Greenbrier rejuvenation brings "pizzazz" back to PGA
The Greenbrier Classic kicks off today at the newly revamped Greenbrier White Sulphur Springs resort. The grounds have undergone some serious rejuvenation in preparation for hosting the PGA Tour event, and will see some prominent players this week. Jim Furyk, the highest ranked golfer at this week’s tournament, is hoping to leapfrog Ernie Els into the top spot on the FedEx Cup points lists and with four weeks remaining in the playoffs, this weekend could be his best shot.
Furyk won the Hilton Head as well as the Transitions Championship earlier this year and considers landing in the number one spot a bonus,
"To win and vault to No. 1 and basically be cemented in one of those top three spots for sure is a bonus . . . It's a big head start to be seeded well. But first and foremost it would be great to have a three-win season. I've never done it."
This will be the first time the PGA Tour comes to The Greenbrier since 1958 when Sam Snead won the Greenbrier invitational. Snead was the resorts pro for 29 years until his death in 2002.
The resort is located in White Sulphur Springs West Virginia and has a rich golf history dating back to 1914 when President Woodrow Wilson played the Old White course when it first opened. Since then the resort has seen more famous players tee off, and had a good run before losing its Mobil five-star rating in 2000. The course went into bankruptcy and was only rescued a year ago by businessman Jim Justice who vowed to bring it back to its former glory.
“It was really thought of as Emerald City to both of us," Justice said his and boyhood friend Slugger White’s opinion of the course. White is a PGA Tour official who called Justice once he heard he had bought up the resort.
Transforming the resort became Justice’s top priority. He got in touch with former NBA star Jerry West to open a steakhouse on the grounds, and revealed a month ago an $80 million underground casino also located on the property.
The Greenbrier transformation couldn’t have come at a better time for the PGA Tour. This is the first year the Tour doesn’t have Buick as a sponsor, forcing them to look elsewhere for sponsorship (found in Torrey Pines Farmer Insurance ) and replacing this week’s Buick Open with the Greenbrier Classic.
It was no easy feat to replace the Buick Open usually held in Flint Michigan with the Greenbrier Classic. The PGA event is an important one that protects the livelihood of players who either chose not to or don’t make the cut into the majors and World Golf Championship events.
Losing Buick as a sponsor isn’t their only problem. The Tour still needs to find sponsors for next seasons events and there has yet to be backers for the 2011 Bob Hope, Hilton Head, St. Judes or Reno-Tahoe events, and that’s just naming a few.
"I just don't think golf will ever get back to where it was," journeyman Jay Williamson said to New York Times Magazine last March. "I think we've worn some of our sponsors out, and I just don't think in this kind of economic environment we're going to attract the kind of money we did in the glory days. I hope I'm wrong, but I just feel it."
Larry Bohannan of the Palm Springs publication Desert Sun recently described the current state of golf as “a tour season that has lacked much pizzazz.” But the season isn’t over yet and Justice has a few more tricks up his sleeve.
In addition to the $6 million purse – $1.08 million goes to the winner – Justice has offered up an additional prize pot: $1 million for any golfer who can achieve a hole-in-one on the par three 18th hole. $750,000 will go to a charity and the player who makes the ace gets the rest. Golfers have to be on their A-game when they reach the final hole since the payout will only happen a maximum of three times per round.
The 18th hole is on a green situated on a large ridge similar to a giant boomerang while cross bunkers on the fairway could impede scoring.
And if that isn’t enough pizzazz, fans holding tickets for the hole-in-one 18th hole will receive $100 dollars for the first ace, $500 for the second occurring on the same day and $1000 if three happen in one day.
Tags: