News on Golf, the PGA TOUR and the Mayakoba Golf Classic - Week of January 26

• In the first two full-field events of the 2012 PGA TOUR schedule, the Mayakoba Golf Classic has been represented well. 2011 champion Johnson Wagner won the SONY Open in Hawaii and on Sunday 2009 champion Mark Wilson captured the Humana Challenge.
• With their early success, Johnson Wagner (1) and Mark Wilson (2) hold the top spots on the FedExCup standings—the season-long competition that concludes with the PGA TOUR Playoffs. Wagner also leads the TOUR money list with $1,573,133. Wilson is third with $1,099,500.
• The final Golf Para Todos of the 2011-2012 season was held this past Sunday with over 350 participants. Golf FORE Everyone aims to create a fun-filled, diverse and educational program that teaches about the game of golf and its ideals. The program encourages active participation in the game as a participant and as a fan, and facilitates the integration of golf into the lives of all those within the community. Golf PARa Todos is a community program presented by the Mayakoba Golf Classic.
• Did you know there have now been two holes-in-one recorded in the five-year history of the Mayakoba Golf Classic? It is interesting to note that they have both come in the first round and have come in back-to-back years. Charles Howell III recorded the first on Hole #7 in 2010 and last year George McNeil aced the 2nd hole. This year, two of the tournament’s Corporate Allies, BMW and Omega, will offer a hole-in-one prize for any amateur or professional who makes an ace on the 10th or 15th holes during the Pro-Am or the professional competition.
• Two of the five Mayakoba Golf Classic champions have followed their win in Mexico with multiple-victory-seasons the next year. Brian Gay won twice in 2009 and Mark Wilson was a two-time winner in 2011. Following his win in Hawaii, 2011 champ Johnson Wagner is one more victory from becoming the third past MGC champion to accomplish this.
• The Mayakoba Golf Classic’s highly successful Fotogolf contest is now in the voting stages and open to the public for voting. Fans submitted 189 of their favorite photos, over 60 more than last year. You can check out the 12 finalists here: http://mgc.mx/fotogolf (English) or http://mgc.mx/foto (Spanish). The winner of the Fotogolf contest will receive a complimentary spot in the 2012 BMW Mayakoba Golf Classic Pro-Am.
• For more information on the Mayakoba Golf Classic please contact the tournament office at Mayakoba at 011 52 (984) 873-4916 or visit www.mayakobagolfclassic.com.

News on Golf, the PGA TOUR and the Mayakoba Golf Classic - Week of January 9

• Only one week remains for golfers and golf fans to submit their pictures in the Mayakoba Golf Classic™’s popular golf photography contest, Fotogolf. Like in years past, the Mayakoba Golf Classic™ is offering a spot in its PGA TOUR Pro-Am for the winner of the Fotogolf contest. Golfers should take their best golf photographs and submit them online at www.MayakobaGolfClassic.com where they will be available for public view in an online gallery. Once the submission period closes, contest organizers will select finalists who will enter into a public vote to determine which photo is the grand prize winner who will receive a complimentary spot in the Wednesday Pro-Am at the Mayakoba Golf Classic™. The contest is open to all residents of North America. In addition to 11 finalists who will be selected by the contest organizing committee, the public will determine the 12th and last finalist through a Facebook gallery on the Mayakoba Golf Classic™’s official Facebook page - the photograph with the most “LIKES” on Facebook will automatically become a finalist and be entered into the public voting. Act now as the deadline to submit photos for Fotogolf is January 16.
• The 2012 PGA TOUR season kicked off this past weekend at the Tournament of Champions in Hawaii with Steve Stricker claiming the title at the limited field event. Only champions of PGA TOUR events in the 2011 season are eligible to participate. The 2012 Tournament of Champions featured 27 participants, including 2011 Mayakoba Golf Classic™ champion Johnson Wagner who tied for 9th place. Additionally, 18 of the 27 participants have previously competed at the Mayakoba Golf Classic™ in its five-year history.
• The Mayakoba Golf Classic™, in conjunction with the PGA of Mexico, will conduct a 36-hole qualifying tournament in Mexico City for Mexican professional golfers to earn a position in Mexico’s Only PGA TOUR Event. With two Mexican golfers already assured of their positions in the sixth-annual Mayakoba Golf Classic™ by virtue of their position in the national ranking, one spot remains available for Mexican professionals. Twenty-one Mexican pros will compete in two rounds of qualifying competition at Bosque Real Country Club with the winner earning entry into the Mayakoba Golf Classic™ to represent Mexico along with Oscar Fraustro and Jose de Jesus Rodriguez, who were announced last month as the first recipients of invitations to play in the 2012 edition of Mexico’s Only PGA TOUR Event.
• Only 42 days remain until the official launch of the sixth-annual edition of the Mayakoba Golf Classic™. In exactly six weeks, 132 of the world’s best golfers will descend upon Playa del Carmen, Mexico, and the El Camaleón Golf Club for the 72-hole stroke play event. Again, the professionals will be in search of their share of the US$3.7 million purse of prize money.

