RANCHO MIRAGE, Calif. — Twelve months ago, there was no PGA Tour Champions event in the Coachella Valley, something that had been true in the desert since the 1990s. No pro-ams, no title sponsors, no star-studded field.
This week, at Mission Hills Country Club, the PGA Tour Champions roars back to life in the desert with the Galleri Classic, the newest event on the 50-and-older professional golf circuit. Going from no event to having an event ready to tee off has proven to be a busy, and at times surprising, year for the tour and tournament director Michelle DeLancy.
“I would say with every first year event, and I’ve gotten to be a part of a couple different events, you always don’t know until you get to the actual event to see how successful it will be,” DeLancy said. “Before we have even gotten to this event, we can see the amazing field of 78 players that will be playing, which is the very important piece of the tournament. People will show up and see who they want to see, and there are a lot of great guys on our list.”
From securing a strong field to selling pro-am spots to signing up volunteers for the event, almost everything a professional golf tournament needs had to be built from the ground up since it was announced last April the event was coming to Mission Hills. The Dinah Shore Tournament Course had been the home of the LPGA for 51 years, but comparing the Chevron Challenge and the Galleri Classic on the same golf course is something DeLancy didn’t want to happen.
A tee marker at Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage, California, for the 2023 Galleri Classic on the PGA Tour Champions. (Photo: Andy Abeyta/The Desert Sun)
“I am not trying to make us look different or compare us to other events that have been on this course,” said DeLancy, whose background includes running a PGA Tour Champions event in Seattle. “Overall, it is just a completely different event
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By: Larry Bohannan
Title: Galleri Classic building to its debut event on PGA Tour Champions
Sourced From: golfweek.usatoday.com/2023/03/23/galleri-classic-debut-event-pga-tour-champions-mission-hills/
Published Date: Thu, 23 Mar 2023 15:00:42 +0000
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