2014 MISSISSIPPI GULF RESORT CLASSIC PRESENTED BY C SPIRE MEDIA INFORMATION

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2014 MISSISSIPPI GULF RESORT CLASSIC PRESENTED BY C SPIRE MEDIA INFORMATION Contact: Phil Stambaugh; Media Official, Champions Tour 904-610-9261; jamesp@pgatourhq.

1 2014 MISSISSIPPI GULF RESORT CLASSIC PRESENTED BY C SPIRE MEDIA INFORMATION Contact: Phil Stambaugh; Media Official, Champions Tour ; jamesp@pgatourhq.com Dates: March 17-23, 2014 Course: Fallen Oak; Saucier, Mississippi Par/Yards: /7,054 Year Opened: 2006 Course Designer: Tom Fazio (2006) Field: 81 professionals Format: 54-hole stroke-play event with no cut. Charles Schwab Cup (points to winner): 240; Purse: $1,600,000; Winner s Share: $240,000 Television: Golf Channel will televise the event live a three days: Friday (11:30-1:30 p.m.), Saturday (4:00-6:00 p.m.) and Sunday (4:00-6:00 p.m.). All times are local. THE 2014 CHAMPIONS TOUR: This year marks the 35th anniversary of the PGA TOUR s Champions Tour and the Mississippi Gulf Resort Classic Presented by C Spire is the fifth of 26 events on the 2014 schedule. The last tournament on the 2014 schedule is the Charles Schwab Cup Championship, October 27-November 2, at Desert Mountain Golf Club in Scottsdale, Arizona. 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. ABOUT THE MISSISSIPPI GULF RESORT CLASSIC PRESENTED BY C SPIRE: The Mississippi Gulf Resort Classic is uniquely funded by 15 consortium partners, who see this event as an ideal way to promote the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Led by C Spire Wireless, the tournament s presenting sponsor this year, the 2014 consortium partnership group also includes: Mississippi Gulf Coast Regional Tourism Partnership, Mississippi Power, Mississippi Development Authority, Hard Rock Hotel, Beau Rivage Hotel and Casino-Fallen Oak, F.E.B Distributing, Grand Biloxi Casino Hotel Spa, IP Resort & Spa, Hancock Bank, Yates Construction, Roy Anderson Corp, BP America, Harrison County Tourism Commission and Coca Cola. The tournament is administered through the MGRC Foundation, Inc., and will again benefit Habitat for Humanity of the Mississippi Gulf Coast. HISTORY OF THE EVENT: The Mississippi Gulf Resort Classic Presented By C Spire is currently in its fifth year. Its list of former champions includes: David Eger (2010), Tom Lehman (2011), Fred Couples (2012) and Michael Allen (2013). One year after having his bid for victory stifled when Fred Couples birdied the 54 th hole, Michael Allen made sure he didn t suffer the same fate for a second straight year. Allen survived a bogey at the final hole to go on and win when Bernhard Langer, his closest pursuer, bogeyed the 16 th hole after his second shot plugged in a greenside bunker and he could do no better than par at the final two holes to fall one stroke short. CHARITY INFORMATION: The Habitat for Humanity of the Mississippi Gulf Coast Classic Presented By C Spire is again the primary tournament charity and will benefit from this year s event. This Habitat for Humanity chapter was chosen as the Champions Tour s Charity of the Year in In addition, more than a dozen area charities will benefit from their participation in the Birdies for Charity program. Participating charities receive every single penny of generated donations.

