After a two week break, the Champions Tour tees it up in Georgia for the seventh annual Mitsubishi Electric Classic at TPC Sugarloaf in Duluth – the second stop of the five-event southwest swing.
The 78-player field includes all six past champions, including defending champion Steve Flesch, 2018 winner Stephen Ames, and inaugural winner Bernhard Langer. Additionally, 31 of the top 36 players in the current Charles Schwab Cup standings will be teeing it up this week.
The solid field will also include five players who competed in last week’s Masters, headlined by Langer who made the weekend after opening rounds of 71-72.
Here’s additional information about what to expect at this week’s Mitsubishi Electric Classic.
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THE SKINNY
Tournament: Mitsubishi Electric Classic
Dates: April 19-21, 2019
Where: Duluth, Georgia
Course: TPC Sugarloaf
Distance: Par 72, 7,259 yards
Architect: Greg Norman
Format: 54-holes, stroke play, no cut
Purse: $1,800,000
Winning Share: $270,000
Defending Champion: Steve Flesch
Marquee Players: Bernhard Langer, John Daly, Jerry Kelly, Vijay Singh, Mark Calcavecchia, Billy Andrade, Miguel Angel Jimenez, and Colin Montgomerie.
TV & ONLINE
Round 1: Fri 12-2:30 pm (GOLF)
Round 2: Sat 3-6:00 pm (GOLF)
Round 3: Sun 3-6:00 pm (GOLF)
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HISTORY
TPC Sugarloaf, a Greg Norman design, has been the site of the Champions Tour stop since 2013. Previously known as the Greater Gwinnett Championship, the tournament is the second of five tournaments played in the southwest of the United States (MS, GA, MO, TX, AL).
TPC Sugarloaf was a venue on the PGA Tour’s old AT&T Classic (previously BellSouth Classic) for twelve seasons (1997–2008).
Past winners include Bernhard Langer, Miguel Angel Jimenez, and Woody Austin.
The title sponsor, Mitsubishi Electric, is a Japanese multinational electronics and electrical equipment manufacturing company headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. In the United States, products are manufactured and sold by Mitsubishi Electric United States headquartered in Cypress, California. The company also sponsors the Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualalai.
TOURNAMENT NAMES
2016-18: Mitsubishi Electric Classic
2013-15: Greater Gwinnett Championship
RECENT WINNERS
2018: Steve Flesch (-11)
2017: Stephen Ames (-15)
2016: Woody Austin (-11)
2015: Olin Browne (-12)
2014: Miguel Ángel Jiménez (-14)
2013: Bernhard Langer (-10)
DEFENDING CHAMPION
With a birdie on the second extra hole, Steve Flesch prevailed in a three-man playoff to claim his first victory on the Champions Tour. Flesch birdied No. 18 to get into a playoff with Bernhard Langer and Scott Parel, and then birdied it twice more in the playoff – eliminating Langer on the first extra hole, and then Parel.
The win is Flesch’s first since the 2007 Turning Stone Resort Invitational, a span of 169 professional starts. He moved to No. 8 in the Charles Schwab Cup standings at the time.
For his maiden win on the Champions Tour, Flesch earned $270,000.
FINAL TOP 5
1 Steve Flesch -11
2 Bernhard Langer -11
2 Scott Parel -11
4 Jay Haas -9
5 Wes Short Jr -8
THE FIELD
The field in Georgia includes 10 Hall of Fame members, 31 of the 36 players in the current Charles Schwab Cup standings, and all six former champions, headlined by the first two winners in Bernhard Langer (2013) and Miguel Angel Jimenez (2014).
Additionally five players will be making the trek from Augusta to Duluth, including Langer, Sandy Lyle, Larry Mize, Jose Maria Olazabal, and Vijay Singh.
Related to the Peach State, two more players in the field reside in the state of Georgia, including Larry Nelson (Marietta) and Billy Andrade (Atlanta). Another threesome went to college in the state: Gene Sauers (Georgia Southern), Mize (Georgia Tech), and Scott Parel (Georgia).
Other big names in the field include John Daly, David Toms, and Colin Montgomerie.
FULL FIELD & ODDS
Bet on the Mitsubishi Electric Classic at Bovada
Credits: PGA Tour Media, Getty Images
