Primer: Mitsubishi Electric Classic

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Credit: Getty Images/Icon Sportswire

After a two week break, the Champions Tour continues its southern swing with the sixth annual Mitsubishi Electric Classic at TPC Sugarloaf in Duluth, Georgia.

Credit: Getty Images/Icon Sportswire

The 78-player field includes all five past champions, including defending champion 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 in Duluth, Georgia.

The solid field will also include seven players who competed in last week’s Masters, as well as Tom Watson who won the Par-3 Contest at the age of 68.

Here’s additional information about what to expect at this week’s Mitsubishi Electric Classic.


THE SKINNY

Tournament: Mitsubishi Electric Classic
Dates: April 13-15, 2018
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: Stephen Ames 
Marquee Players: Bernhard Langer, 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).

Credit: Getty Images/David Welker

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
2017: Stephen Ames (-15)
2016: Woody Austin (-11)
2015: Olin Browne (-12)
2014: Miguel Ángel Jiménez (-14)
2013: Bernhard Langer (-10)


DEFENDING CHAMPION

Stephen Ames fired a 6-under 66 on Sunday to win the Mitsubishi Electric Classic by four-strokes over Bernhard Langer. It was the first win on the senior circuit for the 52-year-old Canadian.

Credit: Getty Images/Icon Sportswire

Ames entered the final round at TPC Sugarloaf holding on to a one-stroke lead, but after birdies on 1 and 3, Ames pulled away from the field.

After Ames dropped two more birdies on 6 and 7, he was never really threatened, and cruised to a bogey-free 2-under over his final 11 holes.

Runner-up Langer had the day’s best round, a 7-under 65 to move from T21 to sole-2nd. The trio of Fred Funk, David Frost, and Brandt Jobe all finished at 10-under to tie for 3rd place.

For his maiden win on the Champions Tour, Ames earned $270,000 and moved into the top-5 on the Charles Schwab Cup Money List.

FINAL TOP 5

1 Stephen Ames -15
2 Bernhard Langer -11
3 Fred Funk -10
3 David Frost -10
3 Brandt Jobe -10


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 five former champions, headlined by the first two winners in Bernhard Langer (2013) and Miguel Angel Jimenez (2014).

Credit: Getty Images

Additionally seven players will be making the trek from Augusta to Duluth, including Langer, Sandy Lyle, Larry Mize, Mark O’Meara, Jose Maria Olazabal, Vijay Singh and Ian Woosnam.

Related to the Peach State, three more players in the field reside in the state of Georgia, including Duluth resident Scott Dunlap, Larry Nelson (Marietta) and Billy Andrade (Atlanta). Another foursome went to college in the state: Gene Sauers (Georgia Southern), Larry Mize and Charlie Rymer (Georgia Tech), and Scott Parel (Georgia).

Other big names in the field include John Daly, David Toms, and Colin Montgomerie.


Credits: PGA Tour Media, Getty Images


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