in 1925, the Company is headquartered in Jacksonville, Fla. The Company currently operates 515 retail grocery locations, including more than 400 in-store pharmacies, in Florida, Alabama, Louisiana, Georgia and Mississippi. For more information, please visit www.winndixie.com.
About the Nationwide Tour
Founded (1990), owned and operated by the PGA TOUR, the Nationwide Tour identifies those players who are ready to compete and win on golf’s biggest stage. As the official proving ground of the PGA TOUR, two out of three PGA TOUR members are Nationwide Tour alumni. Nationwide Tour alumni have won 273 PGA TOUR titles, including 13 majors and four PLAYERS Championships. Twenty-five PGA TOUR cards will be at stake over the course of 29 events in 2010. Recognizing the Tour’s growing stature, Nationwide Insurance has renewed its umbrella sponsorship of the Nationwide Tour through 2012. The PGA TOUR, through the efforts of its three tours and their tournaments, sponsors, players and volunteers, supports over 2,000 local charities and has surpassed $1.5 billion in charitable giving. To learn more about the PGA TOUR and Nationwide Tour and to follow the season-long quest for a PGA TOUR card, visit PGATOUR.COM.
About Nationwide
Nationwide, based in Columbus, Ohio, is one of the largest and strongest diversified insurance and financial services organizations in the U.S. and is rated A+ by A.M. Best. The company provides a full range of personalized insurance and financial services, including auto insurance, motorcycle, boat, homeowners, life insurance, farm, commercial insurance, administrative services, annuities, mortgages, mutual funds, pensions, long-term savings plans and health and productivity services. For more information, visit www.nationwide.com.
About the AJGA
The American Junior Golf Association is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to the overall growth and development of young men and women who aspire to earn college golf scholarships through competitive junior golf. The AJGA provides valuable exposure for college golf scholarships, and has an annual junior membership (boys and girls ages 12-18) of approximately 5,000 junior golfers from 49 states and 30 countries. To ensure scholarship opportunities for all junior golfers who have the skill, the AJGA created the Achieving Competitive Excellence (ACE) Grant program to provide financial assistance to young players in need. AJGA alumni have risen to the top of amateur, collegiate and professional golf. Former AJGA juniors have compiled more than 400 victories on the PGA and LPGA Tours. AJGA alumni include former Nationwide Tour players and major champions Stewart Cink, Lucas Glover and David Toms, plus Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and the LPGA’s Cristie Kerr, Paula Creamer and Morgan Pressel. Winn-Dixie Jacksonville Open presented by Planters official player host and 2003 U.S. Open champion Jim Furyk is also a former member of the AJGA.
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Media Contacts
Darin Linnman
Winn-Dixie Jacksonville Open presented by Planters
Tel: 904-567-5094, x205
Email: darin@jspgolf.com
Jeff Adams
Director of Communications, Nationwide Tour
Tel: 904-273-3397
Email: jadams@pgatourhq.com
Ashley O’Dell
AJGA Communications Department
Tel: 678-425-1787
Email: aodell@ajga.org
