Big Break Greenbrier Winner To Get Exemption Into 2013 Event, No Word On Size Of Possible Appearance Fee

For Immediate Release, but no word on possible enticements offered to the winner of golf's most cerebral television show after reports surfaced Thursday that the Greenbrier is offering appearance fees to star players:

Winner to Receive Exemption to 2013 Greenbrier Classic on the PGA TOUR
Big Break Greenbrier to Premiere Oct. 2
 
ORLANDO, Fla. (July 5, 2012) –Golf Channel’s popular Big Break reality competition series returns for its 18th season this fall at The Greenbrier resort in West Virginia – the historic retreat known as “America’s Resort” – providing the opportunity for the winner to compete alongside the PGA TOUR’s best at The Greenbrier Classic in July 2013.

Big Break Greenbrier, produced at The Greenbrier in June and scheduled to premiere Oct. 2, will feature a cast of 12 male professional golfers competing against each other in an attempt to make their lifelong dreams of playing alongside the world’s top golfers a reality. The ultimate winner will receive an exemption to The Greenbrier Classic in July 2013, cash and other prizes.

Big Break Greenbrier will unfold on the resort’s four golf courses: The Old White TPC Course – home to The Greenbrier Classic; The Greenbrier Course – a Jack Nicklaus design and home to the 1979 Ryder Cup and the 1994 Solheim Cup; The Meadows Course – a Dick Wilson and Bob Cupp design that is often referred to as the most scenic of The Greenbrier courses; and The Snead Course – the private residents’ course and a Tom Fazio design that showcases a remarkable test of strategic tee shots, precision approaches and undulating fast greens.

During the series, the competitors will reside in two deluxe, 3,000-square-foot timber-framed homes in The Greenbrier Sporting Club luxury residential community, located 3,300 feet atop Greenbrier Mountain.

“We are excited about hosting our newest Big Break season at The Greenbrier and offering the winner the opportunity to compete in the 2013 Greenbrier Classic,” said Tom Knapp, Golf Channel senior vice president of programming. “Big Break is one of the longest-running series on television and one of our most important original series franchises, and we strive to give our competitors tough tests on the golf course while showcasing a picturesque location. We accomplished both with Big Break Greenbrier.”

Friday P.M. News Dump Special: Non-WGC WGC Finally Confirmed For South Africa

You may recall there was a lovely bit of European Tour gamesmanship with the scheduling of a 2011 event that would have forced the South Africans to decide between playing in their homeland or the Presidents Cup. It was averted with a compromise to create a $10 million World Golf Championship event that will conflict with Tiger's event at Sherwood and preceding the Race To Dubai conclusion.

Well, deep into this Friday while Tiger's out on the course at Pebble Beach and media around the rest of the world are not likely to be checking for breaking news, the press release went out announcing the first ever WGC that's not technically a WGC event.

There's nothing on PGATour.com, so here is the release...

International Federation of PGA Tours to sanction Sunshine Tour’s Tournament of Hope in South Africa

2013 event to raise awareness of HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment

The International Federation of PGA Tours, an organization of the top professional golf tours in the world that sanctions the World Golf Championships and the World Cup, today announced that the Southern Africa PGA Tour (Sunshine Tour) will stage the Tournament of Hope as an International Federation of PGA Tours-sanctioned event beginning in 2013.

The Tournament of Hope will be the centerpiece of a worldwide awareness effort to be undertaken by the Sunshine Tour and partner promoter SAIL Rights Commercialisation (Pty) Ltd to raise awareness of HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment in Africa and globally. In addition to the Tournament of Hope, the promoters will organize other awareness functions in South Africa and around the world during the week of the tournament.

The Tournament of Hope will be staged in South Africa for the first time in 2013, the week of November 25 and culminating on December 1, which is World AIDS Day. The tournament will be staged on similar dates in future years.

The US$8.5-million Tournament of Hope will be a major international competition for the world’s best professional golfers with eligibility similar to that of the four World Golf Championships, based primarily on the Official World Golf Ranking and supplemented by the individual money lists and Orders of Merit of the various Tours that make up the International Federation of PGA Tours.

The European Tour, one of the founding members of the International Federation of PGA Tours, has already confirmed that prize money won at the Tournament of Hope will count towards The 2014 Race to Dubai, further consolidating an already strong partnership with the Sunshine Tour that stretches back to 1995 and which, in 2012, will see The European Tour co-sanction four tournaments in South Africa.

The Tournament of Hope will be the sixth worldwide event sanctioned by the International Federation of PGA Tours, joining the four World Golf Championships – Accenture Match Play Championship (Arizona, USA); Cadillac Championship (Florida, USA); Bridgestone Invitational (Ohio, USA); HSBC Champions (China) – and the World Cup (China).

Planning for the event and related activities is ongoing and further details concerning the Tournament of Hope, including specific player eligibility and venue for the event, will be announced at a later time.