News on Golf, the PGA TOUR and the Mayakoba Golf Classic - Week of November 28

• The Mexican team of Oscar Serna and Jose de Jesus Rodriguez posted a four-round total of 16-under-par 272 to finish tied for 13th place at the Omega Mission Hills World Cup of Golf. The 56th edition of this global event took place in Hainan Island, China, at the Mission Hills Golf Club. The event featured teams of two golfers representing 28 countries in 72 holes of stroke play and a total prize purse of $7.5 million USD. Serna and Rodriguez found themselves in the top 10 for much of the event, but a final round of even-par 72 dropped the team back to 13th place. By finishing tied for 13th place, Serna and Rodriguez each earned $40,500 USD. Serna participated in the 2011 Mayakoba Golf Classic, while Rodriguez is a three-time participant in Mexico’s Only PGA TOUR Event.
• The final stage of the PGA TOUR Qualifying Tournament, known as Q-School, kicks off this week as 134 professionals compete at PGA West in La Quinta, Calif., with the top 25 finishers earning full playing privileges on the PGA TOUR for 2012. Oscar Serna will be the lone representative of Mexico at the final stage of Q-School, which begins Wednesday. Serna, from Leon, Mexico, participated in the 2011 Mayakoba Golf Classic. The six-round event will be televised on Golf Channel Latin America in Mexico and on The Golf Channel in the United States. All participants at the final stage of Q-School are assured of at least full membership on the Nationwide Tour for 2012. More information and live scoring of the event can be found at http://mgc.mx/q
• The Mayakoba Golf Classic is proud to present the “Don Pepe Lota World Tour Travel Blog” contest, where MGC fans will have a chance to win a two-night stay at Mayakoba and VIP passes to the 2012 event as they follow MGC Mascot Don Jose “Pepe” Lota on a world tour. As Don Pepe Lota travels to a new destination on each leg of his World Tour, fans of the Mayakoba Golf Classic will have opportunities to win a great prize by correctly guessing where he is. Each day, a new and more revealing clue about his destination will be posted on the MGC’s Facebook page and fans will be able to guess each day as the destination becomes more and more evident. The first Facebook fan of the Mayakoba Golf Classic to accurately guess Don Pepe Lota’s destination will be declared the winner of that week and receive a free general admission ticket to the 2012 MGC. All weekly winners will be entered into a raffle for the Grand Prize of hotel accommodations and VIP passes for the 2012 MGC. Following the completion of Don Pepe Lota’s World Tour, the Grand Prize winner will be selected at random from the weekly winners. For more information, visit: http://mgc.mx/dpl

