As the Galleri Classic prepares for its third year in the desert, the tournament director of the PGA Tour Champions event in Rancho Mirage believes there is still work to do to get more fans aware of the event.
“It is still a learning opportunity,” said Michella DeLancy, tournament director of the 50-and-over pro golf event. “Especially in this market where there are so many other things to do. We’ve got this amazing tennis, a major tennis event in the weeks leading up to the Galleri Classic. So I think our goal for the Galleri Classic is to make sure that they know who is playing the event.”
During the tournament’s media day Monday, three of the biggest names on the PGA Tour Champions were announced as the latest commitments to the field. Those players are Ernie Els, Vijay Singh and Fred Couples, all major championship winners and all members of the World Golf Hall of Fame.
Those three are now added to the eight players already announced for the 78-player field of the $2.2 million event. That group includes defending champion and two-time U.S. Open winner Retief Goosen, all-time PGA Tour Champions winner Bernhard Langer, reigning PGA Tour Champions player of the year Steven Alker, 2023 champion David Toms, 18-time Champions Tour winner Steve Stricker, Colin Montgomerie, Stewart Cink and Miguel Angel Jimenez.
More: Bernhard Langer to return to Galleri Classic, Stewart Cink to make debut in desert golf event
“Because of these legends, once you get out to the tournament and see it, you want to come out each year,” DeLancy said. “It’s just a matter of getting them that first year, that first time, to get them to keep coming. We still have conversations with people or we try to get creative with our marketing in some areas and people will say they haven’t seen it or haven’t heard of it.”
Els is a four-time major championship winner who has already won on the PGA Tour Champions this year at the Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualalai.
Jimenez is also a winner on the PGA Tour Champions this year at the Trophy Hassan II, his 14th victory on the senior tour.
Singh reached No. 1 in the world during his PGA Tour career and is a past winner of both the Masters and the PGA Championship.
Couples is one of the most popular players in golf, a winner of 15 events on the regular tour including the 1992 Masters and 14 events on the PGA Tour Champions.
The tournament returns to the Dinah Shore Tournament Course at Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage on March 28-30. The course hosted the LPGA for 51 years but has been embraced in just two years by the PGA Tour Champions players.
“The players love the golf course. The players have nothing but great things to say about the way that the golf course is set up, the condition that the course is in, the beauty that is around the golf courses,” DeLancy said.
She added that the field for the Galleri Classic is shaping up to be so strong that several golfers who have played in the desert in recent years will be a sponsor’s exemption to get into this year’s field because so many top players want to come to the Coachella Valley.
“We are very fortunate that these players love this area and want to come out here and play in March,” DeLancy said. “That helps us get established because there are so many players who are here, so many recognizable players, that my job on the marketing side, marketing these players, is easier.”
DeLancy said the tournament grounds will look much the same from the last two years, with gallery seating on the 10th and 18th holes and food options around the golf course.
The tournament is named after Galleri, a multi-cancer detection blood test developed by Grail. Grail officials will be on hand to hand out information on the blood test and what it can detect.
Tickets and parking for the tournament are available online at thegallericlassic.com. Single-day tickets are $30 for all five days, the two pro-am days Wednesday and Thursday and tournament play Friday, Saturday and Sunday. A weekly grounds pass is $60. Parking is $10 online and $15 at the parking site off Crossley Road in Palm Springs.
This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Galleri Classic adds Fred Couples, Ernie Els to PGA Tour Champions field
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