Justin Leonard and Notah Begay III are among the latest set of golfers to join the field for this year’s Chubb Classic, set for Feb. 17-19 at Tiburón Golf Club’s Black Course in Naples, Florida.
Both Leonard, the 1997 Open Champion, and Begay III, a multiple PGA Tour winner, will be making their Chubb Classic debuts. Each golfer turned 50 within the past year and plans to compete on a full Champions Tour schedule during the 2023 season.
Joining them will be the 2022 Charles Schwab Cup winner Steven Alker as well as longtime former Naples resident and multiple PGA Tour winner Rocco Mediate.
Alker, who won four times on the Champions Tour in 2022, including the KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship, also captured the Arnold Palmer Award for the season-long money title and the Byron Nelson Award for the lowest-scoring average for the 2022 season. Mediate has 13 professional victories worldwide, including four Champions Tour wins.
These players, along with defending Chubb Classic champion Bernhard Langer, will be among the 78-player field competing in the 54-hole championship for a share of the $1.8 million purse. Previous commitments include 2021 Chubb champion Steve Stricker, Hall-of-Famers Ernie Els, Retief Goosen and Sandy Lyle, and major champions Jim Fuyrk and Tom Lehman. All three rounds will be televised live on the Golf Channel.
Now in its 36th year, the Chubb Classic is the longest-running Champions Tour event in the same metropolitan area, getting its start in Southwest Florida at The Club Pelican Bay in 1988. Tiburón has hosted the tournament since 2021.
Limited general admission and exclusive hospitality tickets are still available for the Chubb Classic. All service personnel, including military, police, fire, and EMS, and a plus one will receive free admission, compliments of SERVPRO. Children under 18 will also be admitted free to the tournament with a paid adult.
A portion of the ticket proceeds will be donated to local charities throughout Southwest Florida. The Chubb Classic has supported more than 39 charitable organizations in the area since its inception in 1988.
