Vincent Publishing - Index

Vincent Publishing - 2008 Wachovia Championship - Index

He shot a tournament record 270 and won the
championship.
Kemper Insurance pulled out of Charlotte after the
1979 tournament and moved its event to the
Washington, D.C., area, where it remained for a
number of years. That move took Charlotte off the
PGA TOUR map, but professional golf did not entirely
leave Charlotte. The World Seniors Invitational
made its debut at Quail Hollow in 1980 and ran
through 1989, the year it was canceled by Hurricane Hugo.
Eight years passed and Johnny Harris stepped to the
front at Quail Hollow. He is the son of James J. Harris
and the club’s president. He is also one of Charlotte’s
most influential leaders, although he would be the first
to deflect such praise and he prefers to do most of his
work, especially his charity efforts, behind the scenes.
Harris brought in Fazio in 1995 with the idea of transforming
Quail Hollow into a championship golf
course of the highest order. It was Fazio’s first
redesign and the results were phenomenal. Most of
the course was unrecognizable from the original and
what was unveiled was remarkable.
With that in hand, Charlotte was a much more attractive
venue for a future TOUR event. In 2001, the
David Toms
2003 Champion
Joey Sindelar
2004 Champion
wheels began to turn and quickly. PGA TOUR
Commissioner Tim Finchem started discussions with
Wachovia Chairman and CEO Ken Thompson about
the possibility of sponsoring a TOUR stop in Charlotte.
Finchem and Harris spoke in early 2002 at the AT&T
Pebble Beach National Pro-Am. Harris listened, but
only if the title sponsor had ties to Charlotte.
Wachovia certainly fit the bill.
“Charlotte was in a unique situation,” said Henry
Hughes, the PGA TOUR’s Chief of Operations. “We’ve
always felt it was a very strong golf market with the
Kemper there and the Champions Tour for all those
years. We felt the support was significant.
“We felt if the proper combination of a course and the
public and private sector could come together, it
would be a wonderful place for an event. To have
Wachovia based there was terrific. We don’t often
have a title sponsor based in the town where the
tournament is played.”
By the time of the 2002 Masters, things were in
motion. TOUR officials had high praise for Quail
Hollow – the course and the infrastructure. Both were
ideal for tournament golf, for the players and the
spectators. In fact, the TOUR was so enamored of
Quail Hollow and all its facets that it offered them the
first spring date to become available on the TOUR in
30 years. All that was left was the purse.
Tournament officials had covered every base in an
effort to make the championship distinctive and
special, but now, money had to be addressed.
Wachovia stepped up and decided on a $5.6 million
purse, which meant that the winner’s share was to be
a little more than $1 million.
As a result of putting all the pieces together, the
Wachovia Chmpionship has quickly risen to the top
echelon of events on the PGA TOUR and one of the
barometers is the caliber of player that competes at
Quail Hollow. Of the five winners, four are major
champions, including Tiger Woods. He has added the
Wachovia to his schedule and not just for the money.
“It’s such a great golf course,” he said in 2004. “It’s so
challenging. We don’t get a chance to play too many
golf courses like this anymore, old school, a traditional
style golf course, tree-lined fairways, use of natural
Vijay Singh
2005 Champion
Jim Furyk
2006 Champion
Tiger Woods
2007 Champion
terrain to shape and sculpture
the hole. Now, lots of
golf courses we play are
artificial. It’s really rare
and nice and enjoyable
to play a golf course
like this.”
Nor do they have the
opportunity to play
in an event like the
W a c h o v i a
Championship .
Thousands of people
– officials, players
and patrons –
have come together
to create one of professional golf’s
special events. All of them will make certain it
remains that way.
2008 Wachovia Championship Official Event Program 85