RANCHO MIRAGE, CALIF. – The majority of the field for The Galleri Classic Presented by Spotlight 29 Casino was finalized on Friday with 74-of-78 players set for the second-annual PGA TOUR Champions golf tournament, contested March 29-31 on the Dinah Shore Tournament Course at iconic Mission Hills Country Club.
The Galleri Classic, named after title sponsor GRAIL’s multi-cancer early detection test, is a 54-hole event and next week’s winner will be awarded $330,000 from a $2.2 million purse.
Those entered into next week’s Galleri Classic include 2023 PGA TOUR Champions Player of the Year and Charles Schwab Cup winner Steve Stricker, 2023 Galleri Classic champion David Toms, World Golf Hall of Famers and past World No. 1s Fred Couples, Ernie Els and Vijay Singh, World Golf Hall of Famer Retief Goosen, past World No. 1s David Duval and Tom Lehman, two-time major champion and long-hitting fan favorite John Daly and 2023 Galleri Classic runner-up and 2022 Charles Schwab Cup champion Steven Alker. Stricker will raise awareness of multi-cancer early detection as an ambassador for Galleri.
Daily ticket options for The Galleri Classic, including official Pro-Am rounds on Wednesday and Thursday (March 27-28) and three rounds of competition from March 29-31, are on sale at the tournament’s website, www.TheGalleriClassic.com.
“PGA TOUR Champions golf in the Coachella Valley is a perfect match, as evidenced by last year’s inaugural Galleri Classic, and we are confident our 2024 sequel can be even better than the original,” said Michelle DeLancy, tournament director of The Galleri Classic. “We believe The Galleri Classic is already one of the circuit’s premier events, and we have the golf course and a field of legends, major champions and personalities to prove it.”
The Galleri Classic awarded sponsor exemptions to 1991 PGA Championship and 1995 Open Championship winner John Daly, Notah Begay III, Boo Weekley, Mario Tiziani (tied for fifth place in the 2023 Galleri Classic) and Jeff Brehaut.
The Galleri Classic’s final three spots will be determined within the Coachella Valley on Tuesday, March 26 at the tournament’s 18-hole open qualifying event, held at Bermuda Dunes Country Club (Classic course) in Bermuda Dunes, Calif.
By the numbers, The Galleri Classic field features:
— Six World Golf Hall of Famers – Vijay Singh (Class of 2006), Jose Maria Olazabal (Class of 2009), Ernie Els (Class of 2011), Fred Couples (Class of 2013), Mark O’Meara (Class of 2015) and Retief Goosen (Class of 2019).
— Five of the 25 World No. 1-ranked golfers in the Official World Golf Ranking (since it began in 1986) – Fred Couples, Tom Lehman, Ernie Els, David Duval and Vijay Singh.
— Nineteen (19) major champions on the PGA TOUR and 24 PGA TOUR Champions major winners. The following eight golfers have won major titles on the PGA TOUR and PGA TOUR Champions:
- Tom Lehman (1996 Open Championship; three senior majors)
- Fred Couples (1992 Masters; two senior majors)
- Vijay Singh (2000 Masters, 1998 and 2004 PGA Championship; one senior major)
- Retief Goosen (2001 and 2004 U.S. Open; one senior major)
- Mark O’Meara (1998 Masters and 1998 Open Championship; one senior major)
- Darren Clarke (2011 Open Championship; one senior major)
- Jim Furyk (2003 U.S. Open; one senior major)
- David Toms (2001 PGA Championship; one senior major)
Other major champions on the PGA TOUR (without a senior major): Mark Calcavecchia, John Daly, David Duval, Ernie Els, Lee Janzen, Justin Leonard, Jose Maria Olazabal, Corey Pavin, Jeff Sluman, Mike Weir and Y.E. Yang.
n Eight champions in the Coachella Valley at The American Express (PGA TOUR) – Brian Gay (2013), Justin Leonard (2005), Mike Weir (2003), Joe Durant (2001), David Duval (1999), Fred Couples (1998), Corey Pavin (1987, 1991) and Jay Haas (1988).
Stay updated on The Galleri Classic at www.TheGalleriClassic.com and by following the event on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/gallericlassic), Instagram (@GalleriClassic) and Twitter (@GalleriClassic).
The Galleri Classic Presented by Spotlight 29 Casino field (74 of 78 players)
Alker, Steven
Allan, Steve
Allen, Michael
Ames, Stephen
Andrade, Billy
Appleby, Stuart
Austin, Woody
Barron, Doug
Begay III, Notah +
Bertsch, Shane
Bransdon, David
Brehaut, Jeff +
Broadhurst, Paul
Calcavecchia, Mark
Cejka, Alex
Choi, K.J.
Clarke, Darren
Couples, Fred
Daly, John +
Dawson, Marco
DiMarco, Chris
Duke, Ken
Durant, Joe
Duval, David
Els, Ernie
Estes, Bob
Flesch, Steve
Frost, David
Funk, Fred
Furyk, Jim
Gay, Brian
Gonzalez, Ricardo
Goosen, Retief
Goydos, Paul
Green, Richard
Haas, Jay
Hensby, Mark
Jaidee, Thongchai
Janzen, Lee
Jiménez, Miguel Angel
Jobe, Brandt
Karlsson, Robert
Kelly, Jerry
Labritz, Rob
Lehman, Tom
Leonard, Justin
Maggert, Jeff
Mayfair, Billy
McCarron, Scott
Mediate, Rocco
O'Meara, Mark
Olazábal, José María
Pampling, Rod
Pavin, Corey
Pernice Jr., Tom
Pride, Dicky
Quigley, Brett
Sauers, Gene
Singh, Vijay
Slocum, Heath
Sluman, Jeff
Stankowski, Paul
Stricker, Steve
Sutherland, Kevin
Tanigawa, Ken
Tiziani, Mario +
Toms, David
Triplett, Kirk
Verplank, Scott
Weekley, Boo +
Weir, Mike
Wi, Charlie
Wright, Michael
Yang, Y.E.
3 Tuesday qualifiers (TBD)
+ Sponsor Exemption
MEDIA CONTACT:
Damian Secore, Brener Zwikel & Associates
951-454-6047; damians@bzapr.com