The PGA TOUR’s Champions Tour season-ending championship has a new name and a new home, announced Thursday by PGA TOUR Commissioner Tim Finchem.
The Champions Tour’s season-ending tournament, formerly known as the Champions Tour Championship, has been renamed the Charles Schwab Cup Championship. Sonoma Golf Club in Sonoma, CA will host the Championship from 2003-2006.
The 2003 Charles Schwab Cup Championship will be played Oct. 23-26, with the Golf Channel providing live coverage of all four rounds. Tom Watson is the defending champion.
‘In two years, the stature and significance of the Charles Schwab Cup has grown considerably in the eyes of Champions Tour players,’ said Finchem. ‘Linking the Tour’s season-ending event to the Charles Schwab Cup is a logical development for both the Cup and the Championship that will strengthen both competitions and drive additional fan interest. It will provide an even stronger finish to the Champions Tour season.
‘The Champions Tour has an excellent new venue in Sonoma Golf Club to host the Charles Schwab Cup Championship,’ Finchem continued. ‘Fall is a fabulous time of year in Northern California to stage the tournament. We look forward to working with Club and county personnel to make the event a big success for the area and the benefiting charities.’
‘Sonoma County welcomes the opportunity to showcase the good food, good wine, and good nature of our region to the Champions Tour,’ said Valerie Brown, Sonoma County Supervisor. ‘As a community we know that those who come to Sonoma County will be impressed with what our area has to offer.’
The Charles Schwab Cup Championship is one of the unique events on the Champions Tour’s 31-event schedule. Only the top 31 money winners of 2003 through the preceding week’s tournament ( SBC Championship in San Antonio, Texas) qualify. Competition is fierce throughout the year to secure one of the coveted 31 playing spots, particularly in September and October as the Championship approaches. A top-31 position will ensure fully-exempt status for the 2004 Champions Tour season.
Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. and the PGA TOUR launched the Charles Schwab Cup in 2001 to create a season-long competition that identifies and recognizes the leading players on the Champions Tour. Points are awarded at all 31 official Champions Tour events beginning with the MasterCard Championship in January, with a champion crowned at the Charles Schwab Cup Championship in late October.
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