In the News

Following the recent breakout success of the Golf Channel’s most talked about original series, The Haney Project, which featured beleaguered NBA Hall-of-Famer Charles Barkley’s attempts to save his golf game, Everybody Loves Raymond star and Emmy Award-winner Ray Romano has signed on as Hank Haney’s next celebrity golf student for the series’ highly anticipated second season.

Scheduled to debut in spring 2010, the series will follow the same entertaining format that made the premiere season of The Haney Project a critical and ratings success.

As the agency charged with marketing Scottsdale to tourists and meeting planners throughout the world, we at the Scottsdale Convention & Visitors Bureau understand the devastating impact of this current recession and its impact on all aspects of tourism, including golf.

Individuals and companies alike are cutting back on expenditures. While these cutbacks are crippling the economy in the short term, they will hopefully lead to sustainable economic recovery. We’re hopeful that Americans will feel comfortable opening their pocketbooks and spending—in moderation—in the very near future.

United States Team Captain Fred Couples used performance as his ultimate criteria when making his Captain's selections for the upcoming President's Cup. International Captain Greg Norman went a different way, opting for two very popular players.

Struggling Australian Adam Scott and soon-to-be 18-year-old Ryo Ishikawa were selected to join the International squad, while reigning U.S. Open champion Lucas Glover and Hunter Mahan, member of the 2008 U.S. Ryder Cup team, were picked to represent the Red, White and Blue.

Pebble Beach Resort has been ranked No. 1 in the 2009 edition of Golf Digest's 75 Best Golf Resorts in North America. The resort, which will host the 2010 U.S. Open, regains the top spot after having dropped to third place in the previous ranking in 2006. Pebble Beach was also ranked No. 1 in 2004 and in 2002.

To determine The 75 Best Golf Resorts in North America, Golf Digest called upon its 900-plus course rating panelists, who also produce the list of America's 100 Greatest Courses. The panelists rated hundreds of resort courses in the United States, Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean on a scale of 1 ("awful") to 10 ("perfect"). 

More than two decades removed from his 18th and final major championship triumph, the 1986 Masters, Jack Nicklaus will once again make history at Augusta National Golf Club when he joins good friend and former rival Arnold Palmer as Honorary Starter for the 2010 Masters.

“I have had such a long-standing appreciation and love affair with Augusta National and the Masters Tournament, and this honor is a wonderful way for me to say thank you to the many patrons who have supported me over the decades,” said Nicklaus, a six-time champion at Augusta.

The PGA Tour, through its partnership with Turner Sports, today announced the official PGA Tour App for iPhone and iPod touch, is available at no cost on the App Store. The PGA Tour App will leverage pgatour.com’s live video streaming and live scoring to provide an enhanced experience to iPhone and iPod touch users for each of the four PGA Tour Playoffs for the FedExCup tournaments beginning with The Barclays (Aug. 27-30).

Following the Playoffs, the app will be available throughout the PGA Tour Fall Series and beyond providing fans instant access to every player and tournament. Presented by Nike Golf, the official PGA Tour App is the only golf application to offer fans access to pgatour.com’s exclusive content, including custom live leaderboards, video highlights, play-by-play coverage, player stats and award-winning editorial franchises. 

On Sunday, October 18, 2009, in Sedona, Arizona, a benefit golf event will be held at the Oakcreek Country Club. Golf benefits are common but the purpose of this event is to raise money for PGA Head Professional Gabe Beronja, his wife Cindy and most importantly, for their twin boys Tyler and Zachary, who each have been waging courageous battles for their lives since being born in September of 2007.

All proceeds from the event will be used to pay down the astronomical medical bills that the Beronjas have incurred while keeping their children alive. 

Tyler and Zachary were born nearly four months premature and their lives, to date, have been hard but the fact that they are still alive, is a minor miracle.

The 2009 PGA Fall Expo, which is set for Sept. 1-2, in Las Vegas, will begin with a special presentation by The PGA of America addressing government legislation, relations and the importance of golf industry advocacy in the current economic climate.

The "Government Legislation Impacting Golf" seminar is open to all attending industry professionals and will be led by Christine Garrity, Managing Director and General Counsel for The PGA of America and Eric Winborn, Governmental Affairs Consultant for The PGA. The seminar will take place on Stage 3 on the PGA Fall Expo show floor, Tuesday, Sept. 1, 9:30-10:30 a.m. 

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. - Author D.J. Gregory, whose inspirational story has been featured in print publications across the country, and the likes of Golf Channel and ESPN, will be a featured guest at the 26th annual PGA Tour Superstore World Amateur Handicap Championship.

Gregory will participate in roundtable discussions and autograph copies of his book, "Walking With Friends - An Inspirational Year on the PGA Tour."

CRYSTAL MOUNTAIN RESORT - Allison Fouch, of Grand Rapids, birdied the last hole of Wednesday’s final round to win the $40,000 Michigan PGA Women’s Open at Crystal Mountain Resort. Fouch, 28, began the day one stroke behind but shot 70 to finish a shot ahead of second round leader Laura Kueny, of Whitehall. She collected the $5,700 first prize by finishing the championship at 8-under-par.

Fouch, an LPGA player and Michigan State University alum, made two birdies on the last four holes.