Jacksonville Sports News*

GOLF: Hundreds of Artifacts Featured in World Golf Hall of Fame Class of 2009 Inductee Displays

On Monday, Oct. 26, special displays recounting the historic paths each of the 2009 Inductees took to the World Golf Hall of Fame will open to the public. The opening is one week prior to Dwight D. Eisenhower, Christy O’Connor, José María Olazábal and Lanny Wadkins becoming official members of the Hall of Fame at the annual Induction Ceremony, set for Monday, Nov. 2 at 6 p.m. (airs on Golf Channel at 10 p.m. ET).

“We are grateful to this year’s inductees and their families as they have been incredibly accommodating to provide their most prized possessions so that the Hall of Fame can share their stories with golf fans who come to visit from around the world,” said Jack Peter, Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of the World Golf Hall of Fame. “Literally hundreds of artifacts and some of the most amazing, rare photographs help tell their accomplished life stories which have brought them into the Hall of Fame. Guests are going to love what they see.”

Selected in the Lifetime Achievement Category, Eisenhower will become the first president in the Hall of Fame. In cooperation with the Dwight D. Eisenhower Library and Museum, the Hall of Fame will showcase several items that characterize “Ike’s” love of golf, including his Green Jacket, a personal planner and a tie and patch from Augusta National Golf Club, of which he was a member from 1948 to 1969. Items also have been loaned to the Hall of Fame from Eisenhower’s close friend, Arnold Palmer, including a painting the late president fashioned for Palmer and delivered in person on his 37th birthday.

The display for O’Connor, selected in the Veterans Category, will feature dozens of clubs, medals and trophies he earned during a career that spanned four decades and included 24 European Tour titles and 10 Ryder Cup appearances. His trophy commemorating the 1970 John Player Classic, when he won the richest prize in golf at the time, will be on display, as will his 1962 Harry Vardon Trophy, signifying his position as the only Irishman to have won the European Tour Order of Merit twice. The Carrolls International trophy he received for winning the tournament a third time in 1967, which features a design based on his swing, also will be included. Several Ryder Cup items will be showcased, including his European team bag from 1969, the eighth of his then-record 10 consecutive Ryder Cup appearances, a bar he set for consistent performance over three different decades.

The display for two-time Masters Champion Olazabal, elected on the International Ballot, will include several items representing that achievement. Among those items are his silver 1994 Masters clubhouse trophy, and the metalwoods and putter he used to win that event. Additionally the set of clubs he used to win his second Masters in 1999 is also on exhibition. His entire collection of major championship contestant badges from The Masters, The Open Championship, the U.S. Open and PGA Championship are on display as well. His exhibit also showcases his Ryder Cup career, his success on the European Tour and as an amateur, as he is the only one to have ever won the British Boys Amateur Golf Championship, the British Youth’s Open Golf Championship and The Amateur Championship. All three of those R&A trophies will be on display.

The display for Lanny Wadkins, elected on the PGA TOUR Ballot, will include several artifacts representing his domination on the U.S. Ryder Cup Teams between the late 1970s and the early 1990s, including all eight Ryder Cup bags and money clips. Numerous medals and trophies he earned en route to his 21 wins on the PGA TOUR will be presented, as will the MacGregor Custom driver he used capture the 1977 PGA Championship. In 1970, while attending Wake Forest, Wadkins produced one of the greatest years in amateur golf, winning the U.S. Amateur, Southern Amateur, Western Amateur and the World Amateur Team Championship. Several pieces on display will represent that feat.

In addition to the Inductee Exhibits, each new member has a dedicated locker in the Hall’s Member Locker Room, which features additional artifacts and personal memorabilia to offer guests a glimpse into their lives.

The 2009 Induction Ceremony will be held at the Hall of Fame in St. Augustine, Fla. The Inductee Exhibits will remain on display in the center of the museum, Shell Hall, for a year and then will move into other recent inductee areas.

For more information about the World Golf Hall of Fame, the upcoming Induction Ceremony or to learn more about the 2009 Class of Inductees, visit www.wgv.com. Also, extensive, behind-the-scenes coverage will take place Nov. 1-2 on the Hall of Fame’s Facebook and Twitter accounts.

GOLF: Winn-Dixie and PGA TOUR announce new “Winn-Dixie Jacksonville Open”

Winn-Dixie’s (NASDAQ: WINN) Chairman, CEO and President Peter Lynch and PGA TOUR Commissioner Tim Finchem announced today a partnership that will bring a new Nationwide Tour event, the “Winn-Dixie Jacksonville Open,” to the Jacksonville area next October to benefit local charities.

