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January 31, 2007
The First Tee Program gets boost from Arnold Palmer Invitational
Golf to be introduced to fifty elementary schools in Orlando
On February 3, educators from The First Tee National School Program will train OCPS elementary school physical education instructors on how to introduce their students to the game of golf during regular gym classes.
The four-hour training session will take place at 9 a.m. at Robinswood Middle School in the gymnasium in Orlando. Each participating school will receive a set of modified golf equipment specially designed for safely instructing children either in a gymnasium or on an outdoor playing field.
“The goal is to present the game of golf to the students at a young age the same way sports like basketball, baseball, football, and soccer are presented,” said Scott Wellington, tournament director of the Arnold Palmer Invitational, which is helping finance the program along with the PGA TOUR. “We are hoping the program will build participation among the children of Orlando, the next generation of fans for the Arnold Palmer Invitational and the PGA TOUR.” Fifty (50) elementary schools will receive the program over the next two years with over 20,000 elementary students participating!
The First Tee National School Program is an entry-level golf curriculum designed to be part of elementary school physical education programs. Taught by physical education teachers and based on national physical education standards, the National School Program is a safe, fun, and effective way to introduce school children to the basics in golf skills, etiquette and play. The program also includes the element of character education through the inclusion of The First Tee Nine Core Values (honesty, integrity, sportsmanship, respect, confidence, responsibility, perseverance, courtesy and judgment).
“Through the National School Program we are able to expose a wide range of students to golf and its inherent values,” said Joe Louis Barrow, Jr., executive director of The First Tee program. “As we expand each year to schools across the country, more and more children will learn this valuable life sport and have the choice to make it a part of their lives.”
So far, the National School Program has introduced golf to some 490,000 children in 1100 schools across the nation.
About The First Tee
The First Tee (www.thefirsttee.org) is an initiative of the World Golf Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization based in St. Augustine, FL at World Golf Village, home of the World Golf Hall of Fame. Its mission is to impact the lives of young people by providing learning facilities and educational programs that promote character development and life-enhancing values through the game of golf. Since its inception in 1997, The First Tee has opened over 250 golf-learning facilities in 46 states and five international locations, and has introduced the game of golf and its values to over 675,000 participants.
Posted by scurry at 04:48 PM
January 30, 2007
Continued Refinements at Bay Hill Club
Founder and host approves change to par-70 layout
For Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by MasterCard
Ceaseless in his love for and devotion to the game of golf and tireless in his efforts to make one of the best PGA TOUR events better, Arnold Palmer continues to make refinements to his Bay Hill Club in Orlando, Florida, in preparation for the 2007 edition of his tournament, which has been renamed the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by MasterCard.
While only minor adjustments have been made to Palmer’s prized layout since Rod Pampling’s victory last year, players may find the scoring dynamics a bit different. That’s because the Championship Course will be adjusted down to a par-70 configuration for this year’s 29th edition March 12-18, though it remains par 72 for the membership. Two par-5 holes, the fourth and 16th, are being converted to par-4s, though their yardage won’t change much; the fourth will measure about 480 yards while the 16th will be close to 500 yards. The course’s overall yardage of 7,267 won’t be diminished appreciably.
“It’s something I’ve been thinking about for a few years now, and I figured it was time, simply for the way the game is progressing along,” Palmer says. “You look at how they approach certain holes … most of the guys are hitting irons into 16. It’s playing as par-4 anyway. So I thought we should take a look at this. I think this will make it more interesting for the overall tournament in relation to par.”
Other adjustments to the golf course are of a cosmetic variety. Most prominent is a renovation of the bunkers. The edges have been cut, which makes them slightly larger and gives them a cleaner look. New white sand has been installed for consistency of appearance as well as playability. The remainder of the layout, from the denseness of the rough to the speed of the greens, is being cultivated for optimum playing conditions.
Palmer’s Bay Hill course has always been one of the top challenges on the PGA TOUR. With its humps, mounds and bunkers protecting large, firm greens, and its broad fairways lined by thick rough, the Championship Course presents a series of difficult but fair holes. Last year, amid placid playing conditions, Bay Hill ranked in the middle of the pack on the PGA TOUR in terms of difficulty, with the field averaging 72.225 strokes.
“The golf course is probably as good or better than ever,” Palmer says. “I say that every year, and every year I think we manage to make it a little bit better, a little more challenging. I think the players will find it in great shape and provide the kind of test that a golf course should. If you take care of the golf course first then everything else sort of falls into place.”
