Home | Business News | Browse by Publication | M | Mississippi Business Journal

Clear--and dry--skies expected for PGA tour stop: $3-million purse and new dates drawing top names.

Article Excerpt
MADISON -- When the Magnolia Classic was held in Hattiesburg in April, it rained almost every year, and sometimes every day of the four-day tournament. When Deposit Guaranty Bank assumed title sponsorship of the PGA event and moved the tournament to Jackson in July, the weather was blistering hot--and rainy.

When the Southern Farm Bureau took over title sponsorship and the dates were changed to late October, hoping the only problem would be the sound of crunching leaves, it rained. Last year, 13 inches of rain in five weeks, including four inches the final weekend of the tournament, soaked the area.

This year, tide weather-plagued Southern Farm Bureau Classic will be held Sept. 29 to, Oct. 5 at Annandale Golf Club in Madison. It will mark the ninth consecutive year of tournament play on the Jack Nicklaus-designed, 7,199-yard golf course. The Weather Channel hag predicted partly cloudy, 85-degree days, with 51% relative humidity.

More than 100,000 spectators are expected to watch the winner of the 36th Classic take home $540,000, or 18%, of a $3-million purse, a vast improvement from the first tournament, which yielded a $20,000-purse and only 20,000 spectators.

Last year, Luke Donald, a 24-year old rookie froth England, became the 18th first-time PGA tour winner at the Classic when he finished with a total scorn of 201, followed by Deane Pappas with 202 and Brad Elder with 203. The tournament was shortened to 54 holes when the final round...

View this article FREE - Now for a Limited Time, try Goliath Business News
Free for 3 Days!