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by Vic Williams
Sometimes lost in the glare of Reno-Tahoe’s year-round golf brilliance is the fact that the area jumped into a new league in 1999, when the Reno-Tahoe Open joined the PGA Tour schedule. The brand-new, Jack Nicklaus-designed Montrêux Golf & Country Club proved a great venue. It was a big deal for a smaller city to land a marquee golf event, and now, with a new sponsor and a solid shot at long-term success, it’s bigger than ever.
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Now known as the Legends Reno-Tahoe Open, the tournament returns to Montrêux July 28-August 3, 2008. Its multi-year sponsorship agreement with The Legends at Sparks Marina — a $1.2 billion lodging, entertainment and retail project taking shape just north of I-80 in Sparks — puts it on stronger footing to remain the only regular West Coast PGA Tour stop during summer. It’s also proved one of the most exciting events for golf fans, since several tournaments have gone down to the wire. Vaughn Taylor notched the first of his back-to-back RTO wins in 2004 after a thrilling multi-hole, four-player showdown. Last year’s victor, lefty Steve Flesch, hung on to capture the season’s first wire-to-wire win. The event has also proven fertile ground for up-and-comers like Notah Begay in 1999, UNLV alumnus Chris Riley in 2002, former University of Nevada, Reno star Kirk Triplett in 2003 and Will MacKenzie in 2006. Only Flesch, 2000 champ Scott Verplank and 2001 winner John Cook had earned previous PGA Tour wins.
The tournament gives fans a chance to see legendary PGA stars up close, including Fred Couples, Mark O’Meara and Nick Faldo, while a number of future superstars, such as Sergio Garcia and Aaron Baddeley, have also made appearances.
Who’s gonna break through next? That’s to be determined … and cause for excitement among locals and visitors alike.
Online: RenoTahoeOpen.com Tickets: 775-322-3900
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