For tickets to the 2007 Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by MasterCard or for more information, log on to the tournament web site, www.arnoldpalmerinvitational.com or call the Bay Hill Club ticket office at 407-876-7774 or toll free at 1-866-764-4843. Tournament proceeds benefit the Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children and the Winnie Palmer Hospital for Women & Babies.
Posted by scurry at 04:49 PM
January 23, 2007
Hoffman matches Palmer at 1st Hope
Congratulations to Charley Hoffman on becoming only the second player ever to win the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic on his first try. He can only hope he eventually matches the success at the Hope of the man whose name he now joins in the record books.
Arnold Palmer won The Hope on his first try in 1960 and went on to win it again in 1962, ‘68, ‘71 and ‘73.
“As my record might suggest, The Hope became one of my favorite spots on tour,” Palmer says.
Perhaps Palmer’s best memory of the tournament has nothing to do with what happened on the course. It was at the Hope in the early 1970s that Palmer was summoned to a mini-summit with President Richard M. Nixon. A U.S. Marine helicopter picked up Bob Hope, Palmer and their spouses and flew them over the mountains to Nixon’s Western White House at San Clemente north of San Diego.
On hand with Nixon was Vice President Gerald Ford, foreign policy adviser Henry Kissinger and a host of top level national security officials. “It seemed the president wanted to pick our brains, of all things, about how to end the war in Vietnam,” Palmer told author James Dodson in the Palmer biography, A Golfer’s Life. When Palmer’s turn came to express his opinion, Palmer sheepishly told the Commander-in-Chief to “get this thing over as quickly as possible, for everyone’s sake. I mean, why not go for the green?”
The golf pro’s advice got a round of laughs from people who were unaccustomed to the levity.
So, again, congratulations to Hoffman. May The Hope be the first of many tour victories and lead to -- who knows? -- presidents seeking your advice on worldly matters.
After all, stranger things have happened.
And congratulations to 1996 Bay Hill Invitational champion Paul Goydos for winning Sunday’s Sony Open in Hawaii. His opportunity to become a repeat champion at Bay Hill begins March 12 at the newly renamed Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by MasterCard.
Posted by crodell at 10:05 AM
January 19, 2007
Legend Prepares for New Era at Bay Hill
Arnold Palmer joins special club with name adorning annual PGA TOUR event presented by MasterCard
In 2007 Arnold Palmer becomes the second player to have the distinction of a PGA TOUR event named in his honor, which is not only appropriate but also comes at a fortuitous time given that the first, Byron Nelson, whose name has been on the Dallas stop for 40 years, passed away late last year.
When the PGA TOUR's finest return to the Bay Hill Club in Orlando, they will be vying for the first title in what is now know as the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by MasterCard.
Palmer agreed to become host of the event in 1979 and has nurtured it into a top-flight tournament. This year's event at Bay Hill offers a purse of $5.5 million and is scheduled for March 12-18, remaining anchored in its traditional dates as the PGA TOUR embarks this season on a new competitive format, the FedExCup, a points-based competition that will determine a season champion.
Though the announcement of the tournament name change occurred last March, Palmer, a seven-time major championship winner, in some ways still struggles to come to terms with such an emotional and humbling honor. "It's still hard to fathom in some ways, but it's something that was important to my family, and they made it happen, and I hope that it's a good thing for the tournament," Palmer, age 77, says. "I feel like the tournament isn't going to change much, really, except that we think it's going to be better than last year, which is always our goal."
PGA TOUR commissioner Tim Finchem believes the name change will have a profound effect on the tournament.
"We are particularly excited about this development for the future of the tournament at Bay Hill," Finchem says. "Arnold, of course, is inextricably related to this championship. He created it. I think what's happened here with the development of the tournament under Arnold's tutelage is very special. It is part of the texture and the fabric of the PGA TOUR. Renaming the tournament the Arnold Palmer Invitational does a couple of things. It really identifies the tournament correctly, and it positions the tournament for the future. In both cases, these were steps that really strengthened these weeks on the PGA TOUR. This week now will be a stronger week and that's the objective."
Winner of 62 PGA TOUR titles and countless more hearts as one of the most popular and beloved figures in American sports, Palmer says he respectfully declined numerous requests over the years to have his name on various tournaments. "I resisted here as long as I was playing or participating on the TOUR full time," he adds. "I just didn't think it would be appropriate to have my name on a golf tournament. As a matter of fact, I kind of let it slide by without giving it a great deal of thought until my daughter, Amy, suggested that we do this. And since she has something to do with me, I listened. If it can be what I had hoped this tournament would be over the years, I'll be very happy for it."
