BILOXI, Miss. -- All general parking for the Mississippi Gulf Resort Classic, set for April 28-May 2 at Fallen Oak golf course, will be staged free of charge at the IP Resort and Spa, off I-110 just three miles south of I-10. From there, continuous and complementary bus shuttles will transport spectators to Fallen Oak and drop them at the main admission gate. Daily tickets will be available at the gate and at the IP box office for $15 each.
Shuttles will run to and from the golf course from 6:30 a.m. until one hour after play has concluded each day, Wednesday through Sunday. Officials anticipate the one-way shuttle trip will take less than 30 minutes. Spectators are invited to bring cameras only for practice rounds on Wednesday and Thursday.
"We need all general ticket-holders to adhere to our plan so that we can provide a pleasurable experience for everyone," said Steve Nieman, tournament director. "We will have as many as 45 buses on the loop during peak times, so no one will have to wait."
Parking will not be allowed anywhere on Highway 15, and walk-ins from the road will not be allowed.
"State troopers will ticket and tow all cars parked along Highway 15," said Corporal Johnny Poulos, public affairs officer for Troop K, which includes Hancock, Harrison and Jackson counties. "It's a security and safety concern that we just can't allow. We need to keep an open traffic flow on Highway 15. Troopers will also be directing traffic and have signage in place so that traffic moves easily to the IP lots without congestion."
There is hard-surfaced parking for more than 5,000 cars at the IP, one of the 12 major sponsoring companies for the new Champions Tour event. Fifteen major champions and six members of the World Golf Hall of Fame are committed to the 78-player field.
Tournament tickets can still be ordered through Ticketmaster online or from the Tournament office at (228) 896-6365. Children age 15 and under will be admitted free of charge when accompanied by a ticketed adult.
The Classic is one of 26 official events on the Champions Tour for 2010. Competitive rounds in the 54-hole event are set for Friday through Sunday. The popular pro-am tournaments will be held on Wednesday and Thursday, and they are open to the public with paid admission.
The tournament will be broadcast for 17½ hours by the Golf Channel and the benefiting charity is Habitat for Humanity of the Mississippi Gulf Coast.
Fallen Oak is the exclusive home course for the guests of Beau Rivage Resort and Casino. The Tom Fazio-designed course, which was opened in 2006, has earned 12 national honors and is ranked the second best gaming resort course in the country.
About the Champions Tour
Collectively, the Champions Tour has the most recognizable and accomplished players in the game with 16 World Golf Hall of Fame members actively competing in its events and numerous other major championship winners among its members. The Champions Tour is a tax-exempt membership organization of professional golfers age 50 and older. Conceived in 1980 as the Senior PGA Tour, it started with just four events and purses totaling $475,000. The Champions Tour will conduct 26 official Charles Schwab Cup events in 2010, offering $51.5 million in official prize money, with the average tournament purse of $1.98 million. The Champions Tour also generates significant monies for charity.
About the Mississippi Gulf Resort Classic
This Mississippi Gulf Resort Classic is one of three new tournaments on the Champions Tour for 2010. It will be played April 28-May 2 at Fallen Oak. The tournament is uniquely funded by a dozen title sponsors, who see this event as an ideal way to showcase the Mississippi Gulf Coast. The tournament will be administered through the MGRC Foundation, Inc. The tournament will benefit Habitat for Humanity of the Mississippi Gulf Coast, Inc.