2 Since the inception in 2010, Birdies For Charity has generated over $200,000 and benefited nearly 30 charities on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. ABOUT FALLEN OAK: Fallen Oak is open exclusively to Beau Rivage Resort guests and is located adjacent to the DeSoto National Forest. The Tom Fazio-designed layout has received numerous awards including: No 1 Golf Course You Can Play in Mississippi by Golfweek, No. 2 Top 50 Casino Courses by Golfweek, No. 55 Top 100 Modern Courses by Golfweek, No. 19 America s 100 Greatest Public Courses by Golf Digest and also boasts one of the best 19 th holes in golf by Golf Digest. KEY STORYLINES EVENT FEATURES STAR-STUDDED FIELD: The 2014 Mississippi Gulf Resort Classic Presented By C Spire will have an 81-player field again this year and collectively, this year s field has 59 players who have combined to win 390 PGA TOUR events, including 19 major championships. A total of 28 of the top 30 on last year s money list are committed to play and there are nine members of the World Golf Hall of Fame playing on the Mississippi Gulf Coast (Ben Crenshaw, Fred Couples, Nick Faldo, Tom Kite, Bernhard Langer, Sandy Lyle, Colin Montgomerie, Larry Nelson, Nick Price) this year. MAGGERT TO DEBUT: Three-time PGA TOUR winner Jeff Maggert will make his debut on the Champions Tour at this year s Missississippi Gulf Resort Classic Presented By C Spire. Maggert became eligible for the Champions Tour when he turned 50 on February 20 this year. In addition to his three PGA TOUR titles, the last coming at the 2006 FedEx St. Jude Classic near Memphis, Maggert won a pair of titles on the Web.com Tour in 1990, the circuit s inaugural season where he was voted Player of the Year.Maggert was a member of three American Ryder Cup teams and played in the inaugural Presidents Cup matches for the U.S. in Last year at Fallen Oak, both Brian Henninger (T44) and John Inman (T48) made their debuts on the Champions Tour. FALDO, MONTGOMERIE HEADLINE ADDITIONAL GROUP OF FIRST-TIMERS ON GULF COAST: World Golf Hall of Fame member Sir Nick Faldo, a nine-time winner on the PGA TOUR, including three wins each at the Masters and British Open, will make just his fourth career start in a Champions Tour event and second in the United States. Last fall in Cary, NC, at the SAS Championship, Faldo withdrew after 12 holes in the first round with an elbow injury. His two other appearances were at the 2007 and 2009 Senior Open Championships, where he tied for 14th and tied for 38th, respectively. Colin Montgomerie, a rookie on the Champions Tour last year, has won 42 titles around the world and claimed an unprecedented eight Order of Merit titles on the European Tour, including seven in a row from He was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in May, 2013, just prior to becoming eligible for the Champions Tour. In addition to Faldo and Montgomerie, other former TOUR winners making their first appearances at the Mississippi Gulf Resort Classic Presented By C Spire include Billy Andrade, Wes Short, Jr., and Argentina s Jose Coceres, as well as Scott Dunlap, Japan s Kohki Idoki, the winner of last year s Senior PGA Championship, and John Riegger, last year s Boeing Classic champion. COUPLES GOES FOR TWO IN A ROW: Fred Couples, the 2012 Mississippi Gulf Resort Classic champion, birdied three of the last four holes to win his second Toshiba Classic title last week, his 10 th career victory on the Champions Tour. Couples goes for a second straight title this week and hopes to record a second victory at Fallen Oak. He s now posted 11 consecutive rounds in the 60s, two shy of the Champions Tour record by Hale Irwin in Tom Lehman, John Cook and Couples all had 12 straight previously. In 2010, Couples won consecutive events at the Toshiba Classic and Cap Cana Championship in the Dominican Republic. ALLEN DEFENDS TITLE: Michael Allen will defend an individual title for a second time in his Champions Tour career when he tees it up at Fallen Oak this year. Allen, a winner of the Allianz Championship last month, will also bid for multiple titles in a season for the third consecutive season. Allen finished T11 in defense of his 2009 Senior PGA Championship title and then teamed with David Frost to finish T4 in defense of his 2012 Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf team title. He did not defend his

