The Cap Cana Championship

With the PGA Champions Tour set to start at the end of March, the buzz and excitement surrounding this event is palpable throughout Cap Cana. The Champions Tour will be the first Tour event celebrated in the Dominican Republic and will mark the Champions Tour return to the Caribbean.

For the first time in the history of the sport, the Dominican Republic will be home to the world’s professional golfers from various international destinations. Punta Espada Golf Course will be the hottest location in the golf world for this week as it hosts this important tournament and reaffirms the country’s distinction in being home to the greatest golf courses in the Caribbean.

Rick George, the President of the PGA Tour’s Champions Tour, shared “the emotion around The Cap Cana Championship excites us, not only by the fact that we have an official Champions Tour event in the Caribbean and more specifically the Dominican Republic, with its golfing history and passion which is a true privilege for us, but also because we trust that it will bring great emotion for fans of golf in the Caribbean. Our players know that they are going to compete on a high quality golf course when they play at the Jack Nicklaus signature course, Punta Espada.

Jack Nicklaus noted that “the fact that Cap Cana is able to host a Champions Tour event so fast after its inauguration, demonstrates the quality of the course and the growth of the Dominican Republic as a golf destination.” He goes on to say “We hope that at Punta Espada, the players of the Champions Tour find a golf course that allows them to enjoy the game while improving their ability. Without a doubt, it is visually spectacular. With the Caribbean Sea as a background along the course, and eight holes playing directly along the coast, Punta Espada will display all its beauty on television.”

The Cap Cana Championship will host the world’s highest skilled golfers aged 50 and upwards; legends including Jay Haas, Craig Stadler, Curtis Strange, Tom Watson, Tom Kite, Nick Price, Fred Funk, Eduardo Romero, Vicente Fernandez, Bernard Langer and Ian Woosnam, amongst many more.

Some of these players have already visited Cap Cana to experience all that Punta Espada has to offer. Each has expressed words of praise and admiration for the golf course and the Cap Cana project.

Jay Haas: “Having heard all the compliments about this place, I did not know what to expect upon arriving here, I have friends who have visited prior to me, telling me how amazing Cap Cana and the Punta Espada Golf Course are, being here now, I can say that this reality has surpassed all my expectations. This place is beautiful; and the golf course is challenging”.

Craig Stadler affirmed that: “This place is the most beautiful, wonderful golf course, which will be a great showdown of the Champions Tour”

The 54 hole, stroke-play match will have 78 players and an official purse of $2 million dollars; with $300,000 dollars awarded to the winner. This is one of the richest prize-pools of the 2008 calendar.

For those unable to see the course live at the Champions Tour, the Golf channel will televise all three rounds to the United States. The Cap Cana Championship will have a week-long agenda, full of both sporting and social activities, allowing players, press, family, friends and fans to experience the marvel, beauty and inimitableness of the entire Cap Can project.