Couples, playing his first year on the Champions Tour since turning 50 last October, will add panache to the 78-player field which will test the Jack Nicklaus-designed Punta Espada Golf Club later this month.

“We are delighted to have Fred Couples play in The Cap Cana Championship,” said Garcia-Estrada.

“He is a crowd favorite and his strong play this season makes him one of the top contenders for the title.  Each year we've been blessed with great fields at The Cap Cana Championship.  Tom Watson played in our inaugural event; the “Great White Shark,” Greg Norman, played last year and this year we have Fred Couples who is already creating quite a buzz among local golf fans.”

A fan favorite, Couples has made his Champions Tour debut in 2010 in a big way.

The Seattle, WA-born golfer won the Ace Group Classic Feb. 14 in Florida and lost a playoff to Tom Watson Jan. 24 in Hawaii to finish second.

In six Champions Tour rounds Couples is a cumulative 38 under par.

Couples leads the money list ($436,000), is second in scoring (65.67 average) to Watson, and third in putting and greens in regulation (84.26%) per round.

The long-hitting Couples, a player with a syrupy swing and a laid-back attitude, also leads the Champions Tour in driving distance with an average measured drive of 300.2 yards.

Despite a balky back, the 15-time PGA Tour winner is a 1992 Masters champion and one of the most heavily decorated international players in PGA Tour history.

The Cap Cana Championship begins an ambitious and rare stretch for Couples.

He will play three weeks in a row, following up his Dominican Republic visit with appearances at the Shell Houston Open and the Masters at Augusta, Ga.

For 2010 Couples plans to split his schedule between the Champions Tour and the PGA Tour, he said.

“For me, this year will be a little bit different because I am going to play probably 12 events on the PGA Tour and 10 senior events,” he said.

“I haven't played 22 events for 20 years. That's a goal.  It's really to see if I can play that many tournaments.  It will help me play the PGA Tour and it will help me when I come on the Champions Tour next year.  Next year, I'll be strictly a Champions Tour player.”

Those are sweet words to his peers.  They know Couples is a fan favorite who brings added attention with him wherever he goes.

“There are very few guys that really move the needle that are out here on the regular tour or our tour,” said reigning U.S. Senior Open champion Fred Funk of Couples' star power.

“Freddie's one that really moves the needle. People love to watch Freddie.  As players we love to watch Freddie.”

“If I saw in the paper where he was playing well, I would look for Fred Couples to watch him on TV,” said Paul Azinger, the 2008 U.S. Ryder Cup captain.  “There are not a lot of players you can say that about, but he's one of them.”

Other early commitments
With slightly more than two weeks remaining for players to sign up for The Cap Cana Championship, the field is taking shape.

Nine of the top 10 finishers in the 2009 tournament are returning and eight of the top 10 money winners from 2010 are signed up to play.

Defending champion Keith Fergus, Andy Bean, Joey Sindelar, Gene Jones, Bernhard Langer, Mark McNulty, R.W. Eaks, Mark O'Meara and John Cook – all top 10 finishers from a year ago – are returning.

Other top 2010 money winners in the field not listed above include Loren Roberts, Mike Goodes, Tommy Armour III and Michael Allen.

And the winner is …..
Judd Swarzman of Encino, CA made the highest offer - $19,100 - in 10 days of bidding to win The Cap Cana Championship getaway benefiting the earthquake victims of Haiti.

Swarzman, a 72-year-old financial planner, outbid 61 others to win the six-day, five-night package to Cap Cana Resort for the event.  The vacation package is valued at more than $50,000.  Swarzman has played in 60 pro-ams on the PGA Tour, Champions Tour and LPGA Tour during his lifetime.

In addition to the hotel package for four, the 16 handicapper also won four spots in the March 24-25 pro-am, first class air fare from Delta Air Lines for four, and a host of on-site amenities during the tournament.

All proceeds from the auction will be donated to the Clinton Bush Haiti Fund to help aid in recovery efforts in the country following the January 12 earthquake which killed an estimated 150,000 people.

www.thecapcanachampionship.com

Cap Cana & The Cap Cana Championship – Cap Cana and its Punta Espada Golf Course have been selected to host the official PGA TOUR's Champions Tour event, “The Cap Cana Championship” for the third consecutive year. The event will be held in the Dominican Republic from March 22nd to March 28th, 2010.
Champions Tour – The Champions Tour is a PGA TOUR organization of professional golfers age 50 and over. The main objectives of the Champions Tour are to provide significant competitive and earnings opportunities for golfers age 50 and over; to protect the integrity of the game; and to help grow the reach of the game in the United States and around the world. For additional information go to www.pgatour.com