3 2012 Encompass Insurance Pro-Am of Tampa Bay title when the event was canceled. Kirk Triplett is the last player to successfully defend a title on the Champions Tour. He won a second consecutive Nature Valley First Tee Open at Pebble Beach last fall. In the previous four Mississippi Gulf Resort Classic Presented By C Spire events, no defending champion has posted even a top-10 finish the following year. LANGER GRABS EARLY LEAD IN 2014 SCHWAB CUP COMPETITION: Bernhard Langer s victory at the season-opening Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualalai, along with a T2 at the ACE Group Classic and a T7 at the Allianz Championship earned him Player of the Month honors and gave him an early leg up on his competitors in the chase for the 14 th Charles Schwab Cup. First started in 2001, the Schwab Cup is designed to recognize the Champions Tour s leading player, rewarding both top finishes and week-in/week-out consistency in all official events. The player with the most points at the end of the year will earn a $1 million payout from Charles Schwab. Throughout the year, players receive points for top-10 finishes and ties based on each week s money distribution, with $1,000 earned being the equivalent of one Charles Schwab Cup point. Double points are award in the five major championships and at the season-ending Charles Schwab Cup Championship at Desert Mountain in Scottsdale, Arizona, October 27-November 2. Kenny Perry claimed his first Schwab Cup last year, besting Langer by 412 points. Langer, the winner of the 2010 Schwab Cup, is trying to join Tom Lehman (2012, 2013), Hale Irwin (2002, 2004), Tom Watson (2003, 2005), Jay Haas (2006, 2008) and Loren Roberts (2007, 2009) are the other players who have won the Schwab Cup in multiple seasons. LANGER SHOOTS TO JOIN 20-WIN CLUB, TRYING TO MAINTAIN EARLY MOMENTUM : When he tees it up at the Mississippi Gulf Resort Classic Presented By C Spire this year, World Golf Hall of Fame member Bernhard Langer will be shooting to become only the 10 th player in Champions Tour history to claim 20 career victories on the circuit. If successful this year near Biloxi, he would be the first to hit the 20-win plateau since Gil Morgan won the 20 th of his 25 career victories on June 17, 2001 at the Instinet Classic near Philadelphia. Langer has been among the top 10 in 14 straight tournaments dating back to last summer, including runner-up finishes in four of his last six events. During this stretch, 21 of his 22 rounds have been below par. The last time he was not among the top 10 came at the U.S. Senior Open in Omaha (7/14) where he was T14. TOURNAMENT NOTES EVENT MAKES MAJOR IMPACT ON COMMUNITY: The Mississippi Gulf Resort Classic Presented by C Spire has generated over $55 million for the regional economy and over $750,000 in assistance for local non-profit community charities since the inception of the tournament in Over $300,000 alone has been raised for its primary beneficiary, the Habitat for Humanity of the Mississippi Gulf Coast. GOLF HISTORY ON THE GULF COAST: In addition to the Mississippi Gulf Resort Classic on the Champions Tour, both the PGA TOUR and Web.com Tour have held events before on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. The Gulfport Open ( ) was a two-year stop for the players on the PGA TOUR following World War II. It was played at the Great Southern Golf Club of Gulfport, the state s oldest golf course. In 1944, Harold Jug McSpaden recorded one of his 17 PGA TOUR titles and the win in Mississippi was one of five victories that year. Sam Snead defeated Byron Nelson in a 19-hole playoff in 1945 after the two were tied at the end of regulation. Nelson rallied from that loss to win 18 tournaments that year, including a record-setting 11 in a row. It is now known as the Web.com Tour, but when it started in 1990, it was known as the Ben Hogan Tour. The Gulf Coast Classic was played at Windance Country Club in Gulfport from From , on what was then known as the Nike Tour, the event was entitled the Mississippi Gulf Coast Classic and remained at Windance Country Club until it moved to Mississippi National Golf Course in In 1999, after a year hiatus, the tournament relocated to Oaks Golf Club and was entitled the Mississippi Gulf Coast Open. Here s a complete list of the winners when the tournament was a regular stop on the Web.com Tour Year Winner The Gulf Coast Classic at Windance Country Club (Ben Hogan Tour)

