Charles Schwab Cup Championship brings top pro action to Sonoma Golf Club

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Putting practice.

Each fall, the picturesque Sonoma Golf Club on Arnold Drive plays host to the PGA TOUR’s Champions Tour biggest event: The Charles Schwab Cup Championship. Established in 2001, the Schwab Cup is awarded to  the champion of the final tournament of the year. This year, the top 29 money-winners on tour will gather for a four-day stretch of elite-level golf in the Sonoma Valley, beginning on Thursday, Oct. 30.
Sonoma Golf Club first hosted the tournament in 2003 and has seen five Schwab Cup titles awarded on its famed 18th hole. Spectators flock to the event looking for both good competition and a festive atmosphere, and the 29 golfers who end their season in Sonoma always put on a good show for the fans over the course of the long weekend.
The Charles Schwab Cup itself is awarded to the golfer who accumulates the most points over the course of the season. Points are awarded to the top-10 finishers -tying in all official tournaments- and are based on the money distribution for each tournament, with every $1,000 earned being the equivalent of one Charles Schwab Cup point. Points are doubled at the Champions Tour’s five major championships and the Charles Schwab Cup Championship.
This year, the field will include many golfers who have graced the grounds of the par-72 course before, including the last two Schwab Cup champions: Loren Roberts (2007) and Jay Haas (2006). Coming into this year’s tournament, Haas, Fred Funk, Bernard Langher and Eduardo Romero are in top contention for the overall points title. The full roster of players will be known on Sunday, Oct. 26, at the conclusion of the AT&T Championship in San Antonio, Texas.
The tournament has been dominated by longtime tour mainstay Jim Thorpe, who has won three of the five tournaments held at Sonoma Golf Club, including 2007. Haas placed second in 2005, and Tom Kite has been runner-up twice before, in 2004 and 2006.
Sonoma Golf Club will celebrate its 80th year with this year’s tournament, and with it comes the chance to experience one of Sonoma’s oldest and most beautiful landmarks, set along the west end of the Valley with Sonoma Mountain as its trademark backdrop.
Sam Whiting started developing the course in 1926 as a way to bring golf to the Sonoma Valley. Built on the old J.K. Bigelow ranch property, the course opened in 1928 and as the first major golf course in the Valley, attracted many of the game’s greats to come test out Whiting’s design. The list includes Byron Nelson and Sam Snead, as well as Tom Watson, who will participate in this year’s event.
The event has brought many people out to watch the tournament every year, in hopes of seeing some of their favorite golfers and partaking in the many events that Sonoma Golf Club offers leading up to and during the tournament. Many local businesses and nonprofits will make their presence felt as well.
Sonoma Golf Club has always been generous in giving back to local nonprofits during the tournament, and in the five years that the Charles Schwab Cup Championship has been played in the Valley, nearly $1.4 million has been raised, with another $400,000 expected from this year’s tournament alone.
Leon Gilmore, executive director of the tournament, has overseen the annual venture into the Valley since 2006, and has found Sonoma to be very welcoming to golf, which is the main reason why Sonoma has been chosen to host the tournament into 2009.
“Sonoma is a great place for us to play,” said Gilmore, “It was a location in Northern California that both our sponsors like. For a lot of reasons, it seemed to work out.”
This year, the tournament purse is $2.5 million total, with $442,000 being awarded for first place. In addition to the tournament winnings, the Schwab Cup winnings will be given out to the top five points leaders at season’s end. A total annuity of $2.1 million will be given out this season, with the overall Schwab Cup points leader receiving $1.1 million.

Tickets can be purchased by going to the official Web site of the tournament, www.charlesschwabcupchampionship.com, or by calling 707.939.4131. Tickets are also on sale at Sonoma Market.

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Jim Thorpe prepares to hit some balls.

2008 Charles Schwab Cup Championship

Sonoma Golf Club
17700 Arnold Drive
Sonoma, CA 95476
Phone: 707.996.0300
www.sonomagolfclub.com

Ticket information:

Practice Round and Pro-Am ticket: $25 or $30 at the gate.
Single-day ticket: $30 or $35 at the gate.
Senior single-day ticket: $20 or $25 at the gate.
One-day clubhouse ticket: $45 or $55 at the gate.
Clubhouse daily Food and Wine Festival ticket: $55 or $60 at the gate.
Clubhouse Food and Wine Festival weekender ticket: $160 or $175 at the gate.

Tickets can be purchased by going to:
www.charlesschwabcupchampionship.com,
by calling 707.939.4131, or at Sonoma Market.

Schedule:

Tuesday, Oct. 28
-Practice rounds and youth golf clinic (4 p.m.)

Wednesday, Oct. 29
-Charles Schwab Cup Championship Pro-Am

Thursday, Oct. 30 (Military Appreciation Day)
-Opening ceremony at first tee (8:50 a.m.)
-First round of championship play (approximately 10 a.m.)

Friday, Oct. 31
-KSVY Morning Show live from Schwab Cup (8-10 a.m.)
-Second round of championship play (approximately 10 a.m.)
-Wine Festival (12:30-4:30 p.m.)

Saturday, Nov. 1
-Third round of championship play (approximately 10 a.m.)
-Wine Festival (12:30-4:30 p.m.)

Sunday, Nov. 2
-Final round of championship play (approximately 10 a.m.)
-Wine festival (12:30-4:30 p.m.)
-Championship ceremony and Schwab Cup presentation