| Mayakoba Golf Classic E-Notes - (January 31, 2010) |
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 | | Wilson: "I really commend this tournament for starting this for the local community. It is very unique and obviously very successful." |
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2009 champion Mark Wilson was on-site this past weekend to help host Golf PARa Todos (Golf FORE Everyone). More than 800 people attended the Sunday afternoon event at El Camaleón Golf Club. Wilson participated in some one-on-one lessons with children and conducted a golf clinic. "I started playing golf when I was very young and to see all of these kids out here hungry to learn what golf is about is awesome," said Wilson. "This game can teach you so much, including important values to carry in life. I really commend this tournament for starting this for the local community. It is very unique and obviously very successful."
A record 3,000 people have attended the first six editions of Golf PARa Todos this year. A mixture of kids, young adults, families and individuals are making this program one of the most successful events in the region. Managed by the staff of the Mayakoba Golf Classic, Golf PARa Todos, or Golf FORE Everyone, was created two-and-a-half years ago to provide people in the region an opportunity to learn about the game, receive lessons and instruction.
- Mark Wilson also had the opportunity to participate in an off-course activity while in Playa del Carmen, Mexico. He slipped on a wet suit and explored a local underground river known as Rio Secreto. "What an experience this was," he said. "To see the fish, shrimp and incredible natural structures in such a quiet setting is something I will never forget." (see photos below)
- During this year's competition, the 8th hole at El Camaleón will be changed from a par-four to a par-five. The 490-yard hole was the second toughest hole on the course in 2009. This also means par will now increase from 70 to 71 on the 6,923-yard Greg Norman designed layout.
- "I think the best way to approach defending a championship is to keep low expectations going into the week. I know one thing, though, coming back here certainly brings back some wonderful feelings," Mark Wilson, 2009 Mayakoba Golf Classic champion.
- 2008 Mayakoba Golf Classic champion Brian Gay owns the record for most birdies by a champion with 23. Fred Funk and Mark Wilson each had 20 when they won the tournament.
- In the first three years of the Mayakoba Golf Classic, there has yet to be a hole-in-one recorded during the official competition.
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| Media Contacts |
The Mayakoba Golf Classic at Riviera Maya-Cancún is dedicated to assisting the media in covering this historic event. For more information on press releases, press conferences or attending the event, please contact the Mayakoba Golf Classic's media directors:
Veronica Muller
Media Director - Latin America
Mayakoba Golf Classic
+52 (998) 185-1585
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Lee Patterson
Media Director
Greg Norman Production Company
(704) 553-4790
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About The Mayakoba Golf Classic |
| The Mayakoba Golf Classic made golf history when it became the first PGA TOUR event to ever be contested outside of the United States and Canada in February 2007. Today, the Mayakoba Golf Classic remains “Mexico’s Only PGA TOUR Event” as it prepares to enter its sixth year. The event is regarded as one of the finest on the PGA TOUR by players, their families, sponsors and the TOUR itself. With a purse of $3.7 million USD, the Mayakoba Golf Classic boasts the largest amount of prize money of any golf tournament in Latin America. Held annually in February, the tournament features 132 professional golfers participating in four rounds of stroke play competition at the Greg Norman-designed El Camaleón Golf Club at Mayakoba in Playa del Carmen, Quintana Roo, in the Riviera Maya-Cancún regions of Mexico. Johnson Wagner, a five-year veteran of the PGA TOUR, claimed the title in 2011, winning $666,000 USD. Other past champions include: Fred Funk (2007), Brian Gay (2008), Mark Wilson (2009) and Cameron Beckman (2010). |
About Mayakoba |
| Mayakoba is situated just south of Cancun on Mexico’s prized Caribbean coast – the Riviera Maya. A mere 40-minute drive from the towering hotels of Cancun, visitors will discover a completely different experience. Here, nestled in a lush natural paradise, lies Mayakoba—a truly unique resort destination. Mayakoba is comprised of three luxury hotels, each featuring a range of culinary and spa experiences. An 18-hole Greg Norman championship golf course, El Camaleón, managed by Fairmont Hotels & Resorts, offers players an ever-changing terrain that moves gracefully from mangroves to the sea. Created to harmonize with the unspoiled tropical forest, Mayakoba is connected with a series of lagoons enabling guests to wander effortlessly from place to place through the resort using the “lanchas” (covered boats) as well as a network of trails. Mayakoba, a luxury destination like no other where you are immersed in unspoiled natural beauty and the mysteries of an ancient civilization. |
| About OHL |
| Based in Madrid, OHL has over 23,000 employees and an impressive average yearly growth rate of 20% since 2002. In the third quarter of 2010, its net sales amounted to over 3,4 billion Euros. At the same time, OHL is strongly committed to environmental responsibility and in 2003 produced its first Sustainable Development Report. As Juan-Miguel Villar Mir, the chairman of the board of directors and the author of the report, noted, mindful attention to the long-term health of the environment creates a "virtuous circle" that benefits the company, its clients and the globe. OHL's ecological diligence has served it well in México, where strong government regulations are enforced to protect the environment. A presence in México since 1980, OHL employs over 3,400 people there and has built highways, bridges, hotels and hospitals. The tourism complex at Mayakoba, which will eventually include two or three golf courses and six luxury hotels, is OHL's most ambitious hospitality project to date. |
| About Greg Norman Production Company |
| The Greg Norman Production Company (GNPC), a subsidiary of Great White Shark Enterprises, is devoted to event management and sports marketing. In addition to the PGA TOUR’s Mayakoba Golf Classic, the GNPC operates the PGA TOUR-sanctioned Franklin Templeton Shootout. The GNPC prides itself on producing events and marketing initiatives that not only reflect the discerning standards of its namesake, but of its clients as well. Through its myriad relationships within golf, media and event industries, the GNPC is fully capable of providing its clients with a wide spectrum of services that will seamlessly build brand equity and generate a unique marketing and or hospitality medium. |
| About El Camaleón Golf Club |
| El Camaleón Golf Club at the Mayakoba resort is yet another of Greg Norman’s masterworks. The 7,039-yard layout is unique - not just to Mexico but to the entire world of golf. The course bends through three distinct landscapes—mangrove jungles, limestone canals and stunning, oceanfront stretches of sand. El Camaleón incorporates a cenote, a massive underground cavern, into the heart of the opening fairway. The handsome, Mayan influenced clubhouse rises above the 18th green and features stunning views over the course. The adjoining practice facility and driving range are of international caliber. With Mayakoba’s unique system of lagoons, golfers will be able to step out of their rooms and into a boat, which will ferry them directly to the first tee. El Camaleón is managed by Fairmont Hotels & Resorts. |
| About Golf PARa Todos |
| 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 and created by the Mayakoba Golf Classic. In January 2011, the event earned a place in the Guinness World Records by hosting the world’s largest ever golf lesson. The lesson featured 1,073 participants. The inaugural installment of Golf PARa Todos was held in October 2007 at El Camaleón Golf Club in Playa del Carmen. On average, 600 people currently attend each session. A monthly program, Golf PARa Todos is open to people of all ages, backgrounds and levels of golf skill or knowledge. For more information, visit www.GolfParaTodos.org.
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Jose Lota, aka Don Pepe Lota, is the official mascot of the Mayakoba Golf Classic. Born in the cenote in the middle of the fairway of El Camaleón Golf Club’s first hole, Don Pepe Lota can always be found at Mayakoba Golf Classic events and activities playing and entertaining children of all ages! |
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| El Camaleón is aptly named for its diverse layout and ever-changing landscape, which bends through tropical jungles, dense mangroves and oceanfront stretches. |
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