For Immediate Release
March 23, 2018

FOUR-TIME CHARLES SCHWAB CUP WINNER BERNHARD LANGER COMMITS TO MITSUBISHI ELECTRIC CLASSIC

Mitsubishi Electric Classic champions Miguel Ángel Jiménez Olin Browne and Woody Austin join field

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GWINNETT – METRO ATLANTA – Officials of the Mitsubishi Electric Classic announced today that World Golf Hall of Fame member and four-time Charles Schwab Cup Champion Bernhard Langer will compete in the sixth annual Mitsubishi Electric Classic, the prestigious PGA TOUR Champions event scheduled for April 9–15 at TPC Sugarloaf in Duluth, Georgia.

The tournament has also accepted commitments from past champions of the Mitsubishi Electric Classic: Miguel Ángel Jiménez (2014), Olin Browne (2015) and Woody Austin (2016). Together with Langer, who won the inaugural event in 2013, and previously released reigning champion Stephen Ames, the tournament will boast all five past winners in this year’s field.

No player has dominated the PGA TOUR Champions circuit over the past 10 years like Bernhard Langer. He capped another stellar year in 2017, recording seven wins and 16 top-10 finishes. He also secured a record ninth Arnold Palmer Award as the TOUR’s leading money winner, a record seventh Jack Nicklaus Award as the Player of the Year and won the Byron Nelson Award for the lowest scoring average for a record-breaking sixth time. The 60-year-old German native has captured 36 PGA TOUR Champions titles to go with more than $24 million in earnings since making his PGA TOUR Champions debut in 2007. So far this season, he is No. 13 in Charles Schwab Cup rankings with his lone top-10 finish coming in his second start of the year at the Boca Raton Championship, where he finished in second place.

Langer’s PGA TOUR Champions resume includes 10 major titles, three of which he grabbed in 2017 alone. The two-time Masters winner will make his sixth start at this year’s Mitsubishi Electric Classic. Combined with his victory in 2013, he posted runner-up finishes in 2014, 2015 and 2017. His worst appearance came in 2016 when he tied for 11th. That impressive record at TPC Sugarloaf has earned Langer winnings of $783,450 and a 68.43 scoring average at this tournament alone.

Miguel Ángel Jiménez, 54, claimed the 2014 Mitsubishi Electric Classic in his first PGA TOUR Champions start. His tournament earnings are $441,810 and his scoring average is 68.73. In his four appearances at TPC Sugarloaf, he has yet to finish outside the top 10. In 2015, Jiménez tied for 10th, followed by a T4 effort in 2016 and last year his 8-under-par 208 placed him in a tie for 8th. Jiménez has achieved four PGA TOUR Champions wins, recording one title in each of the past four seasons. The Spanish native is coming off back-to-back career best years on the senior circuit with nine top-10 finishes in 2016 and 10 in 2017, with more than $1.5 million in earnings each year. This season, Jiménez has two top-10 finishes in four starts and sits at No. 14 in Charles Schwab Cup rankings.

Major championship winner Olin Browne will make his fifth start at this year’s Mitsubishi Electric Classic. His scoring average at TPC Sugarloaf is 71.45 to go with tournament earnings of $286,969.09. The 58-year-old Florida resident is the owner of two PGA TOUR Champions victories, winning the 2011 U.S. Senior Open in addition to his Mitsubishi Electric Classic title in 2015. Over the past four seasons, he has recorded 20 top-10 finishes. Browne is currently ranked No. 28 in Charles Schwab Cup rankings with one top-10 finish and $99,405 in TOUR money.

Woody Austin, 54, enjoyed a breakout PGA TOUR Champions season in 2016. His Mitsubishi Electric Classic playoff victory over Wes Short, Jr. was his second career PGA TOUR Champions title, and he followed that up with a win the following week at the Bass Pro Shops Legends of Golf at Big Cedar Lodge. His first PGA TOUR Champions victory came in March 2016 at the Tucson Conquistadores Classic. Austin finished 2016 with four top-10 outings over his final 11 tournaments to earn more than $1.4 million and finish a career best in Charles Schwab Cup Points, ranking No. 7. He grabbed two top-10 finishes last year and won the Diamond Resorts Invitational. So far this season he has finished inside the top 10 once and is ranked No. 24 in Charles Schwab Cup points to go with $112,396 in earnings. The Kansas resident will make his third start at the Mitsubishi Electric Classic. Austin’s scoring average at TPC Sugarloaf is 68.67, with career earnings of $338,400 in the Mitsubishi Electric Classic.

The 2018 Mitsubishi Electric Classic is April 9-15. The public may visit www.mitsubishielectricclassic.com to purchase tickets. Children 16 and under can attend for free with a ticketed adult. Daily tickets start at just $20. For more information about the Mitsubishi Electric Classic, including the Birdies for Charity program, sponsorship opportunities and how to volunteer, please visit www.mitsubishielectricclassic.com.


About the Mitsubishi Electric Classic

The Mitsubishi Electric Classic is an official event on the PGA TOUR Champions scheduled for April 9-15, 2018. This 54-hole stroke play golf tournament features 78 PGA TOUR Champions professionals competing for a $1.8 million purse at the prestigious TPC Sugarloaf in Duluth, Georgia. The event, which will benefit local charities through the Gwinnett Championship Foundation, Inc., has raised nearly $2 million since its first tournament in 2013. All three official rounds will be internationally televised on the Golf Channel. For more information, visit www.mitsubishielectricclassic.com.

About PGA TOUR Champions

PGA TOUR Champions is a membership organization of professional golfers age 50 and older, including 35 members of the World Golf Hall of Fame. The Tour’s mission 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 and generate significant charitable and economic impact in tournament communities. In 2018, the PGA TOUR Champions schedule includes 27 tournaments across the United States, Scotland and Canada, with purses totaling more than $56 million. The Charles Schwab Cup, which includes the Regular Season and the Charles Schwab Cup Playoffs, is used to determine the season-long champion. All events are televised in the United States, with most receiving complete coverage on Golf Channel, the exclusive cable-television partner of PGA TOUR Champions. Internationally, telecasts air in excess of 190 countries and territories, reaching more than 330 million potential households. Follow PGA TOUR Champions online at PGATOUR.com, at facebook.com/PGATOURChampions, on Twitter @ChampionsTour and on Instagram @pgatourchampions.



MEDIA CONTACTS:
Tom Sprouse, Mitsubishi Electric Classic, 614-519-1873, tsprouse@hnssports.com

Note that the releases are accurate at the time of publication but may be subject to change without notice.