Desert Mountain, one of the Scottsdale area’s premier golf communities and golf clubs, is hosting the 2014 Charles Schwab Cup Championship beginning Thursday, October 30 through Sunday, November 2nd. This is the second time since 2012 that the event is being played in Scottsdale and at Desert Mountain Golf Club on the Cochise golf course.
The Charles Schwab Cup Championship is part of the PGA’s Champion’s Tour, which is for players 50 and over. After the tournament, two winners emerge: one is the Championship winner, and the other is the winner of The Schwab Cup, a season-long accumulation of points based on winnings at each of 23 events.
2012 Schwab Cup and Championship Tour winner, Tom LehmanThe 30 top Champion’s Tour players will battle it out for the Championship title and the Cup in the 4-day golf tournament that starts on Thursday, October 30th.
The 2012 winner of both contests was Scottsdale’s own, Tom Lehman!
The 2013 Championship winner was Kenny Perry, and Freddie Couples won the Cup. Both, to date, have accumulated enough points and top 10 wins to qualify for this year’s tournament and will be defending their titles.
Leading in the points category to date is Bernhard Langer. On Sunday, after playing the final 4 days, the top 5 point earners for the season (of the top 30 on the money list) win a portion of a $2.1 million purse. The winner of the 4-day championship takes home an additional $440,000.
The Schwab Cup started in the ’90’s and has been played at the finest golf courses in the country. Courses like TPC in San Francisco, Sonoma Golf Club in California, and Gaillardia Golf and Country Club in Oklahoma have all had the honor of hosting the tournament for many years.
Tour officials have selected Desert Mountain to host the 2015 and 2016 tournaments because of the many amenities available for Scottsdale’s guests and because Desert Mountain’s Cochise course is great for fans – easy to navigate and plenty of room to roam. They also believe that having a consistent location for the event will help build the base of fans, volunteers and sponsors.
Jack Nicklaus, the designer of the Cochise golf course, calls it the most panoramic course in the world. From the championship tees, the course plays just over 7,000 yards with a slope of 145 and course rating of 73.1.
There are 5 holes that experts call “signature holes.” They include all 4 of the par 5’s and the par-3 seventh hole which shares a green with the par-5 fifteenth hole.
You can purchase tickets on-line at Ticketmaster. A one-day grounds pass is $20; an all-week pass is $50. Sunset Terrace tickets are $99 per day or $299 for the 4-day tournament and give you access to special hospitality suites, restaurants and the ability to get up close to the players on Sunday.
The other way to purchase tickets to The Schwab Cup and Championship is to buy them from “Schwab’s Tickets FORE Charity” program. When you buy tickets here, local charities get all the proceeds from your purchases.
A sampling of local charities participating in the program include (you pick the benefactor):
- American Heart Association
- Arizona Golf Foundation
- Child Crisis Center
- Arizona Literacy and Learning Center
- Foothills Animal Rescue
- Foothills Food Bank
- Phoenix Children’s Hospital Foundation
- Power Paws Association
- Neighbors Who Care
- Veteran Tickets Foundation
These non-profit groups voluntarily staff food and beverage tents during the tournament.
