NEWS RELEASE For Release: August 15, 2005 Contact: Chris Madigan, 203-352-6325 or [email protected] Ticket Info: www.saschampionship.com or 1-800-531-7PGA (7742) SAS EXTENDS TITLE SPONSORSHIP OF NORTH CAROLINA’S PREMIERE CHAMPIONS TOUR EVENT THROUGH 2009 CARY, N.C., August 15, 2005 – Tournament Officials for the SAS Championship presented by Forbes announced today that SAS, title sponsor since the Tournament’s inception in 2001, signed on to be title sponsor of the SAS Championship through 2009. The fifth annual SAS Championship takes place September 26 through October 2 at Prestonwood Country Club in Cary. "We're a proud corporate citizen and are thrilled to continue the tradition of the Champions Tour golf that we began in 2001," said Dr. Jim Goodnight, president and CEO of SAS. “The Tournament’s success is evident in the strong field of players we draw each year and, more importantly, in the enormous support from Triangle fans, sponsors and media. We’re extremely pleased to continue our role in an event that gives so much back to our local community.” Prestonwood Country Club will continue to host the event through 2009. "SAS has been a wonderful partner since coming to the Champions Tour in 2001," said Champions Tour president, Rick George. "As a Raleigh-area based company, SAS, Dr. Goodnight, and the Tournament team, led by Jeff Kleiber, have worked very hard to build a strong Champions Tour event in their backyard. We appreciate everyone's commitment to the Champions Tour and look forward to building an even stronger Tournament through 2009." The extension is for two additional years and will see one of the top purses on the Champions Tour go from $1.9 million in 2005 to $2.0 million starting in 2006. The SAS Championship 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 Tournament annually draws one of the strongest player fields of the year. Craig Stadler ran away with last year’s title, adding his name to the SAS Championship winners’ circle that already includes D.A. Weibring and two-time winner Bruce Lietzke. The SAS Championship has supported various educational organizations since 2001. In partnership with the Triangle Community Foundation, SAS has donated Tournament proceeds to non-profits such as Communities In Schools of Wake County (CISWC). CISWC operates the Tournament’s signature project, the SAS Community Learning Center in a public housing community in Raleigh, NC. CISWC offers educational programming to help young people succeed in school and in life and was named the 2003 Champions Tour Charity of the Year. Tickets for the SAS Championship are on sale and can be purchased by logging onto www.saschampionship.com, by calling 1-800-531-7PGA (7742) or by visiting participating area Triangle Harris Teeter Locations after September 12. 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 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; and one Nationwide Tour event, The Rex Hospital Open. Octagon’s Golf Division also represents nearly 40 golfing professionals including Davis Love III, Chris Smith, Meg Mallon, Beth Daniel, Emilee Klein, Tom Kite, Gary Koch, and brothers, Bobby and Lanny Wadkins. # # # .