Nationwide Tour announces addition of Tour event in Kansas City

Tag : shower & sink

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- The PGA Tour's Nationwide Tour and Christmas InOctober announced a new Nationwide Tour event will be played in thegreater Kansas City area beginning in 2009.
The "Christmas In October Classic" will be played August 17-23 atthe Nicklaus Golf Club at LionsGate in Overland Park, KS with apurse of $625,000 and first prize of $112,500.
Christmas In October will be the beneficiary of the tournament.Christmas In October is a Kansas City-based organization that"rebuilds houses, lives and neighborhoods in greater Kansas City"with the help of thousands of volunteers from various KansasCity-area organizations. Christmas In October was founded in 1984by Dick Miller and John McMeel when they worked on 20 houses.Currently the organization is working on 400 houses. It is one ofthe largest volunteer programs of its kind in the United States andbenefits the elderly, disabled and homeowners with young childrenwho lack the skill and resources to make necessary householdrepairs.
The Nationwide Tour and Christmas In October have entered into athree-year agreement.
"We are asking the Kansas City-area business community to assistChristmas In October in restoring the homes of the elderly,handicapped and financially disadvantaged through our tournamentsponsorship of this Nationwide Tour event," said Christmas InOctober co-founder John McMeel. "As a 501(c)(3), Christmas InOctober provides a great opportunity for businesses to contributeto the community in a very direct and positive way. The money willbe used to repair homes, schools, churches, public servicebuildings, day care centers and neighborhood recreation centers.The golf tournament will provide sponsors with a number ofmarketing and entertainment platforms to successfully retainbusiness relationships and develop new opportunities andcustomers."
"The PGA TOUR couldn't be more pleased to partner with Christmas InOctober to bring the Nationwide Tour to Kansas City," saidNationwide Tour president Bill Calfee. "When we come to a newmarket like Kansas City, most fans are surprised to learn that twoout of every three PGA TOUR players are Nationwide Tour alumni andthat they have amassed more than 230 TOUR wins and 11 majorchampionships. Kansas City's own and 2007 graduate Michael Letzigis a great example of the Nationwide Tour's position as theofficial proving ground of the PGA TOUR and the impact the Tourhas. By August the week-to-week pressure cooker to earn one of the25 coveted PGA TOUR cards for 2010 will be reaching a criticalphase. Golf fans of Kansas City will get to see the next round ofPGA TOUR stars up close and personal in a much heightenedcompetitive environment. We invite them to mark their calendars fornot only a great week of golf at the Nicklaus Golf Club atLionsGate but a series of fun events for the entire community thatwill benefit a unique and wonderful organization in Christmas InOctober."
"This is wonderful news that the Nationwide Tour is coming toKansas City," said Kansas City native and World Golf Hall of Famemember Tom Watson. "Over the years I've seen how the NationwideTour has grown. It now has a very strong impact on the PGA TOURwith a number of its players going on to stardom on the PGA TOUR.Michael Letzig, who is from our area and graduated from theNationwide Tour last year, is off to a very solid start on TOURthis year. The level of play I see out of Nationwide Tour playersis certainly impressive. I have no doubt they will enjoy LionsGateand the many challenges Jack's course presents. I encourage golffans of Kansas City to head out there next August to see how reallygood this next generation of players is."
"I am happy to hear that the Nationwide Tour is coming to KansasCity," said former Kansas City resident and 1998 Nationwide Tourgraduate Woody Austin. "I lived in Kansas City for six years andhave lived in the Midwest for over 20 years. Personally, I don'tthink there's a better place to play golf than in the Midwest. Thepeople are great and the golf is fantastic. Kansas City is a greatcity and they really support their golf. The fact that theNationwide Tour is bringing an event to town is great for the Tourand great for the city."
Michael Letzig, a native and resident of nearby Richmond, MO,finished 12th on the Nationwide Tour money list last year to earnhis 2009 PGA TOUR. Letzig is enjoying a very good rookie campaignon the PGA TOUR. The 28-year-old former Missouri Amateur champion(28) has earned $851,385 and has four top-10 finishes in 24 starts.
The Nationwide Tour visited the Kansas City area once before. In1990, the Tour's first season, Trevor Dodds defeated Jeff Maggert,Eric Manning and Dennis Trixler by one shot in the Deer Creek Openat Deer Creek Golf Club in Overland Park, KS.
The Nicklaus Golf Club at LionsGate previously hosted the PGATOUR's Champions Tour in 2005 and '06. Both events were won by DanaQuigley. The 2005 event featured Jack Nicklaus' last TOUR start inan official co-sponsored event.
ABOUT CHRISTMAS IN OCTOBER
Since 1984, Christmas In October has used a two-week schedule inthe month of October to help the elderly, disabled and homeownerswith young children restore their homes to a livable condition. Theprogram has grown to include over 6,000 volunteers working on over425 houses each year. Christmas In October additionally rebuildsthe neighborhood infrastructure; churches, schools, recreationcenters and public service buildings. This is done with verylimited monetary resources. The last two years the organization hasbeen inundated with calls and applications from people within thecommunity in desperate need of help. This led to expanding to ayear-round program, enabling Christmas In October to help morepeople rebuild their homes and lives.
A Christmas In October case study: In February CIO toured a housein which three elderly women, all over the age of 70, lived underthe same roof. There were no toilets, no showers and no kitchenappliances. When a neighbor let CIO personnel in the house for atour the ladies were curled up in a bed together, trying to staywarm. CIO was told the women used the neighbor's toilet andshowered infrequently at a relative's house two blocks away. CIOwent to work the next day and installed a toilet, shower and sinkbasin. They fully equipped the kitchen with appliances, repairedholes in the walls, fixed broken windows and repaired the roof. CIOworked with the utility companies to restore water, electricity andgas.
LIONSGATE
The Nicklaus Golf Club at LionsGate was built in Overland Park,Kansas in 2001. This private club offers its members, families andguests the finest golf, recreational, social and businessentertaining lifestyles. With the Club centered on the JackNicklaus Signature Golf Course, members enjoy camaraderie,impeccable service and pride in belonging.
In Jack's words, "We have not forced or tried to create featuresthat aren't natural to the site. Therefore, our landforms are verybroad, bunkers are deep, but relatively simple in shape and theentire site flows very naturally. We have taken into considerationthe Kansas winds by careful placement of the tees, width offairways and the openings into the greens. Every golfer will havefun and that's what it's all about."
The 18-hole, 7,251 yard, par-72 championship course is accompaniedby a 21,000 square-foot clubhouse which features full menus andLadies' and Men's locker rooms, Golf Pro Shop, fine dining andgrill rooms.