News on Golf, the PGA TOUR and the Mayakoba Golf Classic - Week of November 21

• Mexico’s Oscar Serna used four subpar rounds at the second stage of the PGA TOUR Qualifying Tournament, known as Q-School, to post a four-round total of 8-under-par 280 and finish tied for 16th place, earning him entry into the final stage of the qualifying competition. Now, Serna heads to La Quinta, Calif., later this month where he will participate in the six-round, final stage competition with full PGA TOUR playing privileges for 2012 on the line. The top 25 finishers and ties at the final stage receive full status as members of the PGA TOUR for 2012; all other participants in the final stage automatically receive full playing privileges on the Nationwide Tour for 2012. Serna, from Leon, Mexico, is the only Mexican to advance to the final stage of Q-School. In 2011, Serna participated in the Mayakoba Golf Classic for the first time in his career.
• The Omega Mission Hills World Cup of Golf takes place this week in Hainan Island, China, at the Mission Hills Golf Club. The event features teams of two golfers representing 28 countries in 72 holes of stroke play and a total prize purse of $7.5 million USD. Guaranteed money for each participating player is $25,000 USD with the winning team earning prize money of $2.4 million USD. Mexico will be represented at the World Cup by the team of Oscar Serna and Jose de Jesus Rodriguez. 2011 marks the World Cup debut for Rodriguez, while Serna will be participating for the third time in his career. Rodriguez is a three-time participant in the Mayakoba Golf Classic.
• This past weekend saw the United States team retain the Presidents Cup by way of a 19-15 victory at Royal Melbourne Golf Club in Melbourne, Australia. The international team was captained by Greg Norman, world golf hall of famer and the designer of El Camaleón Golf Club. Between the 24 players on both the International and US teams at the Presidents Cup, eight past participants in the Mayakoba Golf Classic competed in the bi-annual event.
• The Mayakoba Golf Classic is now on Twitter; fans and members of the media can follow @MayakobaGolf to receive the latest and most up-to-date news and information from the Mayakoba Golf Classic. The Twitter feed will also include photos, contests, updates from golfers and more relating to the world of golf, the Mayakoba resort and of course Mexico’s Only PGA TOUR Event.

News on Golf, the PGA TOUR and the Mayakoba Golf Classic - Week of November 14

• Last week, the Mayakoba Golf Classic, along with officials from the PGA TOUR and title sponsor OHL, announced they have signed a contract extension for an additional six years, guaranteeing the Mayakoba Golf Classic will remain on the PGA TOUR schedule through at least 2018. This represents a total commitment of 12 years by the PGA TOUR to Mexico and Quintana Roo. With this agreement, the Riviera Maya and Cancún regions will continue to be transmitted to a worldwide television audience with more than eight hours of coverage of the Mayakoba Golf Classic on the Golf Channel and other PGA TOUR broadcast partners in more than 200 countries. Additionally, Mexico’s Only PGA TOUR Event will continue its charitable giving efforts—in just five years, the Mayakoba Golf Classic has donated more than $1 million USD to different philanthropic groups on the local, national and international levels. Furthermore, this contract extension solidifies the event as the richest golf tournament in Latin America with a prize purse for 2012 of $3.7 million USD. For more information on the extension of the Mayakoba Golf Classic or to hear the complete audio transcripts of the announcement, please visit: http://mgc.mx/r
• The PGA TOUR goes “down under” this week when the ninth edition of the Presidents Cup takes place in Melbourne, Australia. An international team comprised of 12 players from non-European countries will face off against the United States team of 12. The captain of the international squad is World Golf Hall of Famer Greg Norman, also designer of El Camaleón Golf Club—the home of the Mayakoba Golf Classic. Of the 24 participants in this year’s Presidents Cup, eight have participated in Mexico’s Only PGA TOUR Event in its five-year history.
• The PGA TOUR Qualifying Competition, better known as “Q-School,” returns this week when second stage qualifying takes place. Four Mexican golfers are among those professionals participating this week at one of six different sites. Oscar Serna of Leon, Mexico, will tee it up at TPC Craig Ranch in McKinney, Texas, while Esteban Toledo, Oscar Fraustro and Ramon Favela will compete at Bear Creek Golf Club in Murrieta, Calif. If successful at stage two, they would advance to the final stage of PGA TOUR Q-School to be held in La Quinta, California, where full membership for the 2012 PGA TOUR season will be on the line. Follow the results from Q-School at http://mgc.mx/q
• Monday marked the 100 day mark in the countdown to the 2012 Mayakoba Golf Classic. With only 99 days to go until the sixth-annual edition of Mexico’s Only PGA TOUR Event, tournament organizers are putting all the pieces into place to launch what is expected to be the best edition yet. Stay tuned to http://www.MayakobaGolfClassic.com for information and updates on new and exciting plans for the 2012 MGC.

