Former Cowboys QB on board as star power grows for $2.5 million pro golf tourney April 19-24 at Las Colinas
IRVING, Texas – Tony Romo, the former Dallas Cowboys star quarterback and prominent CBS Sports NFL TV analyst, is officially entered in the inaugural ClubCorp Classic presented by Choctaw Casinos & Resorts, the PGA TOUR Champions/Celebrity golf tournament April 19-24 at Las Colinas Country Club in Irving, Texas.
Tickets for the tournament go on sale next week with large galleries expected for professional golf’s return to Irving for the first time since the AT&T Byron Nelson Championship finished its 35-year run in 2017. Details regarding tickets and hospitality opportunities will be announced at that time.
Minnesota Vikings standout wide receiver Adam Thielen is also among the newly committed celebrities who will play alongside the legends of the game from PGA TOUR Champions at Las Colinas. The week includes an array of golf and entertainment attractions preceding the three days of competition.
The tournament will benefit Momentous Institute, a North Texas nonprofit dedicated to building and repairing social and emotional health so that all children can achieve their full potential, and the First Tee Greater Dallas and First Tee Fort Worth. The First Tee enables kids to build the strength of character by seamlessly integrating the game of golf with a life skills curriculum. ClubCorp partners with both First Tee Chapters as part of its Gateway Program, which provides select First Tee participants with complimentary junior golf memberships to ClubCorp’s private clubs, including tee times, use of the practice areas and the opportunity to compete in events. Club Members and Staff serve as mentors to the youth, empowering them to build their strength of character on and off the course. The Gateway program’s focus is to grow diversity in golf.
Romo and Thielen will be among 50 celebrities competing alongside 78 PGA TOUR Champions in the $2.5 million event. The tournament features the PGA TOUR Champions professionals playing 54 holes for a purse of $2 million, along with the celebrities playing for a separate, $500,000 purse. The ClubCorp Classic will be televised live all three days on GOLF Channel, the exclusive cable-television partner of PGA TOUR Champions.
Romo played all of his 14 seasons with the Dallas Cowboys and holds the team’s record for all-time passing touchdowns, among other distinctions. He is also an accomplished amateur golfer, participating in multiple PGA TOUR events as a sponsor exemption. He is the two-time winner of the American Century Championship (2018-19) and is expected to be among the favorites in the celebrity division of the tournament. Last year, Romo finished third at Lake Tahoe.
Thielen, one of the NFL’s top wide receivers and a two-time Pro Bowler, joins NFL MVP Aaron Rodgers of the Green Bay Packers and San Francisco 49ers star placekicker Robbie Gould as active NFL players in the celebrity field. Thielen is the only wide receiver in NFL history to open the season up with eight consecutive games with 100-plus receiving yards. He is also currently eighth all time in receiving yards for the Minnesota Vikings. Several additional active NFL players are expected to compete. Thielen, Rodgers and Gould are all regulars at the American Century Championship in Lake Tahoe.
Other celebrities confirmed to compete include World Golf Hall of Fame member and 72-time LPGA winner Annika Sörenstam, Pro Football Hall of Fame wide receiver and Heisman Trophy winner Tim Brown, former Dallas Cowboys superstar Emmitt Smith, FOX Sports MLB analyst and Hall of Fame pitcher John Smoltz, television personalities Anthony Anderson and Alfonso Ribeiro and MLB network analyst and Hall of Fame catcher Pudge Rodriguez, the former Texas Rangers standout.
A group of amateur ClubCorp members will compete in a qualifying system that includes regional and national events to earn a spot inside the ropes with the celebrities and the stars of PGA TOUR Champions during the official tournament rounds to play in their own modified stableford, low gross and low net format. The celebrities, amateurs and professionals will be paired together all three days of competition.
With its status as the leader in the private Golf Club industry, ClubCorp embraces its role as a leading lifestyle company bringing people together through extraordinary experiences, impeccable service and opportunities to build meaningful relationships. The recent re-imagination of Las Colinas Country Club as a premier golf and country club showcases the company’s commitment to delivering exceptional experiences across its unmatched portfolio.
The ClubCorp Classic is operated by Mike Flaskey Entertainment. Flaskey, the founder and tournament executive director, is the former president and CEO of Diamond Resorts International and has extensive experience conceiving and overseeing top-tier golf events with both the LPGA Tour and PGA TOUR Champions, plus All-Stars and Hall of Famers from NFL, MLB, NBA and NHL teams.
Las Colinas Country Club, which was classically designed in 1963 by Joe Finger, was named among the top 100 courses in Texas by the Dallas Morning News and selected as one of 2019 Best Country Clubs by Avid Golfer. The 18-hole course recently underwent a multi-million-dollar renovation and now features Trinity Zoysia fairways, Tif Tuf Bermuda rough and G12 Bermuda Greens. A brand-new practice facility that covers more than 10 acres was designed by Golf Hall-of-Famer, Lanny Wadkins.
