FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(March 13, 2012 11pm)
Dick’s Sporting Goods Open Announces Initial Commitments
Kenny Perry to Return to En-Joie for First Time as a Champions Tour Professional
VESTAL N.Y. – The Dick’s Sporting Goods Open is proud to announce the first wave of players to
commit to the 2012 tournament field. World Golf Hall of Fame Member Nick Price is joined by
Champions Tour Career Money Leader Kenny Perry, Horeseheads native Joey Sindelar and Past
Champions John Huston (2011), Loren Roberts (2010), Lonnie Nielsen (2009), Eduardo Romero
(2008 and R.W. Eaks (2007). Additionally, current Charles Schwab Cup Points Leader, Dan
Forsman will join the 2012 Field. The 2012 event will be held the week of August 13th – 19th at the
En-Joie Golf Course in Endicott, NY.
“It is apparent from my conversations with the players and our initial commitments that the players are
excited to return to the Dick’s Sporting Goods Open”, said Tournament Director John Karedes. “The
way the community supports the event and the excellent course condition in 2011 speaks volumes to
the players. They recognize the caliber of event we have become, and they want to be a part of it,”
he added. “The 600 sponsors, 1,400 volunteers and the entire community should be proud that this
event has become a premiere stop on the Champions Tour. Of course, without the support of Dick’s
Sporting Goods and their associates, none of this would be possible,” said Karedes.
Nick Price, who is the Defending Champion in this week’s Toshiba Classic will make his 4th
consecutive Dick’s Sporting Goods Open appearance. Nick was the runner-up in the 2012 Dick’s
Sporting Goods Open.
Kenny Perry will make his first appearance at En-Joie since 1990. Perry cruised to a five-stroke
victory at the ACE Group Classic over defending champion Bernhard Langer and played the front
nine at TwinEagles bogey-free, making 13 of his 24 total birdies on that side. Kenny’s 36-hole total of
18-under 126 (64-62) established the all-time lowest score in relation to par for the first two rounds in
Champions Tour history.
Fan-favorite Joey Sindelar has also committed to the 2012 field. The two-time B.C. Open Champion
currently ranks 28th in Charles Schwab Cup Points.
John Huston, a 7-time champion on the PGA TOUR has a T10 finish already this year at the Allianz
Championship. Huston won the Dick's Sporting Goods Open in his third Champions Tour
appearance just 25 days after he turned 50, making him the 11th-youngest winner in the circuit's
history. His win also came in his 156th start since his last victory on the PGA TOUR (2003 Southern
Farm Bureau Classic). He closed with a final-round 65 to overtake Mark Wiebe and eventually
defeated Nick Price by three shots. John made just one bogey over 54 holes in Endicott and none on
the back nine. Huston had 7 top-10 finishes in 2011.
Loren Robert returns to En-Joie after being forced to withdraw from defense of his 2010 Dick’s
Sporting Goods open Title. Roberts, now healthy, looks forward to his return to En-Joie. A career
highlight was when he celebrated his 55th birthday by winning the Dick's Sporting Goods Open, his
12th career Champions Tour victory. Roberts came from four strokes back Sunday and capped the
win with a clutch, 7-foot birdie putt on the final hole to finish one ahead of Fred Funk. His final-round
65 included a back-nine 5-under-par 30 that began when he holed out a short wedge shot from the
right rough on the par-5 12th hole at En-Joie GC.
Past Champions Lonnie Nielsen, Eduardo Romero, and R.W. Eaks have all committed to the 2012
Dick’s Sporting Goods Open.
Current Charles Schwab Cup Leader Dan Forsman rounds out the early commitments. Forsman won
the season-opening Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualalai. The Utah native ranked in the top10 in the three main statistical categories. The only winner to accomplish the same feat on the
Champions Tour in 2011 was Nick Price at the Toshiba Classic. Forsman was T4 (34/42) in Fairways
Hit, T1 (44/54) in Greens In Regulation and T7 (28) in Putts Per Round.
The event, traditionally contested in June, will be played in August this year to allow the En-Joie Golf
Course more time to recover from the devastating floods that affected our region last September.
The 2012 Dick’s Sporting Goods Open will be hosted at the En-Joie Golf Course in Endicott, NY
August 13th – 19th. Weekly ticket packages are available at a discount price of $50 through July 31st
and are available at Dick’s Sporting Goods stores and the Tournament Office, 1901 Vestal Parkway.
For additional information about these events, please call the Tournament Office at (607) 205-1500.
Please visit www.DicksSportingGoodsOpen.com for volunteer, ticket purchases, charity or general
information.
Please visit www.dsgopensponsorship.com for 2012 Sponsorship opportunities.
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About The Champions Tour
Collectively, the Champions Tour has the most recognizable and accomplished players in the game with many of its 29
members of the World Golf Hall of Fame competing regularly in its events and numerous other major championship
winners among its members. The Champions Tour is a membership organization of professional golfers age 50 and older.
Conceived in 1980 as the Senior PGA Tour, it started with just four events and purses totaling $475,000. Points earned in
official Charles Schwab Cup events in 2011 determined Tom Lehman as the Charles Schwab Cup champion, the seasonlong competition designed to recognize the Champions Tour’s leading player. The Champions Tour's primary purpose is
to provide financial opportunities for its players, entertain and inspire its fans, deliver substantial value to its partners,
create outlets for volunteers to give back, protect the integrity of the game and generate significant charitable and
economic impact in communities in which it plays. In 2011, tournaments on all three Tours (PGA TOUR, Champions Tour
and Nationwide Tour) generated more than $118 million for local charitable organizations, bringing the TOUR’s all-time
total of charitable contributions to more than $1.7 billion. The Commissioner of the PGA TOUR is Tim Finchem. Mike
Stevens is President of the Champions Tour. The PGA TOUR’s website is www.pgatour.com, the No. 1 site in golf, and
the organization is headquartered in Ponte Vedra Beach, FL.
About Dick's Sporting Goods, Inc.
Dick's Sporting Goods, Inc. is an authentic full-line sporting goods retailer offering a broad assortment of brand name
sporting goods equipment, apparel and footwear in a specialty store environment. The Company also owns and operates
Golf Galaxy, LLC, a golf specialty retailer. As of Feb. 9, 2012, the Company operated 480 Dick's Sporting Goods stores in
43 states, 81 Golf Galaxy stores in 30 states and e-commerce web sites and catalog operations for both Dick's Sporting
Goods and Golf Galaxy. Dick's Sporting Goods, Inc. news releases are available at
http://www.dickssportinggoods.com/investors.
About Broome County Community Charities
Broome County Community Charities, Inc. has been the cornerstone of professional golf in Central New York since the
first event was held in 1971. As host of the PGA TOUR's B.C. Open and Champions Tour Dick’s Sporting Goods Open,
Broome County Community Charities has contributed over $10.7 million to numerous local charities. Our primary
charitable recipients are the Lourdes Hospital Foundation and United Health Services Foundation. Additionally, local
service clubs such as Rotary, Kiwanis and Lions who assist in the operation of the tournament, have received substantial
dollars for their charitable organizations. www.DicksSportingGoodsOpen.com Follow us at Facebook.com/dsgopen and
on Twitter @Dicksopengolf.
Media Contacts:
John Karedes/ Tournament Director / Dick’s Sporting Goods Open
607.205.1500
[email protected]