Great Golf, Fan Friendly Activities & Community Involvement Have Become Bank of America Championship's Hallmarks
May 18, 2006
CONCORD, Mass - Providing highly competitive golf by
some of the best professional golfers to play the game, developing fan
friendly events that can involve the whole family and giving back to its
community have become the hallmark's of the PGA TOUR's Champions Tour
Bank of America Championship, according to tournament director Tracy
West.
Tournament week for the twenty-sixth annual Bank of America Championship
takes place June 5-11 at Nashawtuc Country Club in Concord, and "we've
planned something for everyone," West says.
First, the competitive field once again comprises stellar golfers. Mark
McNulty will defend his title against five World Golf Hall of Fame
members, Isao Aoki, Ray Floyd, Tom Kite, Larry Nelson and Lee Trevino,
against five of the Tour's top money winners so far this year, Brad
Bryant, Morris Hatalsky, Kite, Jerry Pate and Bobby Wadkins and against
nine former Bank of America Championship winners, Aoki, Jim Albus, Bob
Charles, Jim Dent, Allen Doyle, Bob Gilder, Mike Hill, Larry Nelson and
Craig Stadler. Local members of the field, in addition to Doyle, will be
2005 Player of the Year Dana Quigley and two new faces, Kirk Hanefeld
and Rick Karbowski.
Second, new tournament week events show how the Bank of America
Championship keeps things interesting from when the gates open to the
last putt.
In a first for Champions Tour golf, Major League Baseball has teamed up
with the Bank of America Champions for Swing with the Legends. Twelve
legends from Major League Baseball will compete against each other in a
tournament within a tournament alongside the Champions Tour pros on
Saturday and Sunday, June 10-11, and fans will be able to get their
autographs at a meet-and-greet on Friday afternoon, June 9. Players
signed up so far include Kevin Bass, Johnny Bench, Doug DeCinces, Bobby
Grich, Bob Knepper, Bill Mazeroski, Rick Miller, Jim Perry, Mickey
Tettleton and Bob Tewksbury.
In another first, local comedian Lenny Clarke will top the bill of some
of the region's best comics in the Hilarity for Charity Comedy Stand-up
Show that will treat fans to sidesplitting, stand-up comedy after play
at the eighteenth hole on Saturday afternoon, June 10.
The fun actually will start as soon as fans enter the tournament gates.
Each fan will receive a complimentary Tournament Treasures ticket,
Friday through Sunday, and will learn if their ticket is a winner at the
Tournament Treasures Expo Pavilion. Prizes will include golf apparel and
equipment, and fans also can enter a drawing to win a vacation, yard
shed, getaway weekend and more.
The fun will continue at the Comcast Family Fun Zone and Massachusetts
General Hospital Fit for the Fairway Pavilion. The newly expanded Fun
Zone will sport activities for all ages, including inflatable golf nets,
arts and crafts, a playground, interactive computer games and giveaways.
The Fit for the Fairway Pavilion will feature licensed physical
therapists demonstrating stretching and strength-building exercises for
golfers and wellness literature.
After finding out how to stay in shape for golf, fans will be able to
improve their games by watching BJ's/PepsiCo Golf Clinics and the
Hogan's Alley Skills Challenge. The former will be conducted by Legends
Tour professional women's golfers Jane Blalock and Cindy Miller, and the
latter will involve Champions Tour pros, junior golfers and members of
the news media attempting to best each other on several short-game shots
using vintage Hogan clubs.
Third, the Bank of America Championship continues to give-back to the
community for the support shown to the tournament throughout its 25-year
history. Economic impact studies performed this past winter by Bentley
College, Waltham, and Daniel Webster College, Nashua, N.H., have found
the tournament contributes an average $25-$27 million annually to the
local and national economy. In addition, the tournament has donated more
than $4 million over the past 25 years to more than 40 charitable
organizations in eastern Massachusetts, with a focus on those in the
Assabet Valley region. Local beneficiaries have included Emerson
Hospital, the Boys and Girls Clubs of Assabet Valley, The First Tee of
Massachusetts golf programs for children and The Genesis Fund.
The Bank of America Championship, which began in 1981 and has been
played at Nashawtuc Country Club since 1984, is among the top five
spectator sporting events in New England, annually drawing more than
60,000 spectators. Tickets to the tournament are $20 in advance and $25
at the gate. Children under 15 are admitted free when accompanied by an
adult. Tickets are available by calling 1-877-559-GOLF, and tickets and
up-to-date information are available at
www.bankofamericachampionship.com.
