RANCHO MIRAGE, CALIF. – A trio of golfers with timeless fanfare, first achieved during their PGA TOUR heydays, are committed to a return engagement on PGA TOUR Champions in the Coachella Valley for the second-annual Galleri Classic.
Fred Couples, the 1992 Masters champion, four-time major champion Ernie Els and 1991 PGA Championship and 1995 Open Championship winner John Daly are bringing their booming ball-striking back to the Dinah Shore Tournament Course at the renowned Mission Hills Country Club from March 25-31.
The Galleri Classic, named after title sponsor GRAIL’s multi-cancer early detection test, will feature 78 PGA TOUR Champions professionals playing 54 holes (three rounds) of stroke play for a $2.2 million purse.
All of the Galleri Classic‘s ticket options are available online at www.TheGalleriClassic.com. Ticket offerings (March 27-31) include daily and weekly grounds tickets for $30 and $65, respectively, and clubhouse tickets (good only March 29-31) for $75 per day or $150 for all three competition rounds.
“Fred Couples, Ernie Els and John Daly are a true power trio on PGA TOUR Champions. It’s no surprise that their fan galleries are consistently among the largest at any event on this circuit, and we are ecstatic to welcome them back to the 2024 Galleri Classic,” said Michelle DeLancy, tournament director of The Galleri Classic. “These golfers have enjoyed many of the sport’s peak moments, be it major championships, holding top-ranked world status, or accepting Hall of Fame induction. And yet fans who have idolized these particular legends for a long time can continue to watch them play at a high level at the Galleri Classic.”
Couples and Els share a common bond existing in the rarefied air in golf, having been enshrined in the World Golf Hall of Fame (Els inducted in 2011, Couples in 2013), as well as being members of a class of 25 golfers to have been ranked No. 1 in the Official World Golf Ranking.
Once a part-time resident in the Coachella Valley, Couples – who owns 14 PGA TOUR Champions victories on the heels of his 15 wins on the PGA TOUR – holds two PGA TOUR Champions major titles and won the Charles Schwab Cup Championship in 2013. He tied for 10th place in last year’s inaugural Galleri Classic with an overall score of 9-under-par 207.
Regarded as one of the sport’s two finest players to come out of South Africa (along with Gary Player), Els hoisted the 1994 and 1997 U.S. Open and 2002 and 2012 Open Championship trophies among his 19 career PGA TOUR victories. He completed his third PGA TOUR Champions season last year while winning his third title on the circuit at the 2023 Hoag Classic, and he finished fourth in the 2023 Charles Schwab Cup standings.
Born in Carmichael, Calif., Daly has famously been regarded as a people’s champion among his legion of fans. He first wowed crowds and made his name on the PGA TOUR with his unprecedented long-driving exploits, and he won the first of his five PGA TOUR titles at the 1991 PGA Championship, seemingly out of nowhere.
Daly entered that event as the ninth (and final) alternate and won his first major championship without playing a practice round. The improbable victory was the catalyst to his 1991 PGA TOUR Rookie of the Year season. In 1995, Daly became the youngest active player on the PGA TOUR to bag two major championships, and the fourth American since World War II to win two majors before his 30th birthday, when he captured The Open Championship at St. Andrews. Daly holds one PGA TOUR Champions victory.
Couples, Els and Daly join 2023 PGA TOUR Champions Player of the Year Steve Stricker and inaugural Galleri Classic champion David Toms as the tournament’s first golfers in the 2024 field. Stricker will serve as ambassador for Galleri, helping to raise awareness of multi-cancer early detection. Stricker, a 12-time PGA TOUR and 17-time PGA TOUR Champions winner, carded a 10-under-par 206 to finish in a tie for fifth place in last year’s Galleri Classic.
A 13-time PGA TOUR champion and winner of the 2001 PGA Championship and the 2018 U.S. Senior Open, Toms led wire-to-wire and made birdies on six of his last 10 holes en route to winning the Galleri Classic with an overall score of 16-under-par 200 (65-70-65). It is the most recent of Toms’ four PGA TOUR Champions titles, as he became the circuit’s first two-time event winner in 2023.
In celebration of The Galleri Classic’s final round occurring on Easter Sunday (March 31), the event will host an Easter Celebration which will include an Easter morning service and an Easter egg hunt for children in kicking off its Championship Sunday.
In 2024, The Galleri Classic will continue its partnership with six cancer-related, non-profit organizations based in the Coachella Valley – American Cancer Society/Palm Desert, The Desert Cancer Foundation, Eisenhower Health, Hanson House, Pendleton Foundation and Shay’s Warriors Life After Cancer – and will direct a portion of its proceeds from the event to fund these local charities.
