July 1, 2004

PITTSBURGH, PA — The best amateur players in the world have waited long enough.  With a swagger to his step, Matt Davis stepped up to the podium for his annual tournament date press conference.

"On behalf of the Captains Club, I am pleased to announce that the 5th annual Carl Spackler Open will take place on the 2nd weekend of June 2005.  This is one weekend prior to Father's Day and the US Open."

The date slides into the calendar 10 days after Memorial Day Weekend.  A date sounds simple and without thought," says Davis.  "But a lot of things make our date spectacular.  With that, I give you Jason Watson."

The press document was then read by Jason Watson.  "We picked the 2nd week of June for 4 key reasons", said Watson.  "I would like share our reasons with players and fans around the world."

With his nose in a piece of paper, he began reading the club statement, "Although, we like running parallel with the United States Open, we have too many conflicts about running parallel with Father's Day."  Father's Day weekend is traditionally the 3rd Sunday of June.

With more excitement, Watson continued, "Second and more importantly, we like our trees in full bloom not only in South Carolina, but in places like Michigan and New York."  The inaugural tournament was held in Myrtle Beach in March 2001.  The tournament immediately pushed towards a summer classic by holding the 2002 Open in southern Virginia in April 2002.  "The club likes the mid-June bloom in the north, but did not like Father's Day.  With that, we moved the championship up one week from our 2003 tournament in Ohio."

"Our third reason we like the 2nd weekend of June is because there are no anniversaries, key birthdays, or traditional weddings held in June.  This gives everyone a fighting chance to attend and the club liked that a lot."

"Our last reason is quite unnoticable", says Watson.  "There are no other distractions.  No hockey games, college basketball, playoff baseball, football, or focus outside of golf during 2nd weekend of June.  This gives our group complete focus outside their families on the tournament, golf, and Golden Jacket."  

"In closing, the Captains Club is looking forward to it's 5th major championship.  I thank everyone for attending."  Watson then departed with Davis to a local pub to discuss the "stroke-and-distance" rule.

The Captains Club now moves their focus to a 2005 tournament location.  The major championship is expected to make a move north to Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Maryland, or New York in June 2005.  Carl Spackler has been trucking around the Mid-Atlantic region in search of the perfect golf experience.  Carl understands the importance of a quality track, services, and local entertainment.  A decision on location is expected in 90 days.