MGM Resorts Championship At Paiute Set For April In Las Vegas
- Details
- Category: Inside Golf
- Published: 2021-03-08
LAS VEGAS, Nevada — MGM Resorts International has agreed to serve as the title sponsor of the Korn Ferry Tour’s first event at Las Vegas Paiute Golf Resort at the tournament’s Media Day on Tuesday. The newly named “MGM Resorts Championship at Paiute” will be played April 15-18 and feature a full field of 156 players who will compete for a $600,000 purse.
“The Korn Ferry Tour has quickly become one of the sport’s leading Tours, providing some of the world’s best golfers the opportunity to qualify for the PGA TOUR,” said Lance Evans, MGM Resorts International’s Senior Vice President of Sports & Sponsorships. “The April tournament will showcase why Las Vegas is the leading sports and hospitality destination for championship events.”
Among the announcements at Tuesday’s Media Day were an enhanced Pro-Am experience as part of the tournament week and a limited number of fans for tournament play Thursday through Sunday. The Official Pro-Am will be played on Paiute’s Sun Mountain course on Wednesday, April 14 and an off-site Pro-Am will be held at Southern Highlands Golf Club on Tuesday, April 13. Participants in each Pro-Am will play alongside Korn Ferry Tour pros and receive premium gifting packages each day.
Brooks Downing, CEO of bdG Sports, a global sports management firm operating events in Las Vegas for the past decade, said, “We are excited to welcome our long-time partners at MGM Resorts to the Korn Ferry Tour family as the title sponsor of this tournament. Adding first-class hospitality and lodging on The Strip at MGM Resorts’ properties and a second pro-am day at the exclusive Southern Highlands Golf Club only enhances the premium experience we are offering as part of the MGM Resorts Championship.”
Fans will be in attendance at the tournament. VIP tickets will be available for purchase which include complimentary food and drinks at the course, on-site parking. The tickets, priced at $100 daily for the four tournament rounds on Thursday-Sunday, are available beginning Friday, March 5 at www.mgmresortschampionship.com. Additional options for sponsorship are available which include Pro-Am teams, VIP tickets and access to 18th green hospitality. All guests will be required to comply with the applicable health and safety regulations as established by local and state authorities for the tournament.
Jeff Reid, General Manager of Las Vegas Paiute Golf Resort, said, “We are extremely excited and humbled to be a part of bringing another world class event to the city of Las Vegas and look forward to watching the next Tour stars tackle the Sun Mountain course in April."
The MGM Resorts Championship at Paiute is expected to feature a number of Korn Ferry Tour pros with Las Vegas ties. Local members of the Tour, who are competing as a part of a season-long points race to earn one of 25 PGA TOUR cards which has been expanded to include all 2020 and 2021 events in a combined season, include Harry Hall, David Lipsky, Taylor Montgomery and John Oda.
Montgomery, who finished T2 in the LECOM Suncoast Classic two weeks ago, currently sits 14th on the Regular Season Points List. His former college teammate at UNLV, John Oda, finished T2 at the Tour’s first event of the 2020, the Bahamas Great Exuma Classic at Sandals Emerald Bay. Lipsky, who resides in Las Vegas after completing his collegiate career at Northwestern, is No. 10 on the Points List after winning the TPC San Antonio Challenge and finishing T2 at the WinCo Foods Portland Open. Harry Hall, another UNLV alum, earned Korn Ferry Tour status halfway through the 2020 season but capitalized with three Top-10s in the first nine starts of his career. The top 25 at the end of this summer’s regular season earn their PGA TOUR card for the 2021-22 season. An additional 25 cards will be awarded following the Korn Ferry Tour Finals events.
The field will be tested on the Sun Mountain Course, a 7,112-yard, par-72 desert course located just 25 minutes from the world-famous Las Vegas Strip. Paiute has played host to the World Series of Golf, the World Long Drive Championships and the ESPN Golf Challenge, but never a professional tour event.