Major Champions And PGA Tour Winners Begin Making Plans For Inaugural Mayakoba Golf Classic At Riviera Maya

Major Champions And PGA Tour Winners Begin Making Plans
For Inaugural Mayakoba Golf Classic At Riviera Maya - Cancún

PLAYA DEL CARMEN, México -- PGA TOUR players are starting to make plans for the 2007 season and are including the Mayakoba Golf Classic at Riviera Maya - Cancún as part of their schedule for the February 19-25 tournament at the Mayakoba resort in Playa del Carmen, México.

Major championship winners Mark Calcavecchia, Jeff Sluman and Steve Elkington have indicated they plan to participate in México's first-ever official PGA TOUR event. Past PGA TOUR champions John Cook, J.B. Holmes and Dean Wilson have also added their names as possible competitors in February.

Calcavecchia won the 1989 British Open and has collected 12 PGA TOUR titles since 1986.

"Now that the 2006 season is behind them, players are starting to focus on where they will be competing in 2007 and we are excited to see a few of these stars make initial plans to come to Playa del Carmen," said Tournament Director Larson Segerdahl. "We know that players are already talking about the Cancún Riviera Maya regions of México as an exotic resort destination. Also, the opportunity to play in a historical event for México has created quite an interest among the TOUR membership."

It is important to note that players (top 64 World Golf Rankings) may still qualify for the World Golf Championship Accenture Match Play Championship in Tucson, AZ scheduled the same week as the Mayakoba Golf Classic. Also, players have until Friday before the Mayakoba Golf Classic to express their intentions to compete in the 144-player field coming to México for the four-round $3.5 million USD stroke-play competition.

Calcavecchia won the 1989 British Open Championship and has collected 12 PGA TOUR titles since 1986. He won the 2005 Bell Canadian Open and has been a member of four Ryder Cup teams and two Presidents Cup teams. Sluman captured the 1988 PGA Championship, the first of six TOUR titles during his career. Elkington also won a PGA Championship, sinking a 25-foot putt to win a playoff over Colin Montgomerie. He has won 10 titles on TOUR, including the prestigious Players Championship.

Cook, winner of 11 TOUR events also captured the 1995 Mexican Open. Holmes, who led the TOUR in Driving Distance this season, won the 2006 FBR Open earlier this year and captured the 2005 PGA TOUR Qualifying Tournament. Wilson has accumulated six international victories and his one PGA TOUR title came this year at The International, a prestigious Colorado event.

Aussie Steve Elkington has collected 16 victories worldwide.

This Sunday, tournament officials, in collaboration with the Mexican Federation of Golf, will add another player to the field by offering an exemption to the winner of this week's Mexican Golf Open.

Greg Norman, the course-designer and winner of over 90 worldwide golf tournaments, is also expected to participate in this premier PGA TOUR event.

Also included in the field will be four players who qualify through an Open Qualifying Tournament to be held at the Iberostar Playa Paraiso Golf Club in Playa del Carmen on Monday, February 19, 2007.

As part of the 2007 PGA TOUR FedExCup schedule, the Mayakoba Golf Classic will be the eighth event of this dynamic new points system. For more information on the FedExCup point system, please visit www.pgatour.com/fedexcup/overview.

For more information on the Mayakoba Golf Classic at Riviera Maya-Cancún or any other media inquiries, please contact Latin America Media Director Elisa Gaudet at Elisa@execgolfintl.com or (305) 677-2166. For all other tournament-related questions please contact the tournament office at Mayakoba at +52 (984) 877-2380 or visit www.mayakobagolfclassic.com. Tickets will go on sale December 15. Tickets can be purchased by visiting the tournament website, calling +52 (984) 877-2380 in México or calling 888-66-SHARK in the U.S.

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.

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.