Presidents Cup 2007

Montreal Gazette
Randy Phillips, CanWest News Service

ANCASTER, Ont. — The 2007 Presidents Cup at the Royal Montreal Golf Club shared the spotlight with the Canadian Open this week, proving how important the event is to the PGA Tour.

The biennial, international, match-play competition is Tim Finchem’s baby and the PGA Tour commissioner spoke precisely to it before the first ball was hit in the 97th edition of the world’s third-oldest national championship at Hamilton Golf and Country Club.

“We’re excited about it,” Finchem said of the event to be held next Sept. 25-30. “We made the decision to come to Canada with the Presidents Cup recognizing the intensity of the fan base in Canada.

“But I think the important thing about the Presidents Cup and that relationship here in Canada next year is that the Presidents Cup now has attained, and it really hit this level in Washington last year, a very special place in golf.”

Only a dozen of 45 corporate tents, priced at $70,000 US and $95,000, respectively, remain unsold. Ten-person private table seating either in the clubhouse or marquee village also is available at $20,000 and $18,000, respectively.

The event also appears to be en route toward a sellout with approximately 75 per cent of tickets already sold. Weekly passes are $350 or $250 while daily admission ranges from $35 for practice rounds to $65 on the final day, when the best 10 players selected from each of the two 12-man U.S. and international teams go head to head in singles matches.

Tickets, all in U.S. dollars, are available online at www.presidentscup.com, or via a link through the Royal Canadian Golf Association’s website at www.rcga.org.

“We’re way ahead of where we were prior to going to Washington in 2005,” Presidents Cup executive director Tom Clark said of last year at the Robert Trent Jones Golf Club in Lake Manassas, Va., where the U.S. defeated the internationals 18 1/2 to 15 1/2, following a tie in South Africa in 2003.

“The biggest surprise has been the reception of the sponsors and ticket purchasers in the Montreal area. When we set our revenue goals, we hoped to reach people and surprisingly, they came onboard early to sign for sponsorships and hospitality.”

Players don’t receive prize money, but members of each 14-man team, including captains and their assistants, get an equal share to designate to charity. Each got $125,000 in 2005 and since the inaugural event in 1994, more than $13.5 million has been donated to charities worldwide.