Major Champions And PGA TOUR Winners Prepare For Next Week's Mayakoba Golf Classic

Major Champions And PGA TOUR Winners
Prepare For Next Week's Mayakoba Golf Classic

David Toms Among Recent Entrants

PLAYA DEL CARMEN, México — The field for next week's Mayakoba Golf Classic will include competitors who are experienced in the emotions of victory when the PGA TOUR comes to El Camaleón Golf Club at Mayakoba February 25-March 1.

Several professionals with multiple PGA TOUR victories to their credit are among the recent commitments. This group includes Cameron Beckman, Notah Begay III, Olin Browne, Chad Campbell, Jose Coceres, Chris DiMarco, Joe Durant, Carlos Franco, Paul Goydos, Dudley Hart, Charles Howell III, John Huston, Jerry Kelly, Scott McCarron, Jesper Parnevik, Heath Slocum, Vaughn Taylor and Scott Verplank. Both Campbell and Holmes were members of last year's victorious U.S. Ryder Cup team.

Toms has 12 career PGA TOUR wins, including the 2001 PGA Championship.

Another group headed to Playa del Carmen is former Major Championship winners lead by two-time U.S. Open champion Lee Janzen. Joining him in that elite group is 1995 U.S. Open Champion Corey Pavin; 1996 British Open champion Tom Lehman; and PGA Championship winners Bob Tway, Mark Brooks, Rich Beem and David Toms. Beem, Lehman and Toms will be making their Mayakoba debuts. Pavin leads this group with 15 TOUR titles.

Those who won on the PGA TOUR as recently as last year scheduled to compete in the Mayakoba Golf Classic are Cameron Beckman, Brian Gay, J.B. Holmes, Parker McLachlin, Richard S. Johnson and Chez Reavie.

Four from this group of 2008 TOUR champions also have another common feature—each of them were first time winners on TOUR last year. Mayakoba Golf Classic defending champion Gay was the first to do so a year ago. Then during the summer Johnson won in Milwaukee, Reavie the Canadian Open and McLachlin in Reno-Tahoe to claim their first wins.

Two players in the field won on the European Tour in 2008. Pablo Larrazabal was the European Tour's Rookie of the Year last year after winning the Open de France. Also, Gonzalo Fernandez-Castaño won the British Masters, defeating Lee Westwood in a playoff.

The Mayakoba Golf Classic is Mexico's Only PGA TOUR Event. In a short two years, the tournament has brought considerable international recognition to Mexico and has raised awareness and opportunity for those interested in the game of golf. Sports fans and golf enthusiasts will be able to enjoy the Mayakoba Golf Classic for years to come as it is currently scheduled through 2012.

Crowd favorite Jerry Kelly will return to Mayakoba after finishing T26 in 2007.

It is important to note that players have until this Friday, February 20 to express their intentions to compete in the 132-player field coming to Mexico for the four-round $3.6 million USD stroke-play competition.

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.

A new offer this year for tournament patrons is young adults and children age 17 and under will be admitted free of charge with a ticketed adult to this year's Mayakoba Golf Classic.

For more information on the Mayakoba Golf Classic please contact the tournament office at Mayakoba at 011 52 (984) 877-2380 or visit www.mayakobagolfclassic.com.

The MGC encourages all media to visit www.mayakobagolfclassic.com. The site has extensive information in English and Spanish for the press under the MEDIA tab including the Media Credential Application for press attending the event. The application is due February 19.

Select Player Commitments:

Mauricio Azcue Richard S. Johnson

Cameron Beckman Jerry Kelly

Rich Beem Jose Manuel Lara

Notah Begay III Pablo Larrazabal

Mark Brooks Tom Lehman

Olin Browne Santiago Luna

Chad Campbell Scott McCarron

Jose Coceres Parker McLachlin

Chris DiMarco Nick O'Hern

Joe Durant Corey Pavin

Gonzalo Fernandez-Castaño Jesper Parnevik

Carlos Franco Chez Reavie

Brian Gay Jose de Jesus Rodriguez

Paul Goydos Heath Slocum

Dudley Hart Vaughn Taylor

Charles Howell III David Toms
John Huston Bob Tway

Lee Janzen Scott Verplank

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

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!

The Legend of Don Pepe Lota

Corporate Allies

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.