News on Golf, the PGA TOUR and the Mayakoba Golf Classic - Week of October 31

• Mayakoba will welcome back the reigning champion of the Mayakoba Golf Classic when PGA TOUR professional Johnson Wagner will return to Playa del Carmen for the first time since February when he claimed the title at the fifth anniversary edition of Mexico’s Only PGA TOUR Event and a $666,000 USD first-place check. Wagner will be in attendance Sunday for the November edition of Golf PARa Todos and to launch the countdown to the 2012 Mayakoba Golf Classic. Golf PARa Todos aims to create a fun-filled, diverse and educational program that teaches about the game of golf and its ideals. The program encourages active participation in the game as a participant and as a fan, and facilitates the integration of golf into the lives of all those within the community. In addition to offering golf lessons and instruction, Wagner will be available for photos and autographs.
• PGA TOUR veteran Bo Van Pelt fired a final-round of 7-under-par 64 to close the week at 23-under par and claim first place at the PGA TOUR CIMB Asia Pacific Classic just outside of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The win is Van Pelt’s second career victory on the PGA TOUR and netted him prize money of $1.3 million USD. In 2009, Van Pelt tied for 28th place at the Mayakoba Golf Classic. This past weekend in Malaysia, 2009 Mayakoba Golf Classic champion Mark Wilson tied for fourth place and earned $265,000 USD.
• With all 12 sites from the First Stage of the PGA TOUR Q-School now complete, three Mexican golfers are among 299 professionals to advance to the second stage of the qualifying competition. In addition to Oscar Serna, who qualified a week ago, Oscar Fraustro and Armando Favela were successful in their first stage participation. Fraustro tied for fourth place at Lantana Golf Club in Lantana, Texas, USA, with a four-round total of 7-under-par 281, while Favela finished tied for 10th place at Oak Valley Golf Club in Beaumont, Calif., USA with a four-round total of 2-under-par 286. All three remaining Mexican golfers will participate at one of six second stage venues from November 15-19. If successful at stage two, they would advance to the final stage of PGA TOUR Q-School to be held in La Quinta, California, where full membership for the 2012 PGA TOUR season will be on the line.
• Today is Mark Wilson’s birthday. The PGA TOUR veteran from the Chicago area celebrates his 37th birthday on Halloween day. 2011 marked a banner year for Wilson, the 2009 MGC champion, as he won two times on the PGA TOUR and earned a total of $3.1 million USD—a career best in yearly earnings.

News on Golf, the PGA TOUR and the Mayakoba Golf Classic - Week of October 24

• Mexico’s Oscar Serna posted a four-round total of 19-under-par 269 to claim the title at the First Stage of PGA TOUR Qualifying School and advance to Stage Two which will be held in November. Serna’s total gave him a nine-stroke advantage over Ryan Brehm of Michigan, USA, who finished in second place. His winning performance included a final-round 64 which featured nine birdies and just one bogey. Perhaps most impressive about Serna’s play was that his score improved each day of the four-day competition. Serna will now advance to one of six different sites which will host the second stage of PGA TOUR Q-School in mid-November. If successful there, he will enter the Final Stage of the PGA TOUR Qualifying Competition in La Quinta, Calif., where full membership on the PGA TOUR for 2012 is at stake. Serna is one of eight Mexicans to participate in PGA TOUR Q-School this fall. In February 2011, Serna made his first appearance at the Mayakoba Golf Classic where he posted rounds of 70 and 75.
• Luke Donald, the top-ranked player in the Official World Golf Rankings, captured the PGA TOUR season money-list title after winning the season-ending Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals Classic on Sunday with a scintillating final round that included six straight birdies on the back-nine. The Englishman, bidding to become the first player to be the leading money winner in the same year on both the PGA TOUR and the European Tour, fired a final-round 8-under 64. Donald, 33, increased his U.S. prize-money haul this season to $6.68 million USD. 2008 Mayakoba Golf Classic champion Brian Gay finished tied for 59th place this past weekend to earn $10,152 USD and bring his season total to $1,157,525 USD.
• The Mayakoba Golf Classic is proud to present the “Don Pepe Lota World Tour Travel Blog” contest, where MGC fans will have a chance to win a two-night stay at Mayakoba and VIP passes to the 2012 event as they follow MGC Mascot Don Jose “Pepe” Lota on a world tour. As Don Pepe Lota travels to a new destination on each leg of his World Tour, fans of the Mayakoba Golf Classic will have opportunities to win a great prize by correctly guessing where he is. Each day, a new and more revealing clue about his destination will be posted on the MGC’s Facebook page and fans will be able to guess each day as the destination becomes more and more evident. The first Facebook fan of the Mayakoba Golf Classic to accurately guess Don Pepe Lota’s destination will be declared the winner of that week and receive a free general admission ticket to the 2012 MGC. All weekly winners will be entered into a raffle for the Grand Prize of hotel accommodations and VIP passes for the 2012 MGC. Following the completion of Don Pepe Lota’s World Tour, the Grand Prize winner will be selected at random from the weekly winners. For more information, visit: http://mgc.mx/dpl

