NEWS RELEASE For Release: Monday, August 16, 2004 Ticket Info: www.saschampionship.com or 1-800-531-7PGA (7742) Contact: Chris Madigan, [email protected] or (203) 352-6325 TOM KITE COMMITS TO SAS CHAMPIONSHIP PRESENTED BY FORBES CARY, N.C. – Tournament officials for the SAS Championship presented by Forbes announced today that 1992 U.S. Open winner Tom Kite intends to play in the fourth annual SAS Championship. The SAS Championship, an official event on the Champions Tour, returns to Prestonwood Country Club, September 20-26. Kite, a 19-time PGA TOUR winner, has seven Champions Tour victories in his four years on Tour. His most recent win came eight days ago at the 3M Championship when he sank three birdies in the last seven holes to win by one stroke over Craig Stadler, also committed to the SAS Championship field. Kite has seven other top-10 finishes this year. His victory at the 3M Championship ended a winless streak dating back to October 2002 and spanning 47 tournaments where he finished in second place six times. One of those second place finishes was last year’s SAS Championship. Kite recorded a career best single-round score of 61 at Prestonwood Country Club during Sunday’s final round, vaulting him from 34th place into a second place finish behind D.A. Weibring. “Tom made an incredible run at last year’s title, posting a score early, creating the stage for an incredibly dramatic finish,” said Jeff Kleiber, tournament director. “He’s one of the best golfers that’s ever played the game. He works very hard and is continually trying to improve his game, which makes it very enjoyable to watch him play.” The field for this year’s SAS Championship continues to take shape and players still have four weeks to commit. Kite’s commitment confirms nine of the current top 10 players on the Champions Tour Money List, 25 out of 30 from last year’s final Money List, and 12 of this year’s 16 different tournament winners will be competing for $270,000 first place check. See Draft Field List for current commitments. Tickets for the SAS Championship can be purchased by logging onto www.saschampionship.com or by calling 1-800-531-7PGA (7742). Proceeds from the Tournament benefit numerous charities in the Triangle, including Communities In Schools of Wake County (CISWC), through the Triangle Community Foundation. The SAS Community Learning Center at Kentwood, an educational facility in a Raleigh public housing neighborhood, was constructed by and is funded by Tournament proceeds. CISWC offers programming, tutor-mentors and computer labs to more than 250 young people and adult residents in the Kentwood community. CISWC was recognized in 2003 as the Champions Tour Charity of the Year. The SAS Championship, in its fourth year, and the Triangle area have become one of the most popular stops on the Champions Tour. Boasting one of the largest non-major purses on the Tour, the event annually draws one of the strongest player fields of the year. Bruce Lietzke won the first two SAS Championships, with D.A. Weibring pulling out the win on the final hole last year. - more - Kite Commits - Page 2 The SAS Championship presented by Forbes will kick-off on Monday, September 20 with early week Pro-Ams and Special Events, including a Skins Game and golf clinic. Competitive rounds for the $1.8 million purse begin on Friday, September 24 and continue through Sunday, September 26. About SAS SAS is the market leader in providing a new generation of business intelligence software and services that create true enterprise intelligence. SAS solutions are used at more than 40,000 sites -- including 90 percent of the Fortune 500 -- to develop more profitable relationships with customers and suppliers; to enable better, more accurate and informed decisions; and to drive organizations forward. SAS is the only vendor that completely integrates leading data warehousing, analytics and traditional BI applications to create intelligence from massive amounts of data. For nearly three decades, SAS has been giving customers around the world The Power to Know®. About Octagon’s Golf Division Octagon’s Golf Division manages some of the finest professional golf events including two Champions Tour events, The ACE Group Classic presented by Terminix Commercial and the SAS Championship presented by Forbes; two LPGA Tour events, the Sybase Classic presented by Lincoln Mercury and the John Q. Hammons Hotel Classic presented by Ford; and one Nationwide Tour event, the SAS Carolina Classic. Octagon’s golf division also represents nearly 40 golfing professionals including Davis Love III, Jonathan Byrd, Chris Smith, Joe Durant, DJ Trahan, Meg Mallon, Beth Daniel, Emilee Klein, Bob Gilder, Tom Kite, Gary Koch, and brothers, Bobby and Lanny Wadkins. # # # .