PGA CHAMPIONSHIP MEDIA CONFERENCE

June 3, 2005

Richard Codey

Roger Warren

ROGER WARREN: Thank you, Julius. Thank you all for being here today. Mr. Governor, on behalf of the 28,000 men and women members of the PGA of America, I'd like to thank you for the joining us for the unveiling of the The PGA Championship Exhibit: A History of the Season's Final Major. We are so very, very proud of this exhibit. It's something that allows people to understand what the history of this great event is and all of the great champions that we've had over the years. There's 86 years of history in this exhibit, 86 years of tradition, 86 years of great champions, and there's 86 stories that surround each one of these great champions. We are fortunate each year that we have a championship that produces a signature moment, and when you think back to the number of different events of the signature moments that have happened in this championship, it's exciting. Less than a year ago, our defending champion, Vijay Singh, had the wonderful win up at Whistling Straits when he won in sudden death, actually, in our playoff, and I think one of the parts of his exhibit are tied directly to his win at that event. And also, 2004 was an exceptional year, record-setting year for Vijay. He had nine wins and won over $11 million, and it was a record-setting year and it was concluded with his championship win at the PGA Championship. In August, Vijay will defend his championship at Baltusrol Golf Club here in New Jersey. And I want to extend our appreciation to you, Governor, and to the people of the State of New Jersey for hosting us this year for the 87th PGA Championship. We are so excited to be here. We haven't been here since 1942 and we are really happy to be back here. So right now without further delay, I would like to ask you to come up here with me, Governor, and we will unveil the Vijay Singh part of the exhibit here. Ladies and gentlemen, it's my pleasure to introduce to you the Acting Governor of the State of New Jersey, Richard Codey.

GOVERNOR CODEY: Thank you very much, Roger. By the way, I don't know if most people know this, but I had asked when I was in the Senate what we could do to get the PGA back to New Jersey. So they said, "Listen, if a Democrat gets elected Mayor of Summit, we'll come back," and it finally happened. Thank you, Mayor, appreciate that. I was telling Roger and Bob Mulcahy a story about the two golfers playing golf, and all of a sudden they see a funeral procession approaching them on a nearby street. And so one golfer takes his hat off and puts it over his heart. The funeral pro procession passes him by, puts it back on and he's about to hit again. His friend says to him, "That was incredibly respectful of you, why did you do that?"

Looks at him and says, "Well, you know, we would have been married 35 years today." My wife feels that way at times. But as Governor it's not every day you get to talk about golf and consider it work, but today is incredibly special. For the first time in 63 years, the PGA Championship is returning to New Jersey this August. From August 8-14th, and by the way that's my wife's birthday -- maybe you can get me dinner at Baltusrol that night? But some of the world's greatest players including Vijay Singh, Phil Mickelson, Ernie Els, and, of course, Tiger Woods will be competing at the 87th PGA Championship right here in New Jersey at Baltusrol. Now, anyone who has ever played Baltusrol knows there could not be a better setting for four rounds of championship golf at the famed Lower Course. Today, we set the stage for the final major of this 2005 season with the grand opening of the The PGA Championship Exhibit: A History of the Season's Final Major here at the New Jersey center of visual arts right here in Summit, New Jersey. Beginning today, and ending on August 14, visitors can come here and experience the incredible, rich history and time-honored tradition of the PGA Championship firsthand. From the legendary Walter Hagen's walking stick to Jack Nicklaus's putter, this display showcases some of golf's greatest stories and most legendary competitors. For anyone who is a fan of golf or a sports fan, this exhibit is not to be missed. The New Jersey Center For Visual Arts and the PGA of America are to be commended for bringing this exhibit to our state, New Jersey, and best of all, making it available to the public free of charge. New Jersey is proud to host this exhibit and some of the world's best golfers at the PGA Championship. This year's tournament promises to add another chapter to our state's Rich history and golf's storied legacy. If this exhibition is any indication of what we can expect at the 87th PGA Championship, this year's is going to be one for the history books, and let me assure you, on behalf of the people of this state, we are very, very proud and very, very honored, Roger, to host a PGA Championship here in our great state. Thank you ever so much, sir.

ROGER WARREN: In 1942 when we were here at Seaview Golf Course and Sam Snead won that event in 1942, so that would have been a U.S. Open.

GOVERNOR CODEY: Like I say, I wasn't alive the last time it was here.

GOVERNOR CODEY: Don't ask about handicaps.

ROGER WARREN: Tickets are on sale and you can get information by going to www.PGA2005.com. That's where you can find them and there are tickets available.

