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Tom Watson, Nick Price, Ian Woosnam And Hal Sutton Commit To Toshiba Classic

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As show-stopping as last year's seven-hole playoff was between the top two golfers on the 2008 Champions Tour, the Toshiba Classic's notoriously accomplished, marquee field is already over 150 tournament titles richer this year with the commitments of Hall of Famers Tom Watson and Nick Price, European icon Ian Woosnam and 2004 U.S. Ryder Cup captain Hal Sutton to the 2009 Classic, March 2-8 at Newport Beach Country Club.

Watson, a 1988 World Golf Hall of Fame inductee, is slated to make his fourth Toshiba Classic appearance, and his first since 2003. Price, a former World No. 1 who was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2003, Woosnam, also a former World No. 1 and heralded captain of Europe's victorious 2006 Ryder Cup team, and Sutton are set to make their debuts at Toshiba Classic and hope to follow in the footsteps of German Bernhard Langer, who won in his Toshiba Classic debut last year.

"The strength of our field gets better with each Toshiba Classic we stage, and the additions of Tom, Nick, Ian and Hal this year again make this tournament a must-see for Southern California golf fans," Toshiba Classic Tournament Executive Director Jeff Purser said. "We appreciate Tom's, Nick's, Ian's and Hal's commitment to play in the Toshiba Classic and showcase their internationally acclaimed standard of golf. Between their credentials, tournament titles and major championships and that of the rest of our field, the Toshiba Classic will have one of our best fields in our history."

The $1.7 million Toshiba Classic will award a $255,000 winner's check and will be televised on Golf Channel (tape delay) on Friday, March 6 from 3:30-5:30 p.m. PST and Saturday and Sunday, March 7-8 from 3:30-6 p.m. PST.

In 2008, Langer captured the Toshiba Classic crown, his second Champions Tour victory, in his tournament debut by besting 2007 Classic champ Jay Haas in an epic, seven-hole playoff. Like Haas did after winning the Classic, Langer went onto win the Champions Tour's Player of the Year award and money list title. For good measure, Langer also won the Champions Tour's Rookie of the Year award and scoring average title in 2008.

Daily tickets are $20 if purchased in advance and are $25 at the gate. Season clubhouse badges providing admission to the grounds and clubhouse for practice rounds and the tournament are $100. All tickets, including corporate ticket packages, can be obtained by calling 949-660-1001 or visiting The Toshiba Classic.

About Tom Watson
Watson has won 58 professional golf tournaments in his illustrious career. His 39 PGA TOUR titles are tied for tenth on the all-time PGA TOUR win list and are highlighted by wins at the 1977 and 1981 Masters, 1982 U.S. Open and the 1975, 1977, 1980, 1982 and 1983 British Open. He claimed two of his 12 Champions Tour titles last year and has won Champions Tour majors at the 2001 Senior PGA Championship, the 2003, 2005 and 2007 Senior British Open and the 2003 JELD-WEN Tradition.

Despite playing only 10 events on the 2008 Champions Tour, Watson posted six top-8 finishes and finished top-20 on the Champions Tour money list. He won the Charles Schwab Cup, Jack Nicklaus Player of the Year Award, Arnold Palmer Award and Byron Nelson Trophy in 2003. Watson was named honorary member of the Royal & Ancient GC of St. Andrews in 1999, joining fellow Americans Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, former President George Bush, Bobby Jones and Gene Sarazen.

"I've always enjoyed Newport Beach Country Club," Watson said. "It's an old style course. I've played a lot of golf in California when I was growing up. Going to college out there, it has the feel and style of those courses out there. I just enjoy playing out there. I think I've played well at the tournament. I don't think I ever had a good chance of winning the tournament the couple of times I played there."

About Nick Price
Price ascended to become the world's No. 1 golfer in 1994. He earned 18 PGA TOUR wins, including major championship triumphs at the 1992 and 1994 PGA Championship and 1994 British Open, to go along with 24 other worldwide victories. Playing in his second full year on the Champions Tour, he is searching for his first Champions Tour victory. He ranked No. 4 in scoring average (69.71) on the 2008 Champions Tour. Zimbabwe's finest golfer ever and the 1993 and 1994 PGA TOUR Player of the Year and money list champion, Price shares the course record at Augusta National (with Greg Norman) with his third-round 63 in the 1986 Masters. The affable, smooth-swinging Price was the first recipient of the ASAP Sports/Jim Murray Award, in 2002, and won the 2005 Bob Jones Award winner, recognizing distinguished sportsmanship in golf.

About Ian Woosnam
Woosnam is a two-time winner on the PGA TOUR, including his victory at the 1991 Masters, but he built his golfing reputation abroad. The Welshman holds 28 European Tour titles and 16 other tournament titles worldwide. He won the European Tour Order of Merit in 1987 and 1990, the 1987 European Tour Player of the Year award, and played on eight consecutive Ryder Cup teams (1983-1997). In 1993, he became the first European to win the maximum four points in one Ryder Cup from two foursome and two fourball matches. The Welshman was the world's No. 1 player in 1991. He spent 50 weeks at No. 1. He is playing in his first full Champions Tour season. He played nine Champions Tour events in 2008 after turning 50, and he will turn 51 come Monday of Toshiba Classic tournament week.

About Hal Sutton
Sutton owns 14 PGA TOUR victories, including the 1983 PGA Championship, 1998 TOUR Championship and 2000 PLAYERS Championship, and is playing his first full Champions Tour season this year. The 1982 PGA TOUR Rookie of the Year played on four U.S. Ryder Cup teams and the 2000 President's Cup team.

In addition, 1997 Toshiba Classic champion Bob Murphy will also play in his first Toshiba Classic since 1999. The 1965 U.S. Amateur champion and 1993 Champions Tour Rookie of the Year holds five PGA TOUR and 11 Champions Tour titles. Murphy won his Toshiba Classic through a tournament-record, nine-hole playoff, the second-longest playoff in Champions Tour history.

The 2008 Toshiba Classic raised $1 million for Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian and other local Orange County organizations. In its 11-year history, the Toshiba Classic has raised more than $11.1 million for charity, the most on the PGA Champions Tour.

The Toshiba Classic
Hoag Hospital Foundation produces the annual Toshiba Classic. During the last 11 years, the Toshiba Classic has raised more than $11.1 million for charity, the most on the Champions Tour. In the PGA Champions Tour's 29-year history, only nine out of more than 600 tournaments have raised $1 million in net proceeds from an event in a single year. The Toshiba Classic has reached the $1 million mark nine consecutive years out of those 10. Televised to an international audience on Golf Channel, the Toshiba Classic enables millions of viewers to see some of Orange County's greatest attractions. The tournament generates an estimated $20 million in annual economic impact for the county and state. For more information, please call 949/660-1001 or log onto ToshibaClassic.com.
 
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