November 7, 2003

WINSTON-SALEM, NC — The Carl Spackler Open Championship is the fastest growing tournament in the world, according to the independent accounting firm Andersen Consulting. The CSOC, to be held at the Tanglewood Park in Winston-Salem, NC this year, is only in its fourth year of existence and is expecting yet another steady year of growth.  They are boasting a 20% increase in qualified participants from last year.

"Currently, there are 68 scheduled invites to mailed next Friday and the club is expecting just over half to attend the trip", said Chairman Greg Long.   "The tournament has seen steady growth since 2001 when we had 9 players in the field.  We doubled our attendance in 2002 with 18 players and nearly doubled again in Madison with 32 players."

By using this average as the model, it?s possible the CSOC could more than double its current tally of 32 players by the year 2007 to 64 players. When using the 19% increase in percentage points between the second and third years as the baseline, the field still doubles itself to 55 by 2005.

If Carl Spackler was excited with the news, he certainly wasn?t about to let anyone know. ?I?m pleased. I knew that this tournament would be popular, and I never thought we could nearly triple the number of players this year from our first year of existence. We have made some progress, but that shouldn?t lull anyone into a false sense of security, because we?ve got a long way to go, baby. I simply will not tolerate any complacency around here, and I?ve made that message loud and clear, even to Tiger Woods. Everyone should be concerned about these other numbers that I have right here in my hands.?

Matt Davis appeared to be taking the news in stride. ?Well, that?s to be expected with a new organization. We?ve got a lot of people that need guidance as we get our act together, but we?re already giving the PGA Tour people a run for their money. Hopefully, I won?t have to send too many people over to Escobar (Don Creighton, VP of Player Discipline).? ?That sure is a large number of people with disciplinary issues. I might have to check my headcount after hearing this news,? said Creighton.