Scott McCarron and John Daly also slated to appear
Five winners of the former BellSouth Classic, which was played at TPC Sugarloaf from 1997 to 2008, will compete against a stacked field of 78 professionals when Georgia’s only PGA TOUR Champions event, the Mitsubishi Electric Classic, returns May 2-8.
The returning victors – David Duval, Retief Goosen, Mark Calcavecchia, Scott McCarron, and John Daly – and their competitors will all vie for a $1.8 million prize purse and the chance to move atop the Charles Schwab Cup rankings.
“The addition of these champions to an already illustrious list of golfers stands to make this PGA TOUR Champions event one of the most exciting events of the year,” says Ashley Hamilton, tournament director. “This quintet of BellSouth Classic winners is part of this course and Gwinnett County’s rich golf tradition, and we’re excited to welcome them back to TPC Sugarloaf this May.”
The past BellSouth Classic champions include:
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David Duval, who earned All-America honors four times at Georgia Tech and made his PGA TOUR Champions debut at the Mitsubishi Electric Classic at Hualalai this past January. Duval won the BellSouth Classic in 1999, the same year he became only the third golfer in PGA TOUR history to score a 59 during a TOUR event. The former world No. 1 won 13 times on the PGA TOUR between 1997 and 2001, including the 2001 Open Championship and 1999 THE PLAYERS Championship.
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Retief Goosen, who counts the 2002 BellSouth Classic among his seven PGA TOUR victories. His consistency on the TOUR launched him into the top-10 world rankings for more than 250 weeks (totalling nearly five years) between 2001 and 2007. Goosen is off to a hot start to his PGA TOUR Champions season, having already notched three top-10 finishes and a win at the Hoag Classic earlier this month. His other PGA TOUR Champions victory occurred at the 2019 Bridgestone SENIOR PLAYERS Championship.
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Mark Calcavecchia, who has established himself as one of the more consistent players on the PGA TOUR Champions circuit, having recorded four victories, 12 top-three finishes, and 51 top-10 placements. During his storied PGA TOUR career, he notched 13 victories, including the 1995 BellSouth Classic and the 1999 Open Championship. In 2009, Calcavecchia set a PGA TOUR record by netting nine consecutive birdies during his second round at the RBC Canadian Open.
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Scott McCarron, who earned his third career victory at TPC Sugarloaf with a two-shot, wire-to-wire victory at the 2019 Mitsubishi Electric Classic. He garnered his two other wins there during the PGA TOUR’s BellSouth Classic in 1997 and 2001. McCarron currently has 11 PGA TOUR Champions victories and 57 top-10 finishes. Additionally, he topped the 2019 Charles Schwab Cup rankings.
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John Daly, whose powerful swing and colorful personality made him one of the most well-known players on the PGA TOUR. He won five times during his career there, including the 1994 BellSouth Classic, the 1991 PGA Championship and the 1995 Open Championship. Daly has won professional golf events throughout the world, including tournaments in South Africa, Swaziland, Scotland, Germany, South Korea, Turkey, and Canada. In 1997, he became the first PGA TOUR player to average more than 300 yards per drive over a full season – and repeated the feat every year from 1999 to 2008. He joined the PGA TOUR Champions circuit in 2016 and recorded his first tour victory at the Insperity Invitational the following year.
The full field of competitors will be released in the coming weeks.
To purchase tickets, please visit: mitsubishielectricclassic.com/
For more information, visit: mitsubishielectricclassic.com.
About Mitsubishi Electric Classic
The Mitsubishi Electric Classic returns to the metro Atlanta area May 2 – 8, 2022, and looks forward to welcoming Players on PGA TOUR Champions such as Miguel Ángel Jiménez, Ernie Els, Bernhard Langer, John Daly, Vijay Singh, Mike Weir and Jim Furyk. The Mitsubishi Electric Classic proudly stands as a premier golf tournament on the PGA TOUR Champions, but this event is much more than a golf tournament. The event, which will benefit local charities through the Gwinnett Championship Foundation Inc., has raised over $3 million since the first tournament in 2013. Follow the Mitsubishi Electric Classic online at mitsubishielectricclassic.com, on facebook.com/
About PGA TOUR Champions
PGA TOUR Champions is a membership organization of professional golfers aged 50 and older, including 34 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. Follow PGA TOUR Champions online at PGATOUR.com, at facebook.com/PGATOURChampions, on Twitter @ChampionsTour, on Instagram @pgatourchampions and on TikTok (pgatourchampions).
