CAMPECHE, Mexico -- Jack Nicklaus, widely considered the world’s leading golf course designer, has joined efforts with Grupo Mall to create a Jack Nicklaus Signature Golf Course that combines Campeche's natural beauty and world-class golf. The uniquely spectacular course will mix solid strategy and shot values with the region’s natural elements of mangrove, jungle and beach to create the showcase amenity for Grupo Mall’s destination resort and residential offering at Campeche Playa.

The Golden Bear traveled to Campeche with his Nicklaus Design team to oversee progress on the course. A number of holes at Campeche Playa have been cleared and construction is well underway.

Due, in part, to his extensive global design work, Nicklaus was recently named for the fourth straight year as the Most Powerful Person in Golf by Golf Inc. magazine. Mexico is one of the 40 countries in which Nicklaus Design currently has projects under development. The Golden Bear has been recognized as Mexico’s top golf course designer by leading golf publications and his courses dominate the country’s rankings. In less than 15 years, Nicklaus Design has opened 14 courses thorughout Mexico, including the world-ranked Ocean Course at Cabo Del Sol, and the company has another 14 projects under development in the country. This is Nicklaus’ first design in Campeche, a colonial city that marries Mayan history and charm with a burgeoning tourist industry.

A 2-hour drive southwest from Merida, Campeche has been declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO, because of the state of preservation and quality of its architecture. The city provides visitors the appeal of centuries-old mansions, churches and many of the old colonial Spanish city walls and fortifications which protected it from pirates and buccaneers. The area is rich in archeological wealth, including many ruins of the Maya civilization, such as much-visited Edzna and Calakmul, one of the largest ancient Maya cities ever uncovered.

But with all of its historic romance, Campeche also has worldwide tourist and investor appeal because of its vast activities, such as beautiful beaches, boating and some of the Gulf’s finest fishing (the Golden Bear even took some time out of design work to take in some tarpon fishing with Grupo Mall officials).

And now, thanks to Nicklaus, golf is becoming a major attraction.

The site for Campeche Playa is only minutes from spectacular Mayan ruins, but weaves through lush jungles and mangroves, and hugs some of the area’s top beaches. This marriage of natural lure will bring much of the personality to the Jack Nicklaus Signature Golf Course, and, in fact, the 12th hole is expected to play parallel to the ocean.

Another key characteristic to the Signature Course is that is has been meticulously designed with respect to the existing native vegetation on the property, and sustainability measures have been carefully implemented.

“One of our major concerns is the protection and preservation of the environment, demonstrated with the fact that in this complex of 3 million square meters, we will only build on 8 percent of the total surface,” said Julio Noval, president of Grupo Mall. “We are sensitive to the valued and delicate condition of the area’s environment and we have designed a project that best minimizes the urban impact, protects the ecosystems and incorporates design strategies of organic trace. We integrate natural elements with the elements of the construction in a smooth and natural way, maintaining and reinforcing the value of the project.”

Grupo Mall’s focus to implement ecological measures has led the team to enlist the aid of 17 different specialists and consultants in environmental protection, and these combined efforts are clearly reflected in the golf course. To preserve the delicate natural equilibrium in which the golf course is integrated, an irrigation system fed only from water purified by a plant being built solely for this purpose, and pluvial water collected in the form of lakes integrated into the landscape of the course. In addition, no chemical products will be used for the maintenance of the golf course, which has views of and is in contact with wetlands, lagoons, residential and transit areas, as well as the marina and the sea. In addition, native vegetation has been used, and much of the mangroves and jungle will be replanted on much of the property.

ABOUT CAMPECHE PLAYA
Campeche Playa, Golf, Marina & Spa Resort is located in the historic city of Campeche, in the state that bears that same name, located in the Yucatan Peninsula (in the southeast of Mexico). The resort will have over 3,000 units, as well as two luxury hotels with a combined 330 rooms, 150-slip marina, a town center, a medical clinic, and a carey turtle museum, among other attractions and amenities.

The construction of the mega-development is scheduled to be completed in four phases, with a total build-out by the year 2010. During the first phase, the hotel, marina, golf course, town center and 1,243 units will be built, and is expected to be operational by the spring of 2008.

For more information on Campeche Playa and a sales office near you, visit www.campecheplayaresort.com.

ABOUT NICKLAUS DESIGN
For more than 35 years, the mission of the Nicklaus Companies has been to enhance the golf experience, and to bring to the national and international consumer golf-related businesses and services that mirror the high standards established in the career and life of Jack Nicklaus. These services include golf-course design, the development of golf and real estate communities, and the marketing and licensing of golf products and services. Nicklaus Design, recognized as the world leader in golf course design, has been involved with 321 courses open for play in 31 countries and 38 states. Of those, Jack Nicklaus has designed, co-designed or re-designed 261 courses around the globe, 59 of which have been ranked in various national or international Top-100 lists. Nicklaus Design currently has more than 55 courses under construction and courses under development in 40 different countries.

For this press release and additional information on Nicklaus or Nicklaus Design, please visit www.nicklaus.com.

Contacts:
Nicklaus Design/Nicklaus Companies Grupo Mall
Scott Tolley Virginia Lombraña
Director of Communications Responsable de Comunicación
11780 U.S. Highway #1, Suite 500 Pº de la Habana 19, 3 izqda.
North Palm Beach, FL. 33408 Madrid 28036, España (Spain)
Tel: 561-227-0300 Tel: + 34 915626550
Fax: 561-227-0351 Fax: + 34 915621571
scott.tolley@nicklaus.com virginia@icomunicacion.com