ACE Group Classic: Quigley keeps his streak going

By GREG HARDWIG, gshardwig@naplesnews.com

January 20, 2005

Dana Quigley will be playing at The ACE Group Classic. Well, basically insert the name of any Champions Tour event at the end of the previous sentence.

Quigley is teeing it up in his 263rd consecutive tournament for which he has been eligible this week in Hawaii, and will make it 265 at The ACE Group Classic at The Club at TwinEagles in North Naples from Feb. 18-20. Larry Nelson and Jim Thorpe also have committed.

"We continue to receive commitments from the best players on the Champions Tour," tournament director Jason Camp said in a press release.

Nelson's 2004 season was his best since 2001. He earned over $1.4 million and won the 19th and 20th Champions Tour titles of his career. He rallied from seven strokes back to win the Administaff Small Business Classic near Houston and edged Bruce Lietzke to win the FedEx Kinko's Classic.

Quigley went over seven figures in official earnings for the seventh straight season. Thorpe finished among the top-10 money winners for the fifth straight season and had multiple victories for the fourth time in six seasons. He also won two tournaments in 2004.

Volunteers are still needed for this year's event. Volunteers are asked to work three shifts each during tournament week. The fee of $70 includes an official tournament golf shirt, wind jacket, hat, invitation to the volunteer appreciation party, one weekly grounds badge and parking all week. For more information, visit www.theacegroupclassic.com or call Kali Lynch at 593-3900, ext.

224.

New for sponsors is the Corporate Challenge, allowing corporations to pick players in the field to win money for their favorite charity. The Sunday before the tournament, corporations will meet and choose their players in what Camp termed a "fantasy draft."

Tickets are on sale: Feb. 14, free; Feb. 15-17, $15 daily; Feb.

18-20, $20 daily; Ultimate golf package — $110, includes weekly pass and 28 rounds of golf for cart fee only from May-Oct. 15, 2005; Children age 15 and under admitted free with ticketed adult.

Call 1-877-FORE-TIX or go online to www.theacegroupclassic.com .

Tickets also are available at Alf's, Lumpy's Pro Golf Discount, Zee's Proline Golf, Pro Golf Discount, Edwin Watts, World of Golf, or J&L Golf.