CONOVER, N.C- Officials from the PGA Tour’s Champions Tour today announced that Ensure® adult nutrition shakes from Abbott will title sponsor the 2010 Champions Tour event at Rock Barn Golf & Spa in Conover, North Carolina.
The event formerly known as the Greater Hickory Classic at Rock Barn, which began in 2003, will now become the Ensure Classic at Rock Barn.
Ensure shakes, number one doctor recommended, help people stay healthy and active and provide a source of complete, balanced nutrition with 24 vitamins and minerals.
“Ensure is trusted by people who want to get healthy and stay healthy,” said Matthew Fisher, division vice president and general manager, Therapeutic Nutrition, Abbott. “We’re pleased to sponsor the Ensure Classic at Rock Barn to encourage people to take charge of their health so they can continue to enjoy activities like playing golf.”
“Thanks to Abbott and its Ensure brand, we can continue to bring championship golf to the Greater Hickory Metro area,” said Jim Correll, the tournament’s executive director. “Their involvement will allow the tournament to continue to positively impact the local economy and many local charities.”
The Ensure Classic at Rock Barn will be played September 27 to October 3, 2010, with a purse of $1.75M awarding $262,500 to the winner. Jay Haas is the defending champion and a two-time winner of the event.
About the Ensure Classic at Rock Barn
The Ensure Classic at Rock Barn features a week of special events and attractions, including exhibitions, pro-ams, and three days of Champions Tour competition among some of golf’s greatest legends. The tournament returns to Rock Barn Golf & Spa in Conover, N.C., from September 27 to October 3, 2010. Operated by a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit foundation, the tournament annually donates all net proceeds to charities throughout the Greater Hickory Metro area. For more information, call (828) 459-4000 or visit www.greaterhickoryclassic.com.
About Ensure
Made by Abbott Nutrition, Ensure shakes help to satisfy a variety of nutritional needs. Ensure shakes are a delicious source of complete, balanced nutrition® with 24 vitamins and minerals; Ensure® Plus shakes are a great source of concentrated calories to help gain or maintain healthy weight; Ensure® High Protein shakes are packed with protein to help build muscle; and Ensure® High Calcium shakes have calcium and key nutrients to help keep bones healthy and strong. Full nutrition information is available at www.ensure.com or www.AbbottNutrition.com.
About Abbott
Abbott (NYSE: ABT) is a global, broad-based health care company devoted to the discovery, development, manufacture and marketing of pharmaceuticals and medical products, including nutritionals, devices and diagnostics. The company employs more than 72,000 people and markets its products in more than 130 countries.
About the Champions Tour
Collectively, the Champions Tour has the most recognizable and accomplished players in the game with 16 World Golf Hall of Fame members actively competing in its events and numerous other major championship winners among its members. The Champions Tour is a tax-exempt membership organization of professional golfers age 50 and older. Conceived in 1980 as the Senior PGA Tour, it started with just four events and purses totaling $475,000. The Champions Tour will conduct 26 official Charles Schwab Cup events in 2010 offering $51.5 million in official prize money, with the average tournament purse of $1.98 million. The Champions Tour's primary purpose is to provide significant competitive and earnings opportunities for players age 50 and older; to protect the integrity of the game; and to help grow the reach of the game in the U.S. and around the world. In addition to providing competitive opportunities for its membership, Champions Tour events generate significant sums of money for charity. The Commissioner of the PGA TOUR is Tim Finchem. Mike Stevens is President of the Champions Tour. TOUR headquarters is in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. The web site address is PGATOUR.com.
