Boeing Championship
Destin, FL -It was the most anticipated event in the history of Sandestin Golf and Beach Resort, and by all accounts, The Boeing Championship at Sandestin was an incredible success in its first year at its new home. The PGA Champions Tour came to town, and Sandestin put its best foot forward for seven days as national and international television audiences looked on at the newest gem of the golfing world. More than 58,000 spectators turned out in force over the course of the week, shattering previous attendance records for the event, to watch the greatest names in golf history battle for $1.6 million in prize money.
Bobby Wadkins, held off a late Sunday charge by World Golf Hall of Famer Raymond Floyd to take home the trophy and the $240,000 winner’s check by a one-stroke margin. Wadkins 10-under-par 203 for the week edged out Floyd, who became the third youngest player to shoot his age with a final round 63.
The win was Wadkins’ second on the Champions Tour, and his only win since 2001. After cruising out to a four-stroke lead following a course record 62 in the first round, Wadkins held on, sinking a 7-foot birdie putt on the 17th hole in the final round to claim the title. Among the “Who’s Who” of golf greats he held at bay for the win were the likes of Floyd, who finished alone in second, and Craig Stadler, Loren Roberts, Tom Watson, and Scott Simpson, who finished tied for third. Visit PGA.com for complete results.
Raven Golf Club received rave revues in its debut as a Champions Tour venue, as golf greats such as Ben Crenshaw, Loren Roberts, and Floyd hailed it as “one of the best courses on the tour,” comparing it to a mini-U.S. Open. Perhaps the biggest compliment of the day came from the Golf Channel’s Dave Barr, who upon handing over the trophy to Bobby Wadkins, crowned Sandestin as, “the Golf Channel’s new favorite stop on the Champions Tour.”
Despite the large spectator numbers for the week, crowd control and parking never were an issue, as support from off site lots and over 800 volunteers kept the roads clear avoiding delays and keeping movement around the course smooth.
Although the numbers are not yet final, tournament officials project charitable donations from the event to reach somewhere between $300 and $400 thousand this year, with money going to a number of local charities.
"With the great facilities at the Sandestin Golf and Beach Resort and our new title sponsor, The Boeing Company, we're sure to become one of the best events on the Champions Tour," said Phil Garcia, executive director of the Boeing Championship at Sandestin. "The move insures professional golf will continue in this area and we look forward to a long relationship with both Sandestin and Boeing. Through their support, this community event will return a significant amount of money to charity over the next several years."
Raven Golf Club at Sandestin is a Robert Trent Jones, Jr.-designed course that opened in March, 2000 and measures almost 7,000 yards from the championship tees with a par of 71. The Raven was named "Best New Course In Florida" in 2000 and "No. 1 Course in Northwest Florida" by Florida Golf News. The course has received a four-star rating from Golf Digest's Places To Play in 2002 and 2004.
For more information, please visit The Boeing Championship.com or contact Craig Falanga at 850.267.6733 or visit Sandestin.com.
About the Champions Tour
The Champions Tour is a tax-exempt membership organization of professional golfers
age 50 and older which celebrates its 27th anniversary in 2007. Conceived in
1980 as the Senior PGA Tour, it has grown to 28 official Charles Schwab Cup
events offering $50.2 million in official prize money in 2005 and its highest
average purse ever of nearly $1.8 million. Rebranded the Champions Tour in
late 2002, its primary purpose is to provide significant competitive and earnings
opportunities for players age 50 and older; to protect the integrity of the
game; and to help grow the reach of the game in the U.S. and around the world.
In addition to providing competitive opportunities for its membership, Champions
Tour events also generate significant sums of money for charity. Through 2004,
the three Tours of the PGA TOUR and their tournaments have generated more than
$910 million for charity since the first recorded donation was made in 1938,
with nearly $89 million raised in 2004. The commissioner of the PGA TOUR is
Tim Finchem. Rick George is the president of the Champions Tour. TOUR headquarters
is in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. Its Web site address is PGATOUR.com.
About The Boeing Company
The Boeing Company is the world's leading aerospace company and the largest combined
manufacturer of commercial jetliners and military aircraft. With additional
capabilities in rotorcraft, electronic and defense systems, missiles, rocket
engines, satellites, launch vehicles and advanced information and communication
systems, the company's reach extends to customers in 145 countries. Headquartered
in Chicago, IL, Boeing employs approximately 151,000 employees in 48 states
and 67 countries, with major operations in the Puget Sound area of Washington,
southern California and St. Louis. Boeing is organized into four business units:
Boeing Commercial Airplanes, Boeing Integrated Defense Systems, Boeing Capital
Corporation and Connexion by Boeing (SM).
About Sandestin Golf and Beach
Resort
Sandestin Golf and Beach Resort is a 2,400-acre resort located in Northwest Florida,
between Pensacola and Panama City, Florida, eight miles east of Destin. Sandestin
is an award-winning resort located on 7.5 miles of beach and bayfront property
with 72 holes of golf, more than 1,450 accommodations and 60,000 square feet
of meeting space. Sandestin guests enjoy a wide variety of complimentary amenities,
including property-wide tram service; daily use of the Sandestin health club
(adults only), unlimited use of bicycles, one hour free rental of canoes, kayaks,
boogie boards and tennis court time, plus free children's fishing licenses for
our many stocked ponds each day. 