ABOUT THE NATIONWIDE TOUR
Founded (1990), owned and operated by the PGA TOUR, the NationwideTour identifies those players who are ready to compete and win ongolf's greatest stage. As the official proving ground of the PGATOUR, two-thirds of the current PGA TOUR membership played on theNationwide Tour. To date Tour alumni have won 232 PGA TOUR titles,including all four majors and three PLAYERS Championships.Twenty-five PGA TOUR cards and a record purse approaching $19million will be at stake over the course of 30 events in 2008concluding with the $1 million Nationwide Tour Championship at TPCCraig Ranch. Recognizing the Tour's growing stature, NationwideInsurance has renewed its umbrella sponsorship of the NationwideTour through 2012. The PGA TOUR, through the efforts of its threetours and their tournaments, sponsors, players and volunteers,supports over 2,000 local charities and has surpassed $1 billion incharitable giving. To learn more about the PGA TOUR and NationwideTour and to follow the season-long quest for a PGA TOUR card, visitwww.PGATOUR.com.
ABOUT NATIONWIDE
Nationwide, based in Columbus, Ohio, is one of the largestdiversified insurance and financial services organizations in theworld, with more than $161 billion in assets. Nationwide ranks #108on the Fortune 500 list. The company provides a full range ofinsurance and financial services, including auto, motorcycle, boat,homeowners, life, farm, commercial insurance, administrativeservices, annuities, mortgages, mutual funds, pensions, long-termsavings plans and health and productivity services. For moreinformation, visit www.nationwide.com.
Nationwide, the Nationwide Framemark and On Your Side are federallyregistered service marks of Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company.

Media Contact:
Gene Barlow
Tournament Director, Christmas In October Classic
Tel: 913.208.2117
Email: doa360@msn.com
Jeff Adams
Director of Communications, Champions Tour
Tel: 904-273-3397
Email: jadams@pgatourhq.com