Cochise one of Desert Mountain’s six Jack Nicklaus Signature Courses
The Champions Tour and the Desert Mountain Club in Scottsdale, Ariz., recently announced that the season-ending Charles Schwab Cup Championship will return to the Desert Mountain Club in 2014 and 2016. The tournament will once again be played on the Cochise Course, one of six courses at the venue designed by sports icon and World Golf Hall of Fame member Jack Nicklaus.
The Charles Schwab Cup Championship was played at Desert Mountain in 2012, but heads to TPC Harding Park in San Francisco, Calif. for the 2013 event. The top-30 players on the Champions Tour money-list at the conclusion of the season are eligible to compete in the limited-field event. Double-points in the season-long race for the Charles Schwab Cup are awarded to all 30 competitors.
Tom Lehman, who won the Charles Schwab Cup Championship at Desert Mountain in 2012, looks forward to the return.
"I am thrilled that the Champions Tour and Charles Schwab Cup Championship are returning to Desert Mountain,” Lehman said. “For a number of reasons it has always been a special place for me and I look forward to competing in 2014."
Prior to the Charles Schwab Cup Championship, Desert Mountain hosted the first Champions Tour major, The Tradition, for 13 consecutive years. The Tradition was also played on the Cochise Course and was won a record four times by course designer Jack Nicklaus—accounting for half of his record eight senior major championships.
“We just recently gathered at the club to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Desert Mountain, and it was evident that a significant and proud part of the club’s legacy is its strong history in tournament golf,” Jack Nicklaus said. “But for the more than 2,000 members at Desert Mountain, the next 25 years are just as important to the club, and the commitment to an event like the Schwab Cup sends a strong signal that the membership is passionate about perpetuating Desert Mountain’s legacy as one of the finest private club facilities in the country.”
In addition to the Cochise Course, Desert Mountain features five other Jack Nicklaus Signature Golf Courses—the most in one location anywhere in the world. The Cochise Course stretches 7,019 yards in the Sonoran Desert, with water and desert rock outcroppings surrounding the fairways. The course is known for its challenging 7th and 15th holes, which share a double green that sits on a picturesque island and is approached from two different directions.
Desert Mountain Club Chief Operating Officer and General Manager Robert Jones is also eager for the tournament’s return.
“We are very excited to bring the Charles Schwab Cup Championship back to Desert Mountain Club,” Jones said. “The total attendance and the national and international exposure Desert Mountain received during the 2012 event exceeded our expectations. We hope to increase that success in 2014 and 2016.”
The complete Champions Tour schedule for the 2014 season is expected to be finalized later this year.
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