The Galleri Classic’s fans play a part in supporting the tournament’s off-course charitable endeavor when securing tickets online at www.TheGalleriClassic.com.
The Champions Club on 18 provides The Galleri Classic’s most sophisticated spectator experience. Day-specific Champions Club tickets (good only during competition rounds March 29-31) can be secured for $350 per day, or Weekly Champions Club tickets (good March 29-31) are available for $1,050.
Limited availability remains for spots in The Galleri Classic’s official Pro-Am on March 27-28 (Wednesday and Thursday of tournament week). The Galleri Classic Pro-Am provides an unmatched opportunity for golf enthusiasts to go inside the ropes for a fantasy-like, bucket-list experience of playing on Mission Hills CC’s Dinah Shore Tournament Course while rubbing elbows with legends of the game. Amateurs interested in playing in the Pro-Am can seek more information and register at www.TheGalleriClassic.com/pro-am.
The Galleri Classic invites those 18 and older who are interested in a behind-the-scenes experience of how a professional golf tournament operates during tournament week (March 25-31) to join its invaluable team of more than 500 volunteers. Those interested in volunteering can learn more about each committee and submit a form of inquiry towards registration at www.TheGalleriClassic.com/volunteers.
Stay updated on The Galleri Classic at www.TheGalleriClassic.com and by following the event on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/gallericlassic), Instagram (@GalleriClassic) and Twitter (@GalleriClassic).
About GRAIL
GRAIL is a healthcare company whose mission is to detect cancer early, when it can be cured. GRAIL is focused on alleviating the global burden of cancer by developing pioneering technology to detect and identify multiple deadly cancer types early. The company is using the power of next-generation sequencing, population-scale clinical studies, and state-of-the-art computer science and data science to enhance the scientific understanding of cancer biology, and to develop its multi-cancer early detection blood test. GRAIL is headquartered in Menlo Park, CA with locations in Washington, D.C., North Carolina, and the United Kingdom. GRAIL, LLC, is a subsidiary of Illumina, Inc. (NASDAQ:ILMN) currently held separate from Illumina Inc. under the terms of the Interim Measures Order of the European Commission.
For more information, visit grail.com.
About Galleri®
The Galleri multi-cancer early detection test is a proactive tool in finding cancer early. With a simple blood draw, the Galleri test can identify DNA shed by cancer cells (unique “fingerprints”) to help screen for some of the deadliest cancers that don’t have recommended screening today, such as pancreatic, esophageal, ovarian, liver, and others.** The Galleri test can be used to screen for cancer before a person becomes symptomatic, when cancer may be more easily treated and potentially curable. The Galleri test can indicate the origin of the cancer, giving healthcare providers a roadmap of where to explore further. The Galleri test requires a prescription from a licensed healthcare provider and should be used in addition to recommended cancer screenings such as mammography, colonoscopy, prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test, or cervical cancer screening. It is recommended for people over the age of 50, or those with an elevated risk for cancer due to genetics, family history, environmental exposure, or other risk factors.
For more information about Galleri, visit galleri.com.
**Editor’s note: Sensitivity in study participants with –
Liver/bile duct cancer: 93.5% overall (100% stage I, 70.0% stage II, 100% stage III, 100% stage IV).
Esophagus cancer 85.0% overall (12.5% stage I, 64.7% stage II, 94.7% stage III, 100% stage IV).
Pancreas cancer: 83.7% overall (61.9% stage I, 60.0% stage II, 85.7% stage III, 95.9% stage IV).
Ovary cancer: 83.1% overall (50.0% stage I, 80.0% stage II, 87.1% stage III, 94.7% stage IV).
About PGA TOUR Champions
PGA TOUR Champions is a membership organization of professional golfers age 50 and older, including 35 members of the World Golf Hall of Fame. The Tour’s mission is to provide financial opportunities for its players, entertain and inspire its fans, deliver substantial value to its partners, create outlets for volunteers to give back and generate significant charitable and economic impact in tournament communities. Follow PGA TOUR Champions online at PGATOUR.com, on Facebook, on Twitter (@ChampionsTour), on Instagram (@pgatourchampions) and on TikTok (pgatourchampions).
All events are televised in the United States on Golf Channel, the exclusive cable-television partner of PGA TOUR Champions. Internationally, PGA TOUR Champions coverage is available in more than 170 countries and territories via 22 media partners.
