By Champions Tour Staff, PGATOUR.COM
Scottsdale, Arizona — The Desert Mountain Club and the Champions Tour announced today that the season-ending Charles Schwab Cup Championship will return to Desert Mountain’s Cochise course in 2015.
After this year’s championship on Cochise, scheduled Oct. 30–Nov. 2, this limited field event was slated to return to TPC Harding Park in San Francisco in 2015 and come back to Desert Mountain in 2016, said Ian Knight, executive director of the Charles Schwab Cup Championship.
“We were very happy with the results of the 2012 event at Desert Mountain,” Knight explained. “Scottsdale is such a hotspot for golf, and Desert Mountain has such a wonderful course and facility that at the end of 2012, everyone started talking about bringing more events to Desert Mountain.”
He added that the PGA TOUR and tournament staff “are very excited to now have our home course at Desert Mountain. To play here in 2014, 2015 and 2016 allows us to build stronger relationships with the community, sponsors, volunteers, charities and fans.”
For Desert Mountain COO and General Manager Robert Jones, the event’s return next year brings more consistent local, national and international exposure for the award-winning private club as well as for Scottsdale. “When you have a high-profile event that attracts 35,000 onsite spectators and another 120 million households worldwide watching on TV, that’s a golden opportunity to showcase Desert Mountain golf, our new amenities and our stunning location,” he said, adding, “It’s definitely an advantage to be able to build on the success of the 2012 tournament for the next three years.”
The Cochise course, one of six Jack Nicklaus Signature Golf courses at Desert Mountain, plays at 6,929 yards and is considered by Nicklaus to be one of the most picturesque courses in the world. This spectator-friendly layout features rock outcroppings surrounding the fairways, and challenging 7th and 15th holes that share a double green that sits on an island and is approached from two different directions.
Built in 1988, Cochise also has a storied past. It was the home of The Tradition, a major event on the Champions Tour, from 1989–2001. Nicklaus won the tournament four times and made his famous two double eagle on the 12th hole. Gary Player made a hole-in-one on the seventh hole and an eagle on the 15th.
For more information about the Charles Schwab Cup Championship, go to schwabcup.com.