Though Palmer would dearly love to tee it up himself in the first year of the renamed championship, he is content with acting as host and overseeing preparation of the golf course he has put his personal stamp on over the years. Palmer retired from competitive golf last year, though he remains committed to participating in select special events such as the Champions Skins Game in which he appeared last week in Wailea, Hawaii. He stopped playing in his own event in 2004.
"I dream of still being involved competitively, but that's just not going to happen," he says. "I want to enjoy my golf, and I can do that in other ways, and by the same token I look forward to enjoying the golf being played during the tournament. I think the state of the tournament is as good as ever and, hopefully, we will have another fine event this year that's well attended by the players and fans alike."
One of the premier stops on the PGA TOUR, the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by MasterCard traditionally draws one of the strongest fields among golf tournaments from around the world. Australia's Rod Pampling is the defending champion, joining an esteemed list of past winners including Tiger Woods, who won a record four straight, Phil Mickelson, Ernie Els, Ben Crenshaw, Tom Kite, Fred Couples and the late Payne Stewart.
For tickets to the 2007 Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by MasterCard or for more information, log on to the tournament web site, www.arnoldpalmerinvitational.com or call the Bay Hill Club ticket office at 407-876-7774 or toll free at 1-866-764-4843. Tournament proceeds benefit the Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children and the Winnie Palmer Hospital for Women & Babies.
Posted by scurry at 04:51 PM
January 17, 2007
Palmer birdie nets $100,000
Arnold Palmer rolled in a clutch 10-foot putt to end a day of struggles with one euphoric success. The single putt earned Palmer, 77, and playing partner Loren Roberts $100,000 on the second day of the Wendy’s Champions Skins Game at Wailea Golf Club’s Gold Course in Wailea, Hawaii. The putt dropped on the second playoff hole, No. 16, the same 208-yard par 3 Palmer’d birdied to tie earlier when he sunk a 25-footer.
The playoff birdie kept the Palmer-Roberts team from ending the event without a skin, something even his competitors said didn’t want to see happen. “Even though we were competing against him, we want to see him succeed and he did,” said Tom Watson, who partnered with Jack Nicklaus to win nine skins and $320,000 to edge the Gary Player-Jay Haas team’s six skins for $290,000. The Raymond Floyd-Dana Quigley team began the back nine tied with Nicklaus-Watson at two skins and $60,000, but were blanked during the day and finished last.
It was the first time since 2000 that every team took home some money. Palmer’s superstar opponents weren’t the only ones hoping to celebrate a Palmer skin. Palmer had been chagrined at having left Roberts in many awkward positions in the alternate shot format.
“I played pretty poorly up ‘til then, but the galleries stayed with me. So, I was happy to finally give them something to cheer about,” Palmer said. “Thanks to my partner for keeping us in it most of the way with some truly great recovery shots.”
The eight invitees have combined to win 553 tournament victories around the world, including 46 majors, and more than $103 million in prize money.
Posted by crodell at 02:01 PM
January 04, 2007
Palmer to Play this Month in Hawaii
Arnold Palmer will tee it up next weekend (Jan.12-14) in the Wendy's Champions Skins Game. Palmer, who will be playing for the 19th time since competing in the inaugural senior version of the TV-popular Skins Game in 1988, will team up with Loren Roberts this year. Arnold missed only the 1997 Senior Skins following his prostate cancer surgery and has played in more of those events than any other golfer.
The new format for the Wendy's Champions Skins Game features four two-man teams, who will vie for the $770,000 purse in alternate-shot competition. Palmer and Roberts will be facing three other potent duos - Jack Nicklaus and Tom Watson, Gary Player and Jay Haas and Raymond Floyd and Dana Quigley. Interestingly, all four Hall-of-Famers who competed in the first-ever Skins Game in 1983 -- Palmer, Nickaus, Player and Watson -- will be playing at Wailea.
The payoffs will be $30,000 per team for the first six holes, $40,000 for the next six, $50,000 for holes 13 through 17 and $100,000 for No. 18. Ten percent of each player's winnings will go to charity -- 5% to the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption and 5% to the charity of his choice.
Tickets are $10 for the Jan. 12 Pro-Am, which begins at 9 a.m. Admission on Jan. 13, for the first nine holes, or Jan. 14, for the final nine, is $25. Play begins at 8 a.m. on the weekend. A three-day pass is $50. Children 12-and-under are free with a ticket-holding adult.
Tickets can be purchased at the Wailea pro shops, Fairmont Kea Lani, Four Seasons Maui, Grand Wailea, Ka'anapali Golf Club, and the Maui Golf Shop and Roger Dunn Golf Shop in Kihei. They will also be available at the gate.
Posted by scurry at 04:14 PM