FEATURE STORY The Jeld-Wen Tradition in Sunriver.
	Residents of Central Oregon can now look forward to witnessing one of Oregon’s most popular golf tournaments, The JELD-WEN Tradition, every year in our own backyard. The fifth major on the Champions Tour has made its home at the Reserve Vineyard and Golf Club, in the Portland area, for the past four years. The event was relocated there after 14 years of play in Arizona after Oregon native and PGA Tour Professional Peter Jacobsen lobbied to bring it north. In 2006, it was announced that the tournament would once again relocate to a new area—one of vast beauty and destination resort appeal. Sunriver’s Crosswater Golf Club will host the JELD-WEN Tradition for the very first time on August 13 - 19, 2007. The 7,683-yard Crosswater course, designed by Bob Cupp, was the site of the 2006 U.S. College Golf Championships and was named by Golf Digest as one of “America’s 100 Greatest Courses” in 1999-2000. Situated on 600 magnificently scenic acres of woodlands and carefully preserved wetlands, it’s really no wonder this world-class golf tournament has selected Sunriver and Crosswater Golf Club as its new home. Crosswater is threaded by the gently flowing Deschutes and Little Deschutes Rivers. In fact, depending on tee selection, the rivers can come into play as often as seven times in a round. The course design is traditional heathland style, and features five tee placements for each hole as well as bent grass fairways and greens. Sunriver is nestled approximately 12 miles south of Bend and two miles west of US Hwy 97 in Central Oregon. Sunriver, which is bordered by the Deschutes River and is surrounded by National Forest land, is a planned community consisting of interrelated villages containing single- and multi-family residential, resort, commercial and light industrial properties. This popular, year-round, northwest vacation community provides a vast array of recreational activities for residents and tourists alike. Award-winning golf courses, nearly 40 miles of paved bike and walking paths, 31 outdoor tennis courts, horse stables, complete indoor racquet club, and a marina with canoe and kayak rentals are just some of the recreational options. This quaint town of 2000 bustles with 50 unique restaurants, shops and services, all within walking distance. “The decision to move the tournament to Crosswater was ultimately made by the JELD-WEN Tradition Foundation Board of Directors,” explains JELD-WEN Tradition Vice President and Tournament Director, Mike Lee. “JELD-WEN is committed to keeping world-class golf in Oregon and felt that the change was in the best interests of sponsors, players and fans. Additionally, Central Oregon has grown up with golf, and to host the event at one of the country’s premier destination areas and resorts played an important part in the decision.” JELD-WEN is the world’s leading manufacturer of reliable windows and doors and became the title sponsor of the tournament when Jacobsen brought it to Oregon in 2003. Since that time, the tournament itself has raised over $1 million in charitable donations; it is estimated that the economic impact of the tournament is roughly $9 million a year. JELD-WEN Tradition organizers are projecting, based on independent studies that JELD-WEN has conducted over the years, that the economic impact will range from $7 million to as high as $9 million in its first year in Central Oregon. Additionally, they are anticipating strong crowds, given the tremendous draw that the area has for golf enthusiasts. “The national awareness that a golf event the caliber of the JELD-WEN Tradition brings to the region is tremendous,” said Alana Audette, President and CEO of the Central Oregon Visitors Association (COVA). “National television exposure on a major network and an opportunity to introduce new audiences to Central Oregon as a destination is of immeasurable value. This event will leverage COVA’s golf marketing efforts dramatically, and the entire region benefits as a result.” The golf talent that this Champions Tour event will bring to Central Oregon is impressive in and of itself. The Champions Tour is a tax-exempt membership organization of professional golfers age 50 and older. Previous winners of this tournament include Eduardo Romero (2006), Loren Roberts (2005), Craig Stadler (2004) and Tom Watson (2003). With only 78 players in the field, the event will attract the top names on tour, such as Peter Jacobsen, Jay Haas, Loren Roberts, Fuzzy Zoeller, Jim Thorpe, and Tom Kite. In addition, this year’s crop of rookies (those who turn 50 this year and prior to the event) are some of the biggest names in golf–Nick Price, Nick Faldo, Bernhard Langer, Mark O’Meara and Seve Ballesteros—all of whom are expected to play in the event at the JELD-WEN Tradition. Conceived in 1980 as the Senior PGA Tour, The Champions Tour started with just four events and purses totaling $475,000. The tour now has 28 official events offering a minimum of $50.95 million in prize money in 2006 and its highest average purse ever of $1.82 million. To prepare for these high-caliber golfers, Crosswater will maintain the integrity of the original design of the golf course; however, alterations will be made in areas like green speeds, mowing patterns, bunker sand depth and consistency. In preparation for the tournament, JELD-WEN is currently developing special ticket packages, as well as other charitable events such as a JELD-WEN Tradition Golf Challenge to be held at participating Central Oregon Golf Courses. In these Golf Challenges, golfers will be able to compete for NIKE Golf prizes, as well as receive weekly tickets and parking to the August event. In addition to the tournaments, JELD-WEN is planning a Charity Benefit concert on Saturday, August 18, 2007, from which all net proceeds will benefit the Central Oregon region and the JELD-WEN Tradition Foundation Charities. The event will offer extra exposure to sponsors and be open to the general public. “The prestige and reputation, magnificent course conditions and proximity to Sunriver Resort made Crosswater a contender for this nationally recognized tournament,” said ShanRae Hawkins, Director of Marketing and Leisure Sales for Sunriver Resort. “We are honored to have been selected to host this spectacular event and look forward to the positive effects it will have on Sunriver and Central Oregon on a local, regional and national scale.” For more information on this new Sunriver tradition, visit www.jeld-wentradition.com. COGG
~ © 2007 CENTRAL OREGON GOLF GUIDE ~