| Roberts, Haas Return For The Ace Group Classic
Naples, FL – Loren Roberts and Jay Haas, the past two winners of the Champions Tour’s year-long
Charles Schwab Cup, have announced they will both return to Quail West Golf and Country Club for the
2008 ACE Group Classic. With the 21st annual Tournament only a month away, February 11 – 17, the
field is shaping up to be an elite stop on the Tour.
“Loren Roberts and Jay Haas have battled neck-and-neck throughout 2006 and 2007 in one of the most
exciting rivalries in the existence of the Charles Schwab Cup,” noted Tournament Director Jason Camp.
“I know both are eager to get off to a hot start in 2008, and we hope our Tournament will be the
beneficiary of some brilliant golf on their behalf. Having both of them join our field is just fantastic.”
Jay Haas may have won four times in 2007, but it was Loren Roberts who prevailed in the season-long
Charles Schwab Cup points race thanks to his consistency. Roberts captured a major at the Constellation
Energy Senior Players Championship, earned a win at the Boeing Championship at Sandestin and led the
Tour in scoring average, putting average and scrambling. He was also amongst the top-5 finishers 13
times in 23 tournament appearances, meaning 56 percent of the time he was one of the five best players
for the week. For winning the Charles Schwab Cup, Roberts earned a $1-million annuity and will likely
make a donation to various charities in his current hometown of Memphis, Tenn. In the past two years, he
has donated $600,000 from his Schwab Cup earnings.
In 2006, Haas was the beneficiary of an uncharacteristic missed short putt by Roberts on the 72nd hole of
the season-ending Charles Schwab Cup Championship and went on to win the 2006 Charles Schwab Cup.
It was the closest race in the history of the competition. Winning the Cup earned Haas a $1 million
annuity, and he announced at the Tournament’s closing ceremony he would donate the $1 million to
charities in his hometown of Greenville, S.C., a gesture similar to those made in recent years by Allen
Doyle, Tom Watson and Dana Quigley.
Haas concluded the 2007 season as the leading money winner on the Champions Tour with $2,581,001,
while Roberts was second with $2,170,601. Despite Roberts outlasting him for the Schwab Cup, Haas
did manage to capture his second consecutive Player of the Year Award, as voted on by his peers.
The ACE Group Classic has become an area tradition and a celebration of community involvement for the
past 21 years. The ACE Group Classic has supported various educational organizations since 1988 and
continues to do so in 2008 with partnerships with the Education Foundation of Collier County and The
First Tee of Naples/Collier. The ACE Group of Companies has been the title sponsor since 1999. |