Golf Fans Respond To Senior PGA Tour Players

Nurtured by the images of the golf stars of the 1950s and 1960s, the Senior PGA Tour has grown from a mere two
events paying a total of $250,000 in 1980 to a full-fledged affiliate of the PGA Tour in 1986 paying 17.2 million in
30 events such as the Senior Players Reunion Pro-Am at Bent Tree Country Club.

Part of this growth can be attributed to nostalgia. Players such as Arnold Palmer, the king of golf in the 1960s,
Texan Don January, the 1967 PGA Champion, Gary Player, the plucky South African who has captured tides worldwide,
and Miller Barber, the mysterious Mr. X who is the all-time career money winner currently playing the Senior Tour,
provide a look backward to the day’s when pro golf was less structured and the players and golfers alike came to
Tournaments as much for the fun of it as the money.

“The fans like the Senior Tour because the players are all different,” said Brian Henning, Tournament director of
the Senior PGA Tour. “The\’ are not clones. They have different personalities, different characteristics and
different golf games.

“The fans remember these players and what they did, and they like the opportunity to see them play.”

Of course nostalgia alone doesn’t cause a sports explosion. Financial support is the straw that stirs the Senior PGA
Tour. Television coverage and community support form a partnership that has provided the backing to fuel the Senior
Tour’s tremendous growth.

Last year was the most successful in Senior PGA Tour history. Not only was the nearly J6 million in prize money a
record, several different players began to asset themselves as forces on the Senior Tour In the early years, January
and Barber, co-chairmen of the Senior Players ReUnion Pro-Am, dominated the Senior Tour, and while they finished
third and fourth on the 1986 money list, players such as Australian Peter Thomson, the defending ReUnion champion,
and Lee Elder captured 13 Tournaments between them.

Community service is the second half of the Senior PGA Tour success equation. Since most of the senior events are
similar to the Senior Players ReUnion Pro-Am’s 54 hole pro-am format benefitting local charities, the average golfer
is able to fulfill a dream of a lifetime by playing with their favorite golf stars while helping his community.

“The pro-am format has proven very popular with the people who support the senior Tournaments,” said Henning. The
format allows the average player to play in a two-day Tournament with some of the greatest names in the game.”

The Dallas/Fort Worth market proved to be just such a site. Already the host to die Byron Nelson Classic and die
Colonial NIT, two of die more successful regular PGA Tour stops, Dallas/Fort Worth provided the foundation for a
successful Senior PGA Tour site.

“Since the fans in Dallas/Fort Worth have been exposed to professional golf for such a long time, they already were
familiar with some of die players who would be playing in die Reunion Pro-Arn,” said Henning. “They had seen these
players win the regular events, and now they are getting a second chance to see them play.”

“We have been very fortunate with the Senior Players ReUnion,” said 1986 tournament chairman Lester Melnick.

“Not only do we have die only tournament using die Bing Crosby format (where a pro is paired with an amateur
throughout die tournament), but many of our sponsors and key corporate executives Identify more with the Senior
golfers. They would prefer to play with a Bruce Crampton, Don January, Miller Barber, or Arnold Palmer.”

Indeed, the formula is perfect for the ReUnion Pro-Am. Thomson captured his only regular event in 1956 at the Texas
International Open at die old Preston Hollow Country Club, while senior stalwarts such as The Dallas/Fort Worth
market proved to be just such a site. Already the host to the Byron Nelson Classic and the Colonial NIT, two of the
more successful regular PGA Tour stops, Dallas/Fort Worth provided the foundation for a successful Senior PGA Tour
site.”Since the fans in Dallas/Fort Worth have been exposed to professional golf for such a long time, they already
were familiar with some of the players who would be playing in the Reunion Pro-Arn,” said Henning. “They had seen
these players win the regular events, and now they are getting a second chance to see them play.””We have been very
fortunate with the Senior Players ReUnion,” said 1986 tournament chairman Lester Melnick.”Not only do we have the
only tournament using the Bing Crosby format (where a pro is paired with an amateur throughout the tournament), but
many of our sponsors and key corporate executives Identify more with the Senior golfers. They would prefer to play
with a Bruce Crampton, Don January, Miller Barber, or Arnold Palmer.”Indeed, the formula is perfect for the ReUnion
Pro-Am. Thomson captured his only regular event in 1956 at the Texas International Open at the old Preston Hollow
Country Club, while senior stalwarts such asBarber, Chi Chi Rodriquez and January won regular Tour events in Dallas.
The list of Colonial NIT champions who play the Senior Tour is equally impressive. Billy Casper, Doug Sanders,
Palmer, Bruce Crampton and Littler have captured the plaid coat of die Colonial title. Old “nice and easy” Boros,
who plays the Senior Tour occasionally after heart surgery, De Vicenzo and ageless Sam Snead each won a Dallas and
Colonial title in their careers.