Ernie Els, winner of the 131st Open Golf Championship, is among a list of five players among the world’’s top ten who have already committed to compete in the upcoming World Golf Championships - American Express Championship, which will be held from September 19-22 at Mount Juliet, County Kilkenny, Ireland.
"The World Golf Championships are on a par with the Majors," said Els, who has won 37 titles around the world, the most recent of which was last month’’s Open Championship at Muirfield.
Last December, Els teamed with fellow South African Retief Goosen to win the World Golf Championships – EMC2 World Cup in Japan. He added: "To win one of the World Golf Championships events on my own would be great."
Goosen, Sergio Garcia, Davis Love III and Vijay Singh, all players ranked in the top ten in the most recent Official World Golf Ranking, have confirmed their participation in the American Express Championship.
Announcing the list of confirmed players, Championship Director Peter Adams, said: "We are obviously delighted that so many of the top-ranked players in the world have committed to the event.
“In promoting it over the past year we have been clear that it would mark the greatest ever collection of golfing talent for an event in this country. We know from the exceptionally strong advance ticket sales that the Irish sporting public is already looking forward to this special golf event."
Players can qualify for the American Express Championship through a variety of avenues. The top 50 players from the Official World Golf Ranking as of Monday, September. 9, will be joined in the field by leading money winners from the six Tours that make up the International Federation of PGA Tours.
The Championship organisers expect to be in a position to make regular announcements on the field over the coming weeks. Tickets for the American Express Championship are available through Ticketmaster Hotline IR: (01) 246 9900, UK: 0870 333 0389, and a very limited amount of corporate hospitality is available from the Hospitality Partnership on (01) 676 2728 and the UK: 0845 305 0900.
ABOUT THE AMERICAN EXPRESS CHAMPIONSHIP
The American Express Championship is one of four tournaments worldwide that make up the World Golf Championships. The 2002 American Express Championship will be contested from September 19-22 at Mount. Juliet.
Tiger Woods won the inaugural WGC - American Express Championship in 1999, defeating Spain's Miguel Angel Jiménez in a play-off at Valderrama. Canada's Mike Weir was victorious in 2000, holding off Europe's Volvo Order of Merit winner, Lee Westwood of England.
The 2001 American Express Championship was cancelled due to the September 11 terrorist attacks on the United States. The World Golf Championships are sanctioned and organised by the International Federation of PGA Tours, which includes the Asian PGA, The European Tour, Japan Golf Tour, US PGA Tour, PGA Tour of Australasia and Southern Africa Tour. The Canadian Tour is an Associate Member of the Federation.
The WGC - American Express Championship will be the third of four World Golf Championships events to be contested in 2002. The WGC - Accenture Match Play Championship was held at La Costa Resort and Spa in Carlsbad, California in February with Kevin Sutherland earning the title, defeating Scott McCarron in the final. The WGC - NEC Invitational will be played from Aug. 22-25 at Sahalee Country Club in Sammamish, Washington, USA, where Tiger Woods will try to win the event for the fourth consecutive year. The final World Golf Championships event of 2002, the EMC2 World Cup, will be held from December 12-15 at the Nicklaus Course at Vista Vallarta in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.
ABOUT AMERICAN EXPRESS
American Express Company is a global travel, financial and network services provider. Founded in 1850, the company provides individuals with charge and credit cards, Travellers Cheques and other stored value products. It also offers financial planning, brokerage services, mutual funds, insurance and other investment products.
Through its family of Corporate Card services, American Express helps companies and institutions manage their travel, entertainment and purchasing expenses. It provides investment management services and administers pension and other employee benefit plans. The company also offers accounting and tax preparation services to small businesses, and financial education services to employees at their places of work.
As the world's largest travel agency, American Express offers travel and related services to individuals and corporations around the globe. The company also provides banking services to corporations, wealthy entrepreneurs, financial institutions and retail customers outside the United States. American Express is proud to be a sponsor of the World Golf Championships and title sponsor of the American Express Championship. As a company whose brand has long been associated with excellence and achievement, this series of tournaments includes the finest golfers in the world today.
