News on Golf, the PGA TOUR and the Mayakoba Golf Classic - Week of January 9

·       Only one week remains for golfers and golf fans to submit their pictures in the Mayakoba Golf Classic™’s popular golf photography contest, Fotogolf.  Like in years past, the Mayakoba Golf Classic™ is offering a spot in its PGA TOUR Pro-Am for the winner of the Fotogolf contest.  Golfers should take their best golf photographs and submit them online at www.MayakobaGolfClassic.com where they will be available for public view in an online gallery.  Once the submission period closes, contest organizers will select finalists who will enter into a public vote to determine which photo is the grand prize winner who will receive a complimentary spot in the Wednesday Pro-Am at the Mayakoba Golf Classic™.  The contest is open to all residents of North America.  In addition to 11 finalists who will be selected by the contest organizing committee, the public will determine the 12^th and last finalist through a Facebook gallery on the Mayakoba Golf Classic™’s official Facebook page—the photograph with the most “LIKES” on Facebook will automatically become a finalist and be entered into the public voting.  Act now as the deadline to submit photos for Fotogolf is January 16.

·       The 2012 PGA TOUR season kicked off this past weekend at the Tournament of Champions in Hawaii with Steve Stricker claiming the title at the limited field event.  Only champions of PGA TOUR events in the 2011 season are eligible to participate.  The 2012 Tournament of Champions featured 27 participants, including 2011 Mayakoba Golf Classic™ champion Johnson Wagner who tied for 9^th place.  Additionally, 18 of the 27 participants have previously competed at the Mayakoba Golf Classic™ in its five-year history.

·       The Mayakoba Golf Classic™, in conjunction with the PGA of Mexico, will conduct a 36-hole qualifying tournament in Mexico City for Mexican professional golfers to earn a position in Mexico’s Only PGA TOUR Event.  With two Mexican golfers already assured of their positions in the sixth-annual Mayakoba Golf Classic™ by virtue of their position in the national ranking, one spot remains available for Mexican professionals.  Twenty-one Mexican pros will compete in two rounds of qualifying competition at Bosque Real Country Club with the winner earning entry into the Mayakoba Golf Classic™ to represent Mexico along with Oscar Fraustro and Jose de Jesus Rodriguez, who were announced last month as the first recipients of invitations to play in the 2012 edition of Mexico’s Only PGA TOUR Event.

·       Only 41 days remain until the official launch of the sixth-annual edition of the Mayakoba Golf Classic™.  In exactly six weeks, 132 of the world’s best golfers will descend upon Playa del Carmen, Mexico, and the El Camaleón Golf Club for the 72-hole stroke play event.  Again, the professionals will be in search of their share of the US$3.7 million purse of prize money.