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OHL CLASSIC AT MAYAKOBANovember 13, 2013Andy PadzerRIVIERA MAYA, MEXICO ANDY PADZER: Thank you. It's my privilege to be here today to represent the PGA TOUR. It's one of the highlights of what I get to do week in and week out on the PGA TOUR. I would like to first start by respectfully correcting Mr.Villar Mir. My Spanish is not so good, but I did hear many thank yous during your remarks. You have it backwards. The PGA TOUR thanks you and OHL for your tremendous support. You made a commitment to us several years ago; you've made an additional commit moving forward for six more years. Without your passion and your vision, this tournament would not be possible. I owe you a sincere thank you. I would also like to thank you, Mr.President, for your administration's support. Without that, this tournament would be much more challenging to put on, and I am certain the tournament staff would join me in offering you a sincere thank you. I would like to speak just a moment about the new era of the OHL Classic at Mayakoba. Many of you are aware that the PGA TOUR has entered, for the first time in its 40‑plus‑year history, a season which no longer follows a calendar year season. Our season begins in October now and ends in September. This was a very, very important, very significant decision for the PGA TOUR. I'm here to tell you that as part of that decision, the OHL Classic at Mayakoba was a critical linchpin in enabling us to get comfortable with making that decision. We would not have done this without being certain that the tournaments that would lead off the new season were of the highest quality professional golf tournaments in the world. That's what we have with the OHL Classic. Again, Mr.Villar Mir, thank you for that commitment. With this change in our season, it enables us to present for the first time FedExCup points for this tournament. It allows Augusta National to extend an invitation to the Masters for this week's winner. That translates to a much‑improved field. We have the likes of Darren Clarke, Camilo Villegas, Davis Love, Lucas Glover, Charles Howell, III. And I can go on and on and on. Those players are here for the first time. I'm certain that what they will see this week is what players for many years now have come to know Mayakoba, and that's two things: One, a world‑class golf course. The El Camaleón Golf Course is one of the favorites of our players throughout the entire season. It's in terrific condition. I understand we've had a bit of rain over the last several days. Hopefully that's behind us. Nontheless, the golf course is in immaculate condition. Secondly, our players and their families love coming to the Mayakoba resort. They're not treated any better throughout the entire season than they are this week. It has become a popular spot for players to bring their wife and children and parents as well. It is truly a fantastic week from a players' perspective. So I thank Mr.Villar Mir and the tournament staff for doing such a great job of looking after our players. Next, if I may, I would like to comment just briefly on the importance that the OHL Classic has played in the PGA TOUR's overall expansion into Latin America, Central America, and now South America. Several years ago, when we first played this tournament, it provided the foundation for the PGA TOUR to expand significantly south of our country, of the United States. We now have tournaments on our Web.com Tour in places such as Panama and Colombia, Chile, Peru. Last year we launched a new tour called PGA TOUR Latino America. That tour plays 14 tournaments throughout Latin America, South America. OHL is a partner of ours in that tour. None of that would have been possible without taking the first step of being in Cancun at the Mayakoba resort with a fantastic, world‑class, professional golf tournament. Again, I must say without having such a successful event here the past several years that expansion may not have been possible. Again, we owe you a deep sense of gratitude. Lastly, on the subject of international expansion, it has served as a springboard not just in Latin America, Central America, South America, but has enabled our organization to expand globally. Our international television reach, for example, today is 220 countries in over 800 million households. So when we have tournaments such as the OHL Classic, we prove to the world that the PGA TOUR is a brand that extends well beyond the confines of the United States. Again, I cannot stress enough how important this tournament has been to our overall international expansion efforts. We are forever in debt to OHL for their strong support, for their partnership in this great tournament. We are extremely excited about the future of this event. Mr. Villar Mir mentioned the prize money. I commented about the improved field. What we will see happen in the upcoming years is the momentum will continue to build. We will have better and better fields, better players come each year. It will soon become, I predict, a tournament that no PGA TOUR player will want to miss. It provides a tremendous opportunity to promote tourism in this great part of the world. Flying in today, the views you see from the crystal blue water to the sandy pebble beaches and the palm trees and the sunshine ‑‑ I should comment, I am in a little bit of trouble at home for not bringing my wife with me. I need to do some shopping before I leave. Remind me. Next year I promised her I would bring Mary with me. Again, my privilege and honor to represent the PGA TOUR this week. I have a number of my colleagues here this week. We are just thrilled to be here. We are looking forward to a tremendous week of golf. I'm hoping that you will agree that this will become a watershed moment in the history of the OHL Classic. With a little cooperation from Mother Nature, if we have nice weather for the rest of the week, I think we're in for an outstanding week. Thank you. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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