Official World Golf Ranking confirms elite status of the field
The 2006 Bay Hill Invitational presented by MasterCard is well on its way towards one of the strongest fields in world golf, with 20 players from among the top 50 on the Official World Golf Ranking already committed to PGA Tour event scheduled for the week of March 13-19 at Arnold Palmer's Bay Hill Club in Orlando, Florida.
With 52 commitments received as of today – there will be a minimum of 120 players in the field – the list already includes defending champion Kenny Perry, ranked No. 11 in the world, and other notables such as Retief Goosen, Ernie Els, and Adam Scott, ranked No. 3, No. 5, and No. 10 in the world, respectively. Current U. S. Open champion Michael Campbell, ranked No. 13 in the world, has also committed.
Others already in the field are David Howell (No. 14), Darren Clarke (No. 20), Stuart Appleby (No. 24), Jose Maria Olazabal (No. 25), Nick O'Hern (No. 27), Bart Bryant (No. 28), Stewart Cink (No. 31), K. J. Choi (No. 36), Sean O'Hair (No. 39), Mark Hensby (No. 40), Mike Weir (No. 42), Fred Funk (No. 43), Rod Pampling (No. 45), Lee Westwood (No. 46) and Peter Lonard (No. 50).
The Bay Hill Invitational presented by MasterCard traditionally has one of the strongest fields of the year. In 2005, Bay Hill's field was the world's ninth strongest behind only the four major championships, The Players Championship, and the three World Golf Championship events. Thirty-four of the world's top 50 were at Bay Hill last year, a group which included four of the top five, nine of the top 15, and 20 of the top 30 players.
For tickets to the Bay Hill Invitational presented by MasterCard, or for more information, log on to the tournament web site, www.bayhillinvitational.com, or call the Bay Hill ticket office at 407-876-7774 or toll free at 1-866-764-4843. Tournament proceeds benefit the Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children.