Inaugural Top 100 Pro-Am Championship to be at Innisbrook

(Scottsdale, AZ) - Legacy of the Links Co-Founders Taba Dale and Kevin McGrath announced the inaugural Top 100 Pro-Am Championship will be played at one of Florida's most classic golf venues, Innisbrook - A Salamander Golf & Spa Resort, just northeast of Tampa from January 26-28, 2014.

The first golf event of its kind, The Top 100 Pro-Am Championship will be open to all clubs and courses that have ever been ranked in an official Top 100 Ranking List as published by the main magazines across the globe. It will feature four-person teams from the best and most famous clubs and courses throughout the golfing world and will have Professionals paired with three amateur partners from the same club or course competing in a truly international tournament.

To date, Legacy of the Links has identified 375 clubs and courses as being eligible to participate in this unique event. This list has been broken into three distinct categories, with the first comprising a Top 50 in the World as determined by the Tournament Committee, the second comprising all U.S. clubs and courses not in this Top 50 and the final category covering all international/non-U.S. clubs outside this Top 50. There will be a maximum of 20 spots available to each of the three categories.

"The Top 100 Pro-Am Championship promises to be prestigious and competitive with a high degree of camaraderie among participants from all over the world. We hope to have teams from all over the world entering and we are thrilled to have Innisbrook, with all of its historic charm and event production experience, as our host for the inaugural event," said Kevin McGrath.

Added Taba Dale: "We recently conducted a site visit and we were very pleased to see the results of the $25-million-plus in renovations that have been completed at the resort over the past several years, and also to find that the resort accommodations were named after the many famed courses that we hope will participate in the Top 100. As soon as we drove through the guard gate, we were delighted to see lodge signs for Augusta, Dornoch, Lahinch, Merion, Pine Valley, Portmarnock, Sunningdale and others. It definitely made us feel we had made the right choice of venue."

The tournament will kick off with a fun nine-hole 'shoot out' among the Professionals on the Sunday afternoon of January 26th followed by a 36-hole championship played on the Monday and Tuesday of January 27th and 28th. Participating teams and sponsors will enjoy cocktail receptions and banquet dinners on each of the three evenings.

Venue
The inaugural Top 100 Pro-Am Championship will be held at one of the top golf resorts in the USA directly following the annual PGA Merchandise Show held in Orlando each year. The 36-hole event will be played on Innisbrook's famed Copperhead Course - where the PGA TOUR competes each March, as well as the resort's North Course, which has similar terrain to Copperhead. The North Course is also a demanding test for golfers of all levels since many of the holes present strategic water hazards that come into play.

The Copperhead Course is widely considered by tour pros to be among their favorite each year (ranked as one of their Top 10 by Golf World), and was ranked by Golfweek in 2012 as the #3 Best Golf Course you can play in Florida; plus it has also previously been ranked in the Top 100 Courses in the World by Golf Magazine. With tree-lined fairways, rolling terrain and more than 7,300 yards from the tips, the golfing challenges at Copperhead are matched by its sheer natural beauty. Surrounded by lakes and ponds, it is not uncommon for golfers to see bald eagles, blue herons and other wild life native to the area.

The North Course is known for its daunting par 3's and abundance of water that borders fairways and greens. Recent course enhancements include additional yardage added to par 4's and par 5's along with strategically placed 'waste bunkers.' With a par of 70, the North Course measures 6,325 yards and among Innisbrook's four courses, it is considered a favorite with resort members and guests.

Innisbrook Director of Golf, Rodney Green, stated, "We couldn't be more elated to be selected as the host venue for what is sure to be an exciting competition among golfers that will come to us from all corners of the world. We certainly welcome this opportunity to make this event even greater by offering an exceptional golf experience and a staff that is dedicated to catering to our guests."

Charitable Endeavour 
Legacy of the Links will seek donations of tee times, accommodations and other items that will be auctioned off with the proceeds donated to designated charities. The main beneficiary each year will be the new Centre for Golf Collections to be built by the University of St. Andrews on their campus in the veritable 'Home of Golf' and the event creators will also include a local charity; Arnold Palmer Medical Center Foundation has been selected as the local charity beneficiary for the inaugural event.

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