Goodes begins fourth season on Champions Tour in Hawaii

Reidsville’s Mike Goodes begins his fourth year as a professional this week as the Champions Tour tees off in Hawaii and he’ll likely play in more events in 2010 than in his three previous seasons.
Goodes is fully-exempt for the second consecutive season, a reward for finishing in the top-30 on the money list. But this season, thanks to his win last February in the Allianz Championship, he gets to tee it up in the Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualalai Resort in Hawaii. The event, which begins Friday, features a limited field of 36 players who either won last year or have some other elite status. They are playing for a $1.8 million purse with $315,000 going to the winner.
It will be one of three new tournaments for Goodes. The Champions Tour will feature 26 official events, an increase from 25 in 2009. The Tour will play in 15 states and four countries, including the Dominican Republic, Canada, Scotland and for the first time, South Korea.
The new events are the Mississippi Gulf Resort Classic (April 30-March 2) in Biloxi and the New Songdo City Championship at the Jack Nicklaus Golf Club Korea, about 40 miles west of Seoul.
There also a couple of new sponsors, including one that is aligned with a popular tour stop on North Carolina. Ensure will be the title sponsor for the event in Hickory formerly known as the Greater Hickory Classic at Rock Barn.
It’s one of two events in the state and it comes one week after the SAS Championship at Prestonwood Country Club in Cary. The dates are Sept. 24-25 in Cary and Oct. 1-3 in Hickory.
There are again five major championships at outstanding venues. Colorado Golf Club will host the Senior PGA Senior PGA Championship (May 27-30); Carnoustie Golf Club in Scotland will host the Senior British Open (July 19-25); Sahalee Country Club near Seattle, Wash., will host the U.S. Senior Open (July 29-Aug. 1) and the Constellation Energy Senior Players Championship will move to TPC Potomac at Avenel Farm in Potomac, Md. (Oct. 7-10). Crosswater Club at Sunriver Resort outside Bend, Ore., will host the JELD-WEN Tradition (Aug. 19-22) for the fourth straight year.
Goodes played in 24 events a year ago and earned $675,717 to rank 24th on the money list. He had four top-10s and 14 top 25s, highlighted by his win at the Allianz Championship. In 21 events in 2008, he earned $367 more than he did last year and ended 29th on the money list.
As a first-year player in 2007, he played in just 10 events and earned $52,684. His official cash count for three seasons is $1,404,485.
His scoring on the Champions Tour has improved every year – he averaged 73.55 in 2007, 71.29 in 2008 and 71.07 last year.
Goodes was a life-long amateur until he turned 50 and took a shot at the Champions Tour. The 10-time club champ at Pennrose Park Country Club had a superb amateur career that included six Carolinas Golf Association major titles, including three in his final amateur year of 2006.
Following this week’s Mitsubishi Championship, the Tour takes a couple weeks off before two dates in Florida. Goodes will have to wait an extra week to defend his Allianz Championship title as the schedule has been changed. The ACE Group Classic, which followed the Allianz last year, will be played Feb. 12-14 in Naples with the Allianz following in Boca Raton Feb. 19-21.