SAN JACINTO, Calif. -- Come next fall, the Country Club at Soboba Springs will be a stop on the PGA's Nationwide Tour, it was announced Tuesday.
The Soboba Classic will offer $1 million in prize money, one of only three events on the tour to do so, joining the Nationwide Tour Players Cup in West Virginia and the Nationwide Tour Championship, which will end the season.
The PGA Tour and the Soboba Band of Luiseno Indians signed a four-year contract, according to tribal information officer Mike Hiles. The club is on the Soboba Indian Reservation in San Jacinto.
The PGA Nationwide Tour is a proving ground of sorts to select those eligible to play in the PGA Tour.
Specific tournament dates will be announced in the near future, Hiles said.
The Golf Channel will televise all four of the tournament rounds.
"We are very pleased to bring this world-class tournament to the region," Tribal Chairman Robert Salgado said. "This is one of the most beautiful golf courses in the world, and we look forward to many years of hosting top players and tournaments, and attracting visitors to the community."
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Nationwide Tour President Bill Calfee said in a statement that the tournament at Soboba will bring the reservation to the world stage, and promised the competition will be fierce.
"Golf fans who come out to Soboba Springs will witness a much heightened competitive environment, as each and every stroke will have potential bearing on whether or not a competitor plays his way onto the golf world's greatest stage, the PGA Tour, beginning in 2010," Calfee said.
Golfer Ricky Barnes was on hand for the announcement news conference and luncheon.
"I have no doubt the Soboba Classic will be a great addition to the Nationwide Tour," he said.