News on Golf, the PGA TOUR and the Mayakoba Golf Classic - Week of October 17

• For only the second time in its five-year history, Golf PARa Todos was cancelled this past weekend due to inclement weather. Event organizers determined weather conditions were not sufficient to hold the event as originally scheduled. Due to heavy rains and wind, safety and the quality of the event experience were in jeopardy. “We determined it was in the best interest of all the event’s fans and volunteers to avoid potential safety issues with thunderstorms and heavy rains. However, we are now focusing ourselves on making the next edition of Golf PARa Todos even more special when our 2011 champion Johnson Wagner will join us.” On Sunday, November 6, PGA TOUR player and 2011 Mayakoba Golf Classic champion will be in attendance and will participate in golf lessons, sign autographs and much more. Golf PARa Todos aims to create a fun-filled, diverse and educational program that teaches about the game of golf and its ideals. The program encourages active participation in the game as a participant and as a fan, and facilitates the integration of golf into the lives of all those within the community. Golf PARa Todos is a community program presented by the Mayakoba Golf Classic. For more information, visit: www.golfparatodos.org.
• The Mayakoba Golf Classic will launch on October 19 the third installment of Fotogolf, its popular online photography contest where golfers will have the chance to win a position in the Pro-Am competition at the 2012 edition of Mexico’s Only PGA TOUR Event. This year’s contest will be open to all residents of the United States and Canada as well as Mexico. Previously, only residents of Mexico had been eligible to participate. The contest has shown tremendous growth and featured nearly 2,000 unique voters participating last year. As in other years, golfers should take their best golf photographs and submit them online at www.MayakobaGolfClassic.com where they will be available for public view in an online gallery. Once the submission period closes, contest organizers will select finalists who will enter into a public vote to determine which photo is the grand prize winner.
• Ben Crane outlasted Webb Simpson in a two-hole sudden death playoff Sunday to claim the title at the PGA TOUR McGladrey Classic in Georgia. 2011 Mayakoba Golf Classic champion Johnson Wagner finished in a tie for 44th place and earned $12,800 USD. His performance at the McGladrey Classic brings his season earnings to a total of $1.22 million USD, including $666,000 USD for his win at Mayakoba. Crane earned $720,000 this past weekend for his victory. This week, the PGA TOUR concludes the Fall Series when it heads to Orlando, Fla., for the Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals Classic.