Jacksonville-based Winn-Dixie Stores will serve as the tournament’s title sponsor. The tournament will be played on The Dye’s Valley Course at TPC Sawgrass and 100% of the public ticket sales will be donated to Jacksonville area non-profit organizations through the TICKETS Fore CHARITY™ program.

“Winn-Dixie is proud to partner with the PGA TOUR to sponsor this new event for Jacksonville on the Nationwide Tour. This event not only brings another first-class golf event to our hometown, it also provides much-needed financial support to hundreds of local non-profit organizations,” said Lynch. “In these challenging economic times, TICKETS Fore CHARITY is an innovative way for the charities to raise a significant amount of money all year long.”

“We are excited to welcome Winn-Dixie to the PGA TOUR family and to work with Peter and his team to build a community event that showcases the next generation of PGA TOUR stars and the TPC Sawgrass Dye’s Valley course,” said Finchem. ”We view the Winn-Dixie Jacksonville Open as a strong complement to THE PLAYERS Championship. Many of the Nationwide Tour players that fans will see at this event will return to Sawgrass as participants in THE PLAYERS, joining distinguished former Tour graduates such as Jim Furyk, Zach Johnson and Stewart Cink and others.”

Thirteen-time PGA TOUR winner, former Nationwide Tour member and Ponte Vedra Beach resident Jim Furyk participated in today’s announcement.

"This is great news that the Nationwide Tour will be playing at the home of the PGA TOUR next year and Jacksonville-based Winn-Dixie will be the title sponsor," said Furyk. "I've seen the phenomenal growth of this Tour first-hand, originally as a Nationwide Tour member in 1993, and over the last 16 years, competing on the PGA TOUR. There is no doubt the Nationwide Tour has had a significant impact on the competition we see on the PGA TOUR today. I encourage all golf fans in North Florida to come out to TPC Sawgrass next October to experience the Nationwide Tour."

As a subsidiary of PGA TOUR, Inc., the Nationwide Tour is the “official proving ground” of the PGA TOUR. Two out of every three current PGA TOUR members formerly played the Nationwide Tour and alumni have won 257 PGA TOUR titles. With the Nationwide Tour celebrating its 20th year in 2009, this is another exciting development in the growth of the Tour.

“We thank Peter and the entire Winn-Dixie organization for their commitment to this new partnership,” added Nationwide Tour president Bill Calfee. “This will be the first time in our 20-year history a Nationwide Tour event will be played at the home of the PGA TOUR. Given the tournament’s proximity in the schedule to the season-ending Nationwide Tour Championship and the built-in battle, season-long quest to earn one of the 25 PGA TOUR cards that culminates at season’s end, the intensity of the competition will be significantly elevated. It’ll be a great show for the fans.”

It was also announced at the press conference, which took place at the TPC Sawgrass clubhouse, that Jeff Sanders Promotions, Inc., has been selected to manage the Winn-Dixie Jacksonville Open. Jeff Sanders Promotions manages one of the Nationwide Tour’s most successful events in Boise, Idaho, having done so since the Tour’s inception in 1990.
The Winn-Dixie Jacksonville Open will provide a purse of $600,000, with $108,000 being awarded to the winning professional. All four rounds of the Winn-Dixie Jacksonville Open will be broadcast on Golf Channel in the U.S. and distributed to an international audience as well.

The tournament will be played the second or third week of October next year. Specific dates will be announced as soon as the Nationwide Tour’s 2010 schedule is finalized, which is expected to occur within the next few weeks.

Jacksonville and Ponte Vedra Beach are home to a number of PGA TOUR members, including former and current Nationwide Tour players Jim Furyk, Jeff Klauk, Bubba Dickerson, Aron Price, Frank Lickliter, Len Mattiace, Tim Wilkinson, Matt Every, Steve Wheatcroft and Josh McCumber. Vijay Singh and Fred Funk also call the area home.

GOLF: Slocum makes $40,000 contribution to TICKETS Fore CHARITY™ program

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Heath Slocum, winner of The Barclays last month and No. 5 in the FedExCup standings heading into the Playoff Finale, today announced a $40,000 donation to THE TOUR Championship presented by Coca-Cola’s TICKETS Fore CHARITY™ program.

Slocum lives in nearby Alpharetta, Ga., and THE TOUR Championship this week is a homecoming of sorts for a player who went from No. 124 to No. 5 in the FedExCup standings in a matter of weeks and has a legitimate shot of becoming the 2009 FedExCup Champion. THE TOUR Championship will be held Sept. 23-27, 2009, at East Lake Golf Club as the finale to the PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup.

Slocum’s donation is earmarked for Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta and the Chron’s and Colitis Foundation, who will each receive $10,000 and THE TOUR Championship TICKETS Fore CHARITY™ tickets. The East Lake Foundation receives $20,000.

