JW Marriott San Antonio Hill Country Resort & Spa and TPC San Antonio to Host Top PGA Tour Players at 2012 AT&T Championship

The JW Marriott San Antonio Hill Country Resort & Spa and TPC San Antonio announced today the launch of preparations for the AT&T Championship on the PGA TOUR Champions Tour. Celebrating its second year at TPC San Antonio, the highly acclaimed JW Marriott San Antonio Spa & Resort, and its twenty-eighth year on the PGA TOUR, the AT&T Championship hosts some of the sport’s most accomplished players.

“We are thrilled to host these legends of golf,” said JW Marriott San Antonio general manager, Arthur Coulombe. “This property was designed to be the ultimate destination for world-class golf and the PGA TOUR now stops here twice a year. We are honored to have these notable players stay with us and challenge Pete Dye’s Canyon Course.”

The 2012 Champions Tour event is the 28th annual tournament, all of which have been held in San Antonio. The AT&T Championship recently announced the commitments of a long lineage of past champions of the tournament, including Phil Blackmar, John Cook, Fred Funk, Jay Haas, Mark McNulty, Dana Quigley, Rod Spittle and Craig Stadler. The event will be held at TPC San Antonio’s AT&T Canyons Course from October 22-28, 2012 and, for the third year in a row, tickets and parking are free. San Antonio area non-profit organizations will be distributing tickets to the general public leading up to the tournament as a part of the Champions “FORE” Charities Ticket Program. Fans may also pick up tickets at the gate during tournament days or visit http://www.attchamp.com for more information.

In honor of the AT&T Championship, the JW Marriott San Antonio Resort & Spa is offering a special Experience Golf hotel package through the remainder of the year. Now golf fans can play where the professionals and private members play with significant savings. EXPERIENCE TOTAL TPC Golf for 1 Package starts at $284, or bring a second player for the EXPERIENCE TOTAL TPC Golf for 2 Package, starting at $359. Access to TPC San Antonio is reserved for members and guests of the JW Marriott San Antonio Hill Country Resort & Spa.

These Stay & Play Golf Packages include:

•     Room Accommodations - 1 king or 2 double beds
•     Unlimited rounds of golf for one/two on the private TPC San Antonio AT&T Oaks and AT&T Canyons Courses daily
•     Golf Cart and range balls
•     Breakfast at 18 Oaks at the TPC San Antonio Clubhouse
•     10% Discount at the Golf Shop
•     TPC San Antonio Welcome gift

The walk-up rate for golf is regularly $175 per round. This package represents a starting savings of $340 in amenities per night or more than 45% off total value. For reservations and information please visit http://www.marriott.com/SATJW.

Opened in January 2010, the JW Marriott San Antonio Hill Country Resort & Spa brings a new level of luxury to the legendary Texas Hill Country. Set on 600 picturesque acres of rolling hills, meandering creeks and Live Oak trees the resort was recently named a Travel + Leisure’s 2012 T+L 500 World’s Best Hotel and 2012 Top 10 Hotel for Value Overall.

The Ultimate Golf Experience
TPC San Antonio at the JW Marriott San Antonio Hill Country is pleased to be included among the best courses in America. In addition to being named a Top 75 Golf Resort by Golf Digest and one of the Best Courses You Can Play by Golf Week, the PGA Tour chooses to stop here twice a year for the PGA TOUR Valero Texas Open and the AT&T Championship. (Only Pebble Beach and Sawgrass are similarly honored). The Pete Dye-designed Canyons course is perfect for the casual player, while the Greg Norman-designed Oaks course is as challenging as it is scenic. The club is private and only accessible to members and resort guests.

Exhilarating Features for the Entire Family
Day or night, resort activities will keep guests of all ages entertained. The River Bluffs Water Experience, a six-acre water park, includes thrilling water rides and multiple activity pools. All are heated for year-round enjoyment. Other unique activities include Segway tours, trail bike rides, GPS ecoventures, evening s’mores at the fire pits, star-gazing parties and nightlife nature walks.

Relaxation and Rejuvenation
For those who need a recharge, the Resort’s 26,000 square-foot Lantana Spa offers 30 treatment rooms and a complete fitness center and movement studio featuring yoga and fitness classes. Spa guests will enjoy the peaceful serenity of the spa’s heated, lagoon-like pool, healthy refreshments at Replenish Spa Bistro or the perfect indulgence at the spa’s boutique.

