Lorena Ochoa to Participate in Mayakoba Golf Classic Pro-Am

Mexico's Most Celebrated Athlete to Attend Event for First Time

PLAYA DEL CARMEN, México — Lorena Ochoa, Mexico's most successful and decorated professional golfer, will participate in the Mayakoba Golf Classic's Wednesday Pro-Am when Mexico's Only PGA TOUR Event celebrates its fifth anniversary February 23-27, 2011.

This will mark the first time Ochoa will visit the Mayakoba Golf Classic. While her exact tee time is yet to be determined, the four-time LPGA Player of the Year will play Wednesday morning, February 23 at El Camaleón Golf Club.

Lorena Ochoa, Mexico's most successful and decorated professional golfer, will participate in the Mayakoba Golf Classic's Wednesday Pro-Am.

"This is a great honor to have Lorena join us for this special fifth year celebration," says Mayakoba Golf Classic Tournament Director Larson Segerdahl. "Not only does she represent the very best in the game of golf but she represents the very best of Mexico and shares our passion for growing the game of golf."

While the Wednesday Mayakoba Golf Classic Pro-Am is traditionally not open to the public, tournament officials are providing those who purchase tournament day tickets (Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday) are invited to attend this year's Pro-Am. Also, fans, which have not purchased these daily tickets by February 23, can do so at the gate on Wednesday.

"I am so excited to finally be able to be part of this event," says Ochoa. "I have heard so many great things about it that I cannot wait longer to be there. Besides this, El Camaleon at Mayakoba is one of my favorite courses in México."

Tickets are now on sale and can be purchased by visiting the tournament web site www.MayakobaGolfClassic.com or by calling +52 (984) 877-2380 in Mexico. Local residents can purchase tickets at the Mayakoba Golf Classic tournament office located adjacent to the El Camaleón clubhouse.

Ochoa retired from the LPGA on April 23, 2010 after holding the No.1 spot in the LPGA Rankings as the best player in the world for three consecutive years. In her eight years on the LPGA Tour, she won 27 times and was among the top three 63 times. She finished among the top-10 an incredible 108 times in the 172 tournaments in which she competed. She was also a collegiate standout at the University of Arizona, where she won a record seven consecutive tournaments.

Ochoa and Greg Norman recently announced a partnership to jointly design championship and resort golf courses worldwide.

In November of last year, Ochoa and Greg Norman, who designed El Camaleón Golf Club, announced a partnership to jointly design championship and resort golf courses worldwide. To start this historic partnership, the two golf superstars have contacted the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in hopes of being selected to co-design the golf course that will host the 2016 Olympic Games in Brazil.

In its first four years, the Mayakoba Golf Classic has donated nearly $1 million USD in an effort to give back to the community through various philanthropic organizations and charitable groups as well as promote the game of golf within the Cancun and Riviera Maya regions. Organizations receiving charitable contributions from the Mayakoba Golf Classic include Golf PARa Todos, the American Junior Golf Association, Centro Equinoterapia, Centro Integracion Juvenil, CINDAQ, City of Joy Foundation (Ciudad de la Alegria), Red Cross of Playa del Carmen, DIF, Flora Fauna y Cultura de Mexico, the Lorena Ochoa Foundation, Malix-Pek Pet Shelter, Rotary Clubs of Playa del Carmen, Cancun and Tulum, Un Hogar Con Amor and more.

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

Lee Patterson
Media Director
Greg Norman Production Company
(704) 553-4790

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.

Ticket Information

Congratulations to "Psicólogo-terapeuta, maestro y amigo... caddie" for becoming the winner of the 2012 Fotogolf contest presented by the Mayakoba Golf Classic in conjunction with IN Riviera Maya magazine.

See The Winner

El Camaleón is aptly named for its diverse layout and ever-changing landscape, which bends through tropical jungles, dense mangroves and oceanfront stretches.

About El Camaleón

Mexico's Only PGA TOUR Event

Mayakoba Golf Classic, Golf PARa Todos, Grupo OHL, Greg Norman Production Company, Great White Shark Enterprises, PGA TOUR, Inc., their shareholders, representatives, partners, operators and/or subsidiaries or related companies (Organizers) will utilize your personal data collected herein for informational purposes and database compilation. For more information about the handling of your data and the rights which you may exercise, you can access our complete privacy notice by visiting http://www.mayakobagolfclassic.com/privacypolicy.