Greater Gwinnett Championship Draws Stellar Field, Play Begins Friday

After a long hiatus, professional golf is returning to Gwinnett County.

The Greater Gwinnett Championship (GGC), a three-day PGA Champions Tour event, is set to play Friday, April 19 through Sunday, April 21 at the TPC Sugarloaf course.

The Greg Norman-designed last hosted a PGA event in 2008, (formerly the BellSouth Classic) and attracted some of the top names in golf including Tiger Woods, and Phil Michelson.

The inaugural GGC marks the Champions Tour’s return to the Atlanta area for the first time since 2000. The Champions Tour schedule included the Nationwide Championship in Alpharetta from 1991-2000

The GGC has attracted no less a stellar field in its inaugural tournament.

In the field are three two-time Masters Champions:

• Tom Watson, 1977, 1981
• Ben Crenshaw, 1984, 1995
• Bernard Langer, 1985, 1993

And, four players who have won a Green Jacket one time:

• Craig Stadler, 1982
• Larry Mize, 1987
• Sandy Lyle, 1988
• Mark O'Meara, 1998

For those who've followed golf over the years, you'll no doubt recognize many golfers with Georgia ties.

Larry Nelson - Lives in Marietta, a former club pro who didn't start playing until after returning from a tour of duty in Viet Nam, learned to play golf by reading Ben Hogan's book on the fundamentals of golf. Has 10 PGA wins and 19 Champion Tour wins.

Larry Mize - Lives in Columbus, orginally from Augusta where he worked the Masters scoreboard on the 3rd hole during his early teen years. He's probably best remembered for the chip-in he made at the Masters to beat Greg Norman in 1987. Has 4 PGA wins and 1 Champion Tour win.

Allen Doyle - Lives in LaGrange but was raised in Boston where he got his start in golf as a caddy. He enjoyed a stellar amateur golf career winning five amateur championships before turning pro at the age of 48. Since joining the Champions Tour in 1998 he has won four major championships including successfully defending his Senior Open Championship in 2006 and became the oldest player (at 57 years, 11 months and 17 days) to win the event.

James Mason - Lives in Sky Valley (Ga.) but was raised in Duluth. He turned pro at the age of 22 and joined the Champions Tour in 2001 winning once in the 2002 NFL Golf Classic and placed second in the 2011 Greater Hickory Classic. He is a golf pro at the Orchard Club in Clarkesville, Ga.

Below is a complete list of current committed players:

• Michael Allen
• Tommy Armour III
• Andy Bean
• Jay Don Blake
• Mark Brooks
• Olin Browne
• Bart Bryant
• Brad Bryant
• Mark Calcavecchia
• Roger Chapman
• Bobby Clampett
• Russ Cochran
• John Cook
• Ben Crenshaw
• Joe Daley
• Allen Doyle
• Steve Elkington
• Brad Faxon
• Bruce Fleisher
• Dan Forsman
• David Frost
• Fred Funk
• Bob Gilder
• Bill Glasson
• Mike Goodes
• Jay Haas
• Gary Hallberg
• Scott Hoch
• John Huston
• Hale Irwin
• Peter Jacobsen
• Tom Jenkins
• Gene Jones
• Tom Kite
• Bernhard Langer
• Tom Lehman
• Wayne Levi
• Chie-Hsiang Lin
• Steve Lowery

• Chien Soon Lu
• Sandy Lyle
• Andrew Magee
• James Mason
• Mark McNulty
• Rocco Mediate
• Larry Mize
• Gil Morgan
• Mark Mouland
• Larry Nelson
• Andy North
• Mark O’Meara
• Steve Pate
• Corey Pavin
• Tom Pernice Jr.
• Kenny Perry
• Tom Purtzer
• Loren Roberts
• Jim Rutledge
• Gene Sauers
• Peter Senior
• Scott Simpson
• Jeff Sluman
• Rod Spittle
• Craig Stadler
• Curtis Strange
• Hal Sutton
• Jim Thorpe
• Esteban Toledo
• Kirk Triplett
• Bob Tway
• Bobby Wadkins
• Duffy Waldorf
• Tom Watson
• D.A. Weibring
• Mark Wiebe
• Willie Wood

Click here for the first-round pairings.

For ticket information, visit the Greater Gwinnett Championship website.