ROGER WARREN: The PGA Championship and the PGA of America, we have committed to make sure that we take this Championship to the great golf courses in this country of which Baltusrol surely meets that qualification, having had four U.S. Opens. The quality of the golf course, the quality of the challenge, is there. And we also have committed that we will take this Championship to some of the new great golf courses in this country with the large development of golf courses over the last 10 to 15 years. There are any number of great golf courses that have been built in that time frame, and I think that was best exemplified by going to Whistling Straits last year and having the Championship that we had there and the commitment we made to Whistling Straits with three championships in the next 15 years. We are proud of this championship, and we are so proud to be back in New Jersey and to have this event at a storied, traditional, historic golf course like Baltusrol. We look forward to the support of the people from New Jersey for this event. We know that we have the longest par 5 in major championship history, at 650 yards. We will be at 7,400 yards, par 70. I don't think the technology issue of golf will be an issue. I think these players will be challenged. But the history of the PGA Championship reflects that we are not looking to do anything but challenge these great players fairly, and I think that you'll see that the golf course will have a very fair setup. But the nature of that golf course and the quality of Baltusrol will certainly make this a great championship and we're looking forward to it.

ROGER WARREN: And we do have tickets available today here. We have ticket applications here if people would like it also have them.

GOVERNOR CODEY: It is against the law to scalp tickets in New Jersey anything over ten percent of the face value. So be warned.

GOVERNOR CODEY: Not the one in the 40s, I told you that. No, I did not. Couldn't get a ticket. Wrong party then. That was Tom McCain era. Good guy, though.

ROGER WARREN: We are actually in the New Jersey section. With the rich tradition of the metropolitan section of the PGA of America and the New Jersey section of the PGA of America, we do use the PGA Championship as a way of also promoting what the mission of our Association is. Since 1916 the mission of our association has been to grow the game of golf and also raise the standards of our profession. And I don't think that there are any clearer examples of the quality of golf professionals, PGA members, than in the metropolitan section and in the New Jersey section of the PGA of America. So we will take this opportunity to put forth what our programs are, how they benefit the game of golf and how proud we are of the golf professionals in this area, as they do that every day in their jobs. Certainly one of our biggest initiatives right now is Play Golf America, and Play Golf America is a program designed to -- we know there are about 17 million people out there that are adults that interested in playing the game that have never played. We also know there are about 14 million people, adults who have played golf that are not getting to play as much as they would like to. So Play Golf America and PlayGolfAmerica.com is the Web site, where if an adult is interested in taking up the game again or finding a way to play more, they can go to PlayGolfAmerica.com, put in their zip code, and the golf courses and golf professionals with programs in their area will pop up and they can find a way to register for the program and get involved in golf. So we are very proud of Play Golf America, and PlayGolfAmerica.com is the place to go. And our PGA professionals in the metropolitan section and New York section have done a great job in meeting our standards and working towards those goals, and for that reason we will be very proud to be here and also very proud for them. I would say over the years, the PGA of America has been the leader in junior golf. When you look at the golf courses that PGA members work and over 11,000 of the 15,000 golf facilities in this country, PGA professionals over the years have been the leaders in junior golf. There are any number of junior golf programs at the go fl courses, both private, public and resort around this country that go toward junior play. Certainly programs like The First Tee which is an initiative of 20/20 and the PGA TOUR where we get into the inner city and we do minority programs have also been very important in raising the awareness of people about the value of golf to young people; not only as a game and as a recreation, but as a basis for life because of the intrinsic values that the game teaches. So we are very proud of the efforts that are put forth by PGA members and the association in junior golf. I think that if anybody is interested if getting their kids involved in junior golf, all you have to do is go to your local golf course or your golf professional, and they will find a way to get your children involved.

ROGER WARREN: That's interesting, one of the things we are excited about this event is the relationship that we have been able to create with the New Jersey Transit Authority, who has really worked hard to make to partner with us to make sure that people can get to the event, and they can do it in a way that's easy. They have a commemorative pass that they can use for the week. So we are very excited about our relationship with the people around here who have said welcome to us. We want to find a way to make this easy and enjoyable for people, and that kind of cooperation is something that we value and it's certainly been something that's been very, very easy here in New Jersey. And Governor, I assume it's under your leadership. We thank you for that.

GOVERNOR CODEY: Yes, it is. (Laughter). We let somebody from Boston College ask a question, they left the big east, so it's a little hard for me to accept.

ROGER WARREN: I have not, but the Governor and I will be playing together and it's open to the public -- no. (Laughter). We are going to be playing together with Vijay Singh on November 27 at a media opportunity, so that will be my first opportunity to play the golf course, and I have heard the same thing, that it's in fabulous condition. Now the design -- what did I say? Did I say November? June 27. We were out late last night. (Laughter.) June 27. And so we're looking forward to that opportunity. I am certainly looking forward to seeing the 650-yard par 5.

GOVERNOR CODEY: Speak for yourself on that one. (Laughter.)

GOVERNOR CODEY: No, but I will go back to try to look at that tee.