The Galleri Classic continues to build on its prolific professional field as it announced a foursome with California ties – two-time major champions John Daly and Mark O’Meara, 1995 U.S. Open champion Corey Pavin and 10-time PGA TOUR Champions winner John Cook – are all committed to play in the inaugural tournament held March 22-26 on the iconic Dinah Shore Tournament Course at Mission Hills Country Club.
The Galleri Classic, named after title sponsor GRAIL’s multi-cancer early detection test, brings PGA TOUR Champions golf back to the Coachella Valley for the first time since 1993, The Galleri Classic will feature 78 PGA TOUR Champions pros – including World Golf Hall of Fame members — playing 54 holes (three rounds from Friday, March 24 through Sunday, March 26) for a $2.2 million purse.
“We are excited to welcome John Daly, Mark O’Meara, John Cook and Corey Pavin back to California and to associate them with a new chapter in desert golf history while competing in the first Galleri Classic,” said Michelle DeLancy, tournament director of The Galleri Classic. “This foursome has a strong fanbase locally in the Coachella Valley and throughout Southern California, and their collective accolades in golf fall in line with the decorated and strong PGA TOUR Champions field we are building in our first year.”
Born in Carmichael, Calif. and having spent significant time in Southern California previously, ‘Long John’ Daly is considered a people’s champion among his legion of golf fans. His PGA TOUR career yielded instant, unforeseen success. He first wowed crowds and made his name with his enormous long-driving exploits and then came out of nowhere to win the first of his five PGA TOUR titles at the 1991 PGA Championship.
Daly entered that event as the ninth (and final) alternate and won his first major championship without playing a practice round. The improbable victory was the catalyst to his 1991 PGA TOUR Rookie of the Year season. By 1995, Daly became the youngest active player on the PGA TOUR to bag two major championships, and the fourth American since World War II to win two majors before his 30th birthday, when he captured The Open Championship at St. Andrews that year. Daly also holds one PGA TOUR Champions victory.
O’Meara, a 2015 World Golf Hall of Fame inductee, is a 16-time PGA TOUR and three-time PGA TOUR Champions winner. The last of his PGA TOUR crowns were achieved in 1998 as he became the oldest player to win two major championships in the same year, at age 41, by winning the Masters and Open Championship, parlaying those majors into being named the 1998 PGA TOUR Player of the Year.
Having taken up golf at age 13 after he moved to Mission Viejo, Calif., O’Meara won the 1979 U.S. Amateur, defeating Cook in the final, and turned pro after graduating from Long Beach State in 1980. O’Meara became the fourth-oldest winner in PGA TOUR Champions history when he claimed the 2019 Cologuard Classic at age 62.
Pavin, born and raised in Oxnard, Calif., has 15 PGA TOUR titles, a 1991 PGA TOUR Player of the Year honor, and a PGA TOUR Champions win to his credit. The UCLA product was named the 1982 NCAA Player of the Year and a two-time first-team All-American (1979, 1982). Prior to his collegiate days, he won the Junior World and Los Angeles City Amateur championships at age 17.
Cook, who grew up in Southern California and attended high school in Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif., amassed 11 PGA TOUR victories and won back-to-back Charles Schwab Cup championships (in 2009 and 2010) among his 10 PGA TOUR Champions triumphs. Cook is also a part-time analyst for GOLF Channel.
Cook and Pavin have triumphant histories in the Coachella Valley as each are two-time winners of The American Express, the PGA TOUR’s annual tournament in La Quinta. Cook won the event in 1992 and 1997, and Pavin won it in 1987 and 1991.
The Galleri Classic’s ticket offerings, which can only be secured online at the event’s official website, www.thegallericlassic.com, include:
Single-day Grounds tickets (good any one day grounds-only admission for Pro-Am rounds March 22-23, or tournament competition rounds March 24-26) – $30
Weekly Grounds tickets (grounds-only admission good only for competition rounds March 24-26) – $65
Single-day Clubhouse tickets (good any one day during competition rounds March 24-26, and providing access to Mission Hills CC’s air-conditioned clubhouse as well as upgraded dining and beverage options for purchase at the Champions Café inside the clubhouse — $75
Weekly Clubhouse tickets (good only for all competition rounds March 24-26) – $150
For those seeking the most elevated, VIP-like spectator experience, The Champions Club on 18 is a covered, open-air venue featuring a birds-eye view of the PGA TOUR Champions competition beside the island green at the historic, par-5 18th hole, next to the legendary Poppie’s Pond. This all-inclusive ticket option is only open for competition rounds (March 24-26) and offers the most premium hospitality experience to enjoy, with complimentary food and full bar service. For information on group and corporate packages for the Champions Club on 18, please inquire at info@thegallericlassic.com.
Youth 15 and under will receive free grounds admission when accompanied by a ticketed adult. All children over the age of two must have their own Clubhouse or Champions Club on 18 ticket to enter either venue.
Limited spots remain toward The Galleri Classic’s official tournament Pro-Am, played March 22-23 (Wednesday and Thursday of tournament week). More information can be found by visiting www.thegallericlassic.com. The Galleri Classic Pro-Am provides an unmatched opportunity for golf enthusiasts to go inside the ropes for a fantasy-like, bucket-list experience of playing on Mission Hills CC’s Dinah Shore Tournament Course, set up to tournament conditions, with the tournament’s professionals.
Each Pro-Am participant is paired for a round of golf with a PGA TOUR Champions pro on either March 22 or March 23, and receives a Pro-Am package that includes an invitation to The Galleri Classic’s pairings party on March 21, a valet parking pass, breakfast, lunch and on-course refreshments on one Pro-Am play day (March 22 or March 23), a premium gift package, and a grounds badge providing tournament week access.
The Galleri Classic continues to seek volunteers to sign up for the inaugural event. Prospective volunteers can find more information, and complete and submit a registration form, at www.thegallericlassic.com.
The Galleri Classic has partnered with six cancer-related non-profit organizations based in the Coachella Valley and will direct a portion of its proceeds from its inaugural event to fund the local chapter of the American Cancer Society, Desert Cancer Foundation, Eisenhower Health, Hanson House, Pendleton Foundation and Shay’s Warriors Life After Cancer.
Stay up to date with the latest information on The Galleri Classic by visiting www.thegallericlassic.com and by following the tournament on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/gallericlassic), Instagram (@GalleriClassic) and Twitter (@GalleriClassic).
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