Cuisine – Texas Style, Mexico Certified
The JW Marriott San Antonio Hill Country Resort & Spa offers fresh, sustainable, and organic fare at seven distinct dining options. 18 Oaks, at the TPC San Antonio clubhouse showcases traditional steakhouse prime cuts and sweeping views of the AT&T Oaks Course. High Velocity Sports Bar, the Resort’s media rich sports venue, places guests right in the middle of the action with wall-to-wall multi-media screens. Cibolo Moon, the resort’s main restaurant, offers guests an authentic taste of Texas and a true Mexico Tequila experience. Cibolo Moon is the first restaurant in Texas to become "T" certified by the Consejo Regulador del Tequila (CRT) or Tequila Regulatory Council of Mexico. The signature Tequila bar features more than 100 Tequilas, and specializes in infusions formulated by the resident Tequila master.

TPC Course at San Antonio Resort Modifies Greens

TPC San Antonio’s AT&T Oaks Course has reintroduced four greens recently modified to improve contours and increase the number of potential pin locations. Located at the JW Marriott San Antonio Hill Country Resort & Spa, the impacted greens are on holes 1, 4, 10 and 12 and are designed to appeal to both TOUR players and guests of the San Antonio golf resort.

The work was based on feedback from PGA TOUR players who have competed in the Valero Texas Open at the AT&T Oaks Course and consultation with course architect Greg Norman and player consultant Sergio Garcia, and overseen by PGA TOUR Design Services.

The work included:

• Raising the right side of the green on No. 1;
• Raising the left side and center of the green on No. 4;
• Raising the right side of the green on No. 10; converting the right surrounds to rough grass; shifting the front right bunker back to widen the approach into the green; filling the low in the back left of the green to create a mound;
• Recontouring all of the No. 12 green and lowering the back third of the green by approximately two feet to lessen the severity of the contours.

“The key to the work on all four greens was to increase the quantity and quality of hole locations, as well as making the putting surfaces more receptive to approach shots,” said Steve Wenzloff, Vice President of PGA TOUR Design Services, Player Liaison. “Those holes provided the least flexibility from a setup standpoint. We get various winds at the course and those surfaces were hard to hold depending on the wind direction. By increasing the number of hole locations and softening the contours, it will be easier to hold shots on the green during different conditions.”

While the work was based on feedback from the touring professionals, Wenzloff noted that it will benefit the San Antonio luxury resort’s golfers, as well. “What’s good for the TOUR players is good for the resort guests, because the greens will be more receptive to shots they hit to the putting surface,” he said. “While TOUR professionals are looking to hit their approach to the correct quadrant of the green, the resort guest is looking to be rewarded for hitting the green.”

TPC San Antonio’s Director of Golf and General Manager Jimmy Terry, who has the opportunity to greet resort guests and club members on a daily basis, expanded on what the modifications will mean throughout the year.

“The TOUR has done a fantastic job in making these modifications while keeping in tact the integrity of the design,” Terry said. “The AT&T Oaks Course has quickly become a fan favorite among hotel guests and club members and we look forward to hosting players as they see these exciting modifications for themselves. It is a great thrill to be able to host the PGA TOUR’s Valero Texas Open on the AT&T Oaks Course every spring while our guests can enjoy this fabulous layout the other 51 weeks of the year.”
About TPC San Antonio

TPC San Antonio is proud to be one of the newest additions to the PGA TOUR’s TPC Network of premier clubs. TPC San Antonio opened January 22, 2010 with 36 holes of golf designed by two of golf’s most respected and innovative architects and World Golf Hall of Fame members, Pete Dye and Greg Norman.
Situated inside the 2,800 rolling acres of the Cibolo Canyons development at the base of the beautiful Texas Hill Country, both the AT&T Canyons Course (designed by Pete Dye & PGA TOUR Player Consultant Bruce Lietzke) and the AT&T Oaks Course (designed by Greg Norman & PGA TOUR Player Consultant Sergio Garcia) were built with the infrastructure to be host venues for PGA TOUR tournaments.
TPC San Antonio is only one of three properties in the country to host two TOUR events each year. The AT&T Oaks Course plays host to the Valero Texas Open on the PGA TOUR and the AT&T Canyons Course is host to the AT&T Championship on the Champions Tour.

TPC San Antonio is a private resort, only accessible to Club Members and guests of the JW Marriott San Antonio Hill Country Resort & Spa. Additionally, TPC San Antonio is managed and operated by PGA TOUR Golf Course Properties as part of the TPC Network.

For information on Stay and Play packages and playing TPC San Antonio, call 210.491.5800.