FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 18, 2009
3M Championship Wins Prestigious Champions Tour Presidents Award as Best Tournament of 2009
BLAINE, MN– Tournament officials with the 3M Championship, in Blaine, Minn., announced today that the 2009 Champions Tour event was recipient of the Champions Tour Presidents’ Award as best tournament of the Champions Tour’s 25 official events of the 2009 season.
The announcement was made by Champions Tour President Mike Stevens at the annual Champions Tour Tournament Association meetings last week in San Antonio, TX
“On behalf of our title sponsor 3M we are very gratified to accept this distinguished award as the best of the best of the Champions Tour season,” said Hollis Cavner, tournament director. “Coming on the heels of winning last year’s Player’s Award as the best 2008 event, we’re delighted to be recognized for this achievement by the Champions Tour and bring this award back to this community that has embraced this event for the past 17 years. To have the 3M Championship singled out for this honor is a reflection of the support we receive from Twin Cities’ fans and our corporate partners.”
“The President’s Award is the pinnacle of our Champions Tour awards,” said Champions Tour President Mike Stevens. “We evaluate numerous factors in our selection process such as community involvement, player feedback, attendance and charitable giving, plus a few intangibles that make an event stand out. The 3M Championship has long set the standard of tournament excellence on our Tour and maintained that level despite the pressures of the economic climate. They faced the challenges by capitalizing on opportunities and are indeed worthy of this honor.”
Stevens also cited the event’s long history of charitable giving when honoring this year’s recipient. The 3M Championship contributed $1.3M to local charities from the ’09 event and has raised over $15 million for various charities since the tournament’s inception in 1993.
“3M and its employees are thrilled to learn of this honor,” said Bob MacDonald, senior vice president, marketing, 3M. “The 3M Championship has set many standards for professional golf events and this announcement is another example of the tournament’s continuing excellence.”
The 3M Championship is a golf tournament on the Champions Tour – a series of annual PGA TOUR golf events for golfers 50 years of age and older. The 3M Championship is played at the Tournament Players Club (TPC) Twin Cities, a course designed by professional golfer and golf course designer, Arnold Palmer. Next year’s event will be played August 2-8, 2010. World Golf Hall of Fame Member Bernhard Langer is Defending Champion.
About the Champions Tour
The Champions Tour is a tax-exempt membership organization of professional golfers age 50 and older. Conceived in 1980 as the Senior PGA Tour, it started with just four events and purses totaling $475,000. The Champions Tour conducted 25 official Charles Schwab Cup events offering $48.9 million in prize money in 2009 and its highest average purse ever of $1.96 million. The Champions Tour's primary purpose is to provide significant competitive and earnings opportunities for players age 50 and older; to protect the integrity of the game; and to help grow the reach of the game in the U.S. and around the world. In addition to providing competitive opportunities for its membership, Champions Tour events also generate significant sums of money for charity. In addition to providing competitive opportunities for its membership, Champions Tour events generate significant sums of money for charity. The commissioner of the PGA TOUR is Tim Finchem. Mike Stevens is president of the Champions Tour. TOUR headquarters is in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. Our web site address is PGATOUR.com.