“I am excited to be playing here at home in Atlanta in THE TOUR Championship presented by Coca-Cola” said Slocum. “My wife Victoria and daughter Stella are very happy to be in the position to donate back to some causes that are near to our heart and community. I have suffered from Ulcerative Colitis since the late 1990s and since moving here have been working with the Georgia Chapter of the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation to help educate and find a cure for this debilitating disease. We also know how involved Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta has been in our community and the game of golf, and since our daughter was born it has become very important to take care of other children and families in need. It is also with great pride that we are able to give back to the community in which this great course is located and help those less fortunate with a donation to the East Lake Foundation. We are so lucky, and we hope that our gifts make a difference and we are able to do this for many years to come.”

“Heath’s generous donation is a prime example of the PGA TOUR’s charitable mission at work,” said PGA TOUR Commissioner Tim Finchem. “Here we have a player who found incredible success this year on TOUR and is using that success as a platform to positively impact the community in which he lives, which also happens to be a community in which we play. On behalf of the PGA TOUR, I want to commend and thank Heath and his wife Victoria for their kindness and generosity.”

All net proceeds from tickets purchased through the TICKETS Fore CHARITY™ program directly benefit participating charities, with 50 percent of net proceeds benefiting the charity selling the tickets and the remainder earmarked for the East Lake Foundation, one of THE TOUR Championship’s primary charities.

Ten community partners signed on to sell tickets through the TICKETS Fore CHARITY™ program: Atlanta Braves Foundation; Camp Twin Lakes; Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta; Special Olympics of Georgia; Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation, Atlanta Falcons Youth Foundation; Hands on Atlanta; Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation; Rotary Club of Columbus Fund; and TAG Education Collaborative.

Since 1998, THE TOUR Championship presented by Coca-Cola has donated more than $9 million to a variety of local and national charities – including $1.4 million in 2008 alone.

Primary beneficiaries are the East Lake Foundation and The First Tee. Founded in 1995 on the belief that everyone deserves a chance to succeed, the East Lake Foundation (www.eastlakefoundation.org) collaborates with public and private organizations to offer Atlanta’s East Lake residents opportunities to build a better future through education for children and adults, affordable housing, job readiness and connections with the broader community. Other cities seeking to transform their neighborhoods are turning to the Foundation for best practices.

GOLF: Kenny Perry named 2009 Payne Stewart Award recipient

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PGA TOUR veteran Kenny Perry, a champion in every sense of the word, both on the golf course and in the community, has been named the 2009 winner of the Payne Stewart Award as announced today in a press conference with PGA TOUR Commissioner Tim Finchem. Perry will be honored during a private reception this evening as part of the festivities at THE TOUR Championship presented by Coca-Cola, the culminating event of the PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup.

Celebrating its 10-year anniversary in 2009, the Payne Stewart Award is presented annually to a player sharing Stewart’s respect for the traditions of the game, his commitment to uphold the game’s heritage of charitable support and his professional and meticulous presentation of himself and the sport through his dress and conduct. Stewart, an 11-time winner on the PGA TOUR and World Golf Hall of Fame member, died tragically the week of THE TOUR Championship in 1999.

“There is no greater honor for a professional golfer than to receive the Payne Stewart Award,” said Perry. “Payne personified all the virtues the game of golf can teach us, so being recognized as a person who is worthy of an award created in his memory is incredibly humbling. This award is and will always be one of my greatest accomplishments.”

With 14 PGA TOUR titles to his credit, including two victories in 2009, Perry, 49, epitomizes the saying “good things come to those who wait.” A PGA TOUR member since 1986, Perry won three times in his first 14 years on the PGA TOUR. However, since turning 40 in August 2000, Perry has won 11 times, highlighted by a five-victory stretch over the last 16 months. Perry’s two victories in 2009 came on the heels of a career season in 2008 in which he won three times, finished 15th in the final FedExCup standings and made his second-career Ryder Cup appearance in his home state of Kentucky.

A native of Franklin, Ky., and member of the Western Kentucky University and Kentucky Golf Halls of Fame, Perry began playing the game at age 7, and giving back to the game that has been so kind to him is an important part of his life off the golf course. Winner of the 2002 Charles Bartlett Award, given to a professional golfer for his unselfish contributions to the betterment of society by the Golf Writers Association of America, Perry donates five percent of his winnings to a scholarship fund at Lipscomb University in Nashville, Tenn., for students from Simpson (KY) County.

A resident of Franklin, Ky., Perry was concerned in the mid-1990s that there was no public golf course in the community. In 1995, Perry bought 142 acres of land and borrowed more than $2.5 million to design and build Country Creek Golf Course, an affordable public facility that caters to mid-to-high handicappers.

