Senior PGA Tour gets a new moniker

The Senior PGA Tour is no longer. Well, the circuit for

50-and-over professional golfers is still around, but it will begin

next season with a different name -- the Champions Tour.

In an effort to more closely align the three tours under the

auspices of the PGA Tour, PGA Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem announced

Wednesday that the Senior PGA Tour will be known as the Champions

Tour and the Buy.com Tour will be changed to the Nationwide Tour.

The changes are part of an overall strategy to unite the three

tours under the PGA Tour brand identity and to capitalize on the

global strength of the PGA Tour’s swinging golfer icon, which is

incorporated into the new logos of both tours.

The Toshiba Senior Classic at Newport Beach Country Club, played

in March, has been part of the Senior PGA Tour since 1995.

Finchem said the “rebranding of the Senior Tour to the Champions

Tour signifies a dynamic future direction that coincides with the

full implementation in 2003 of our new platform that is bringing fans

‘inside the ropes’ while also providing them with valuable

game-improvement information.”

The Senior PGA Tour started in 1980.

*

The postseason event formerly known as the Diners Club Matches and

Hyundai Team Matches is looking for a new title sponsor.

The December event, which features two-player teams from all three

major golf tours, was held at Pelican Hill Golf Club in Newport Coast

in 2000 and 2001, before moving to Dana Point.

*

UC Irvine athletics and the Private Tennis Club Association will

present the fourth Myron McNamara Golf Tournament Nov. 18 at Jack

Kramer’s Los Serranos Golf Course in Chino Hills.

Proceeds benefit the Myron McNamara Scholarship Fund for UC

Irvine’s men’s tennis program. The late McNamara coached the

Anteaters’ men’s tennis team to NCAA Division II championships in

1972, ‘73, ’75 and ’77.

The event will begin with check-in at 10 a.m., followed by an 11

a.m. shotgun start in a four-player scramble format. After golf is a

hospitality tour, dinner and silent auction. The cost is $150 per

player or $500 per foursome. Details: (949) 824-2046.

*

The first Wally Joyner and Friends Golf Classic, benefiting the

Newport Harbor Baseball Association, is Nov. 15 at Talega Golf Club

in San Clemente. The event is a scramble format with an 11 a.m.

shotgun start.

Joyner and over 30 of his former teammates reportedly will play in

the tournament, which aims to help NHBA’s ability to provide baseball

scholarships for underprivileged children, improve and maintain the

baseball fields, purchase much-needed equipment, pay for professional

training for our coaches and provide player clinics.

It is the priority of NHBA and the golf tournament to make sure

every child in Newport Beach and Costa Mesa, who wants to play

baseball, is not excluded for any reasons. Details: (949) 723-4110.

*

Mesa Verde Country Club, which is planning a grand reopening of

its renovated clubhouse in late January or early February, will host

the Southern California Mid-Amateur Championship next August (25-26).

*

The Costa Mesa men’s club will host its 31st annual Charity Golf

Tournament Dec. 7-8 to benefit the 850 developmental disabled

residents of Fairview Development Center, adjacent to Costa Mesa Golf

& Country Club. The tournament is open to the public.

The entry fee is $70 on Saturday and $75 on Sunday, or $135 for

both days.

Details: (714) 962-1403.