4 1990 Dick Mast (-7) beat Rick Pearson in a playoff (36-hole event) 1991 Tom Lehman (-7) beat Tim Straub and John Wilson in a playoff (36-hole event) 1992 Glen Hnatiuk (-9) won by a stroke over Bruce Zabriski, Mike Donald, John Flannery (54-hole event) The Mississippi Gulf Coast Classic at Windance Country Club (Nike Tour) 1993 Jim Furyk (-10) beat Bob Friend in a playoff (54-hole event) 1994 John Elliott (-12) beat Chris Perry in a playoff (72-hole event) 1995 Allen Doyle (-15) defeated Franklin Langham in a playoff (72-hole event) 1996 Joe Durant (-15) won by a stroke over Brett Quigley (72-hole event) The Mississippi Gulf Coast Classic at Mississippi National Golf Club 1997 Jeff Brehaut (-13) won by six strokes over Tom Scherrer (72-hole event) 1998 No event The Mississippi Gulf Coast Open at Oaks Golf Club 1999 Joel Edwards (-8) won by a stroke over John Riegger (72-hole event) The Mississippi Gulf Coast Open at Oaks Golf Club (Buy.com Tour) 2000 Tripp Isenhour (-9) won by two strokes over John Elliott (72-hole event) HORSES FOR COURSES: Only two players have finished in the top-five in each of the last two Mississippi Gulf Resort Classic events Michael Allen and Tom Pernice, Jr. Michael Allen, the defending champion, finished second one year earlier. Tom Pernice Jr. has been T3 at this event in both THEY VE ENJOYED SUCCESS IN MISSISSIPPI: Six players in this year s field have won PGA TOUR events in the state, including a pair of two-time winners Brian Henninger and Fred Funk, who each earned multiple wins here. Henninger, won the 1994 Deposit Guaranty Golf Classic in Hattiesburg and the 1999 Southern Farm Bureau Classic in Madison. Funk duplicated Henninger s effort, winning the final year in Hattiesburg (1998) and then in Madison in Other winners of the event include Gene Sauers (1990), Willie Wood (1996), Steve Lowery (2000) and John Huston (2003). In addition, when the PGA TOUR had its satellite tour event in Mississippi (Magnolia Classic), current Champions Tour members Craig Stadler (1978), Russ Cochran (1983) and Jim Gallagher, Jr. (1985) all posted wins. HOW THE LEADERS HAVE FARED: In the brief history of the Mississippi Gulf Resort Classic Presented By C-Spire, players leading or tied for the lead after 36 holes have won the tournament three times David Eger at the inaugural event in 2010 and both Tom Lehman (2011) and Fred Couples (2012). Couples is the only first-round leader to have ever won. Nobody has ever won this event being worse than T8 after Saturday, the position Michael Allen was in last year after the first 36 holes. All four of the previous winners of this event were positioned among the top five in the standings after the first round. OLDEST/YOUNGEST WINNERS: David Eger captured the inaugural Mississippi Gulf Resort Classic Presented By C Spire event in 2010, at 58 years, 1 month, 15 days, making him still the oldest winner in the brief history of the tournament. Tom Lehman s win in 2011 at 52 years, 27 days, made him the tournament s youngest winner ever. HARDEST, EASIEST: The par-5 6 th hole again played as the easiest at Fallen Oak last year and was overall, the 19 th easiest hole on the Champions Tour in 2013 (4.614). The hole gave up nine eagles and 95 birdies. For the first time, No. 2 ranked as the most difficult for the event and was the 30 th most difficult hole overall in 2013 (4.278). The par-4 gave up only 17 birdies during last year s tournament. THIS AND THAT: With 2013 World Golf Hall of Fame inductee Fred Couples winning the recent Toshiba Classic and fellow inductees Bernhard Langer (2002 inductee) and Colin Montgomerie (2013 inductee) finishing tied for second, it represented the first time in 18 years that World Golf Hall of Fame members had finished in the top three in an official Champions Tour event. Jack Nicklaus, a 1974 inductee, won The Tradition at Desert Mountain s Cochise course in 1996, shooting 16-under 272 to beat Hale Irwin (1992 inductee) by three strokes. Raymond Floyd (1989 inductee) was third, nine strokes behind Nicklaus Michael Allen comes into this year s event riding