“In celebrating the 10-year anniversary of the Payne Stewart Award, we can’t imagine a more deserving recipient than Kenny Perry,” said PGA TOUR Commissioner Tim Finchem. “Kenny embodies all of the qualities this award represents in his character, passion for growing the game of golf and commitment to charitable giving. We are thrilled to add his name to the distinguished list of individuals who have been honored with the Payne Stewart Award.”

Perry becomes the 12th recipient of the award. The inaugural Payne Stewart Award was presented in 2000 to Byron Nelson, Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer. Ben Crenshaw was the 2001 recipient, followed by Nick Price (2002), Tom Watson (2003), Jay Haas (2004), Brad Faxon (2005), Gary Player (2006), Hal Sutton (2007) and Davis Love III (2009).

In addition to a sculpture presented to the recipient, the Payne Stewart Award is accompanied by an annual Payne Stewart Award Grant presented by Southern Company. The $300,000 supports several initiatives in Stewart’s name and is distributed as follows: $100,000 to Payne and Tracey Stewart’s primary charity, The Stewart Family Foundation; $100,000 in Stewart’s honor to The First Tee of the Ozarks located in Missouri at Kids Across America, which is affiliated with Kanakuk Kamps; and $100,000 to a charity designated by the winner. Perry has chosen Potter Children’s Home in Bowling Green, Ky.

“Southern Company has been honored to share in the presentation of the Payne Stewart Award the last 10 years and echo the Commissioner’s comments regarding this year’s recipient, Kenny Perry,” said Chris Womack, EVP, Southern Company. “We’ve developed a wonderful relationship with the PGA TOUR and believe this award has truly become a meaningful way to honor Payne Stewart and the values of integrity, sportsmanship and charitable giving he epitomized.”

WGV: Hall of Fame to present 2009 Class during Nov. 2 ceremony

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Jim Nantz, Christy O’Connor Jr. and Arnold Palmer will be in attendance to present 2009 Inductees Lanny Wadkins, Christy O’Connor and the late Dwight D. Eisenhower, respectively, at the World Golf Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony on Nov. 2. Seve Ballesteros will present José María Olazábal through a videotaped message.

Nantz, who shared broadcast responsibilities with Wadkins from 2002 to 2006, will welcome his former colleague and friend. Nantz said, “I am thrilled to present my dear friend at the Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony. Lanny was a champion golfer at every stage of his distinguished career. What always impressed me the most was the way he represented the game with the utmost class and dignity. He is long deserving of this recognition and I consider it a deep honor to tell his story on November 2nd.”

O’Connor will be presented by his nephew, fellow Irish golfer O’Connor, Jr., who said, “It will be an absolute privilege to recognize my uncle’s scores of achievements in golf as he is inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame. He has been a great representative of Irish golf for so many years and it will be a magnificent night for Himself, our extended family and Ireland as a whole.”

Palmer, who will speak on behalf of Eisenhower, said, “I couldn’t be more proud of anything than having the honor of presenting President Eisenhower at this year’s Induction Ceremony. He was a great American whom I admired very much and was fortunate enough to have as a close friend. I think it’s wonderful that he is being recognized on this level for the many contributions he made to the game. President Eisenhower received many honors in his life, but I think he would have really enjoyed this one.”

Olazábal has asked his good friend and fellow Spaniard Ballesteros, who was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1999, to introduce him. Ballesteros was diagnosed with a cancerous brain tumor last year and has since undergone multiple surgeries and cancer treatments. While initially hoping to be at the ceremony in person, he will be unable to attend for health reasons though will welcome his friend through a pre-recorded introduction.

Ballesteros said, “It is fantastic knowing that Jose Maria will become a member of the Hall of Fame. He deserves it for all he has done and is still doing for golf. I am very happy for him as a professional but it makes me happier for him as a person. He really deserves to be there. He means a lot to me. He is one of my best friends and I have had the honor of sharing with him many different moments in our lives. He has been by my side in the good times and in the not so very good times and I will always be there for him. Provided I am unable to be physically there [at the ceremony], believe me that my heart and thoughts will be with you all. José María, welcome to the Hall of Fame my friend.”

Rich Lerner, US Golf Channel commentator, will host this year’s ceremony.

Jack Peter, Sr. Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of the Hall of Fame, said, “Each year’s induction class represents stories in the game of golf that are both powerful and captivating. The guests who attend the ceremony and those who watch the international broadcast will enjoy hearing the personal stories and irreplaceable anecdotes that invariably surface during the evening. It’s a special time in golf and surely for the 2009 Class.”

The Induction Ceremony will take place on Nov. 2 at the World Golf Hall of Fame at the World Golf Village in St. Augustine, Fla., and will air the same night on the Golf Channel (U.S.) at 10 p.m. ET.