Featured Golf News
Kite Returns to PGA Tour
World Golf Hall of Fame member Tom Kite will step away from the Champions Tour to compete in this week's Puerto Rico Open. The PGA Tour event will be played for the third straight year on the course at the Trump International Puerto Rico Golf Club that Kite designed.
This is Kite's first move back to the PGA Tour - where he was the first player to rack up $7 million, $8 million, $9 million and $10 million in career earnings - since 2008. Last year Kite earned nearly $850,000 on the Champions Tour season, posting seven top-10 and 17 top-25 finishes.
"It is a real thrill to be in Puerto Rico and here playing on the PGA Tour and battling these guys on this track which I am so proud of," Kite said Tuesday after his practice round. "The course here is in spectacular shape and has grown in beautifully since I played here several years ago, and I am looking forward to a great week."
Trump International Puerto Rico was the first project for Tom Kite Design outside the mainland United States. Located near San Juan in Rio Grande, the 36-hole development has four distinct nine-hole courses as well as a practice facility. The Lakes, Palms, Mountain and Ocean nines are combined to form various combinations of 18-hole courses.
The Lakes and Ocean nines - known as the Championship Course and stretching 7,526 yards - will be utilized in the Puerto Rico Open. In 2009, the layout was ranked as one of the top-10 courses on the PGA Tour, as voted on by Tour players.
Kite's participation in this year's event - where he'll be the oldest player in the field - is appreciated by tournament organizers. "We are excited about having Tom here to play the course he created," said Sidney Wolf, the Puerto Rico Open's chairman and tournament director. "Tom is a Hall of Fame golfer and has always been a crowd favorite, so having him in our tournament adds a lot to an already strong field of players."
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