5 a streak of eight straight sub-par scores at Fallen Oak Jeff Sluman will make his 83rd straight appearance on the Champions Tour at the Mississippi Gulf Resort Classic Presented By C Spire. Sluman has not missed a start on the circuit since skipping the 2010 Ensure Classic at Rock Barn. Jay Don Blake is scheduled to play in his 62 nd straight event, the second longest-active streak Jimmy Johnston, longtime caddie for Steve Stricker, will work for Nick Price this week. Johnston was a regular on Price s bag prior to teaming with Stricker for numerous victories on the PGA TOUR The open qualifier for the Mississippi Gulf Resort Classic Presented By C Spire will again be held on Tuesday, March 18 on the Pine Course at Diamondhead Country Club There has never been a hole-in-one in tournament history and the Champions Tour is still looking for its first hole in one in Last week, Colin Montgomerie shot 62 in the final round, his lowest score on the Champions Tour, and his T2 at the Toshiba Classic was his best finish on the Champions Tour Jay Haas played all 54 holes without a bogey last week and now has a string of 86 holes without a blemish David Frost has not had a three-putt in 237 straight holes, the longest current streak on the Champions Tour. IT HAPPENED ON THIS DAY: Below are some previous highlights of current Champions Tour players that occurred during the week of March in previous years. 3/18/01 Hale Irwin becomes the winningest player in Champions Tour history when he wins his 30 th career title at the Siebel Classic in Silicon Valley by five strokes over Tom Watson and Allen Doyle. He had started the event tied with Lee Trevino. 3/18/90 Jodie Mudd battles Mark Calcavecchia down the stretch, and despite a bogey at No. 18, prevails by one stroke at THE PLAYERS Championship. 3/18/90 Dick Mast wins the first playoff in Nationwide Tour history, defeating Rick Pearson on the fourth extra hole at the Mississippi Gulf Coast Classic which was shortened to 36 holes due to heavy rains. 3/18/07 Tom Purtzer rolled in a 17-foot birdie putt on the fourth playoff hole to give him his second win at the AT&T Champions Classic (also won the SBC Classic) in a playoff with Loren Roberts. 3/19/95 Nearly one year to the day after his first PGA TOUR victory, Loren Roberts successfully defends his Nestle Invitational title when he holds off Brad Faxon by two strokes despite bogeys on the final two holes. With his victory, Roberts became the first player to win the same event for his first two TOUR wins since Calvin Peete did so in 1979 and 1982 (Greater Milwaukee Open). 3/19/04 Tom Purtzer ties the Champions Tour record when he shoots an 11-under-par 60 to open play at the Toshiba Senior Classic. 3/19/79 In just his 12 th start on the PGA TOUR, Mark McCumber beats Bill Rogers by one stroke to win the Doral-Eastern Open in Miami. 3/19/89 One week after winning the Nestle Invitational in a playoff, Tom Kite claims his second straight event when he defeats Chip Beck by one stroke to win THE PLAYERS Championship. 3/20/94 In his 321 st career start on the PGA TOUR, Loren Roberts breaks through for his first career win, shooting a final-round 67 to defeat Fuzzy Zoeller, Vijay Singh and Nick Price by one stroke at the Nestle Invitational in Orlando. 3/21/82 Jerry Pate claims the first Tournament Players Championship staged at the TPC Sawgrass in dramatic fashion. Playing with an orange ball, Pate played the final seven hole in 4- under-par and birdied both the 17 th (15-footer) and 18 th (5-iron to 2-feet) holes for a two-stroke victory over Brad Bryant and Scott Simpson. Pate celebrates by pushing former Commissioner Deane Beman and course architect Pete Dye into the large lake left of No /21/76 Hubert Green wins for the second week in succession, posting a two-stroke victory over Miller Barber at the Greater Jacksonville Open. 3/21/04 Two days after firing a record-tying 60 in his opening round, Tom Purtzer shoots a 4- under-par 67 in the final round and holds off Morris Hatalsky by one stroke at the Toshiba Senior Classic. 3/22/81 Raymond Floyd defeats Curtis Strange and Barry Jaeckel with a par on the second extra hole to win the PLAYERS Championship in its final time at Sawgrass CC. 3/23/80 Ben Crenshaw posts the best final round on Sunday, a 6-under-par 66, but Lee Trevino holds off the Texas native by one stroke to win the Tournament Players Championship at Sawgrass CC.

2016 MISSISSIPPI GULF RESORT CLASSIC presented by C Spire ADVANCE MEDIA INFORMATION

2016 MISSISSIPPI GULF RESORT CLASSIC presented by C Spire ADVANCE MEDIA INFORMATION Contacts: Dave Senko; Senior Manager, Communications, PGA TOUR Champions 904-728-1307 (cell); daves@pgatourhq.com Jess