News on Golf, the PGA TOUR and the Mayakoba Golf Classic - Week of October 10

• The Mexican team of Oscar Serna and Jose de Jesus Rodriguez qualified for the Omega World Cup of Golf after their second-place finish at a 72-hole qualifying event held last month in Caracas, Venezuela. Both golfers have previously participated in the Mayakoba Golf Classic, with the best finish of the duo being a tie for 38th by Rodriguez in 2009. Serna and Rodriguez shot a four-round total of 25-under-par 259 at the qualifying event, despite closing the final round with bogeys on their last two holes after a lengthy rain delay. “We lost our rhythm a little bit when the rain came, but we accomplished our objective which was to qualify,” said Serna. “We’re very happy because we played well.” The bi-annual event, which will be held November 24-27 at the Mission Hills Golf Club in Hainan Island, China, will mark the fourth World Cup appearance for Serna and the first appearance for Rodriguez. Mexico last competed in the World Cup of Golf in 2008 when the team of Daniel De Leon and Oscar Serna finished tied for 27th place. Also earning entry into the event at last month’s qualifying tournament were Brazil and Guatemala.
• The Mayakoba Golf Classic is now on Twitter; fans and members of the media can follow @MayakobaGolf to receive the latest and most up-to-date news and information from the Mayakoba Golf Classic. The Twitter feed will also include photos, contests, updates from golfers and more relating to the world of golf, the Mayakoba resort and of course Mexico’s Only PGA TOUR Event.
• PGA TOUR veteran Bryce Molder earned his first career TOUR victory Sunday when he defeated Briny Baird in a six-hole playoff at the Frys.com Open. Molder had participated in 131 PGA TOUR events in his career, including two appearances at the Mayakoba Golf Classic, before earning his first win and $900,000 in prize money Sunday. Baird, the runner-up at the Frys.com Open, is one of only 15 players who has participated in all five editions of the Mayakoba Golf Classic.
• The PGA TOUR Fall Series continues this week at the McGladrey Classic to be held at the Sea Island Golf Club in St. Simons Island, Georgia, USA. Four of the Mayakoba Golf Classic’s past champions are scheduled to be in action at this event. Brian Gay, Mark Wilson, Cameron Beckman and reigning MGC champion Johnson Wagner are all expected to participate.
• Golf PARa Todos returns this Sunday, October 16 at 2 pm. The event takes place at El Camaleón Golf Club, home of Mexico’s Only PGA TOUR Event. Golf PARa Todos aims to create a fun-filled, diverse and educational program that teaches about the game of golf and its ideals. The program encourages active participation in the game as a participant and as a fan, and facilitates the integration of golf into the lives of all those within the community. For more information, visit: www.golfparatodos.org.

News on Golf, the PGA TOUR and the Mayakoba Golf Classic - Week of October 3

• Kevin Na shot 23-under-par 261 over four rounds at the Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open held in Las Vegas, Nevada, to earn his first career PGA TOUR victory in his 211th appearance on the PGA TOUR. In 2009, Na participated in the Mayakoba Golf Classic and finished in fifth place after shooting 8-under-par 272 at El Camaleón Golf Club to earn $144,000 USD in his only appearance at Mexico’s Only PGA TOUR Event. His win in Las Vegas this past weekend earned him $792,000 USD.
• The PGA TOUR Fall Series continues this week as 128 professionals will participate in the Frys.com Open in San Martin, Calif., at CordeValle Golf Club. Highlighting the field at the Frys.com Open is Tiger Woods, who is back in action for the first time since August 12. Also in the field are South African Ernie Els and Argentine Angel Cabrera. 2010 Mayakoba Golf Classic champion Cameron Beckman will participate and is the only past champion of the MGC in this week’s field.
• The final members of the 2011 Presidents Cup teams were announced last week as captains Greg Norman and Fred Couples named their “Captains’ Picks.” The final picks bring the total number of former MGC participants on the two teams to eight of the 24 total players. Included among the competitors are the following professionals who have previously played at Mayakoba: Aaron Baddeley (Australia), K.J. Choi (South Korea), Jason Day (Australia), Bill Haas (USA), Matt Kuchar (USA), David Toms (USA), Bubba Watson (USA) and Y.E. Yang (South Korea). Combined, these eight players have combined for four top-10 finishes at Mayakoba and will now have a total of 14 appearances in the Presidents Cup. A semi-annual event, the Presidents Cup features a team of 12 players against a team of 12 international (non-European) players competing in team match play competition. International team captain Greg Norman is the golf course designer of El Camaleón Golf Club.
• The Mayakoba Golf Classic announced the dates for the next two editions of its popular community program, Golf PARa Todos. In October, the event will be held on Sunday, October 16, while the November edition will take place on Sunday, November 6. The event takes place at El Camaleón Golf Club, home of Mexico’s Only PGA TOUR Event. Golf PARa Todos aims to create a fun-filled, diverse and educational program that teaches about the game of golf and its ideals. The program encourages active participation in the game as a participant and as a fan, and facilitates the integration of golf into the lives of all those within the community. Golf PARa Todos is a community program presented by the Mayakoba Golf Classic. For more information, visit: www.golfparatodos.org.