Tucson, Ariz. (February 20, 2018) – Newly elected Baseball Hall of Famer Trevor Hoffman, University of Arizona Head Football Coach Kevin Sumlin and former Super Bowl MVP Mark Rypien will join two-time NFL MVP Aaron Rodgers in the Cologuard Classic’s Jose Cuervo Pro-Am on Wednesday, February 28, 2018 at Omni Tucson National.
Hoffman, a former University of Arizona baseball standout, was elected the National Baseball Hall of Fame on January 24th. Hoffman, along with Chipper Jones, Jim Thome and Vladimir Guerrero, will be inducted into Cooperstown on July 29th. During his remarkable 18-year career, Hoffman racked up 601 saves.
Kevin Sumlin was named University of Arizona head football coach on January 14, 2018. The three-time national Coach of the Year finalist served as the head football coach at Texas A&M University for the previous six seasons, compiling a 51-26 record, including three bowl victories.
Rypien played 11 seasons in the NFL and is best known for his career with the Washington Redskins. While with Washington from 1986-1993, Rypien was a two-time Super Bowl champion (XXII and XXVI), was named Super Bowl XXVI MVP and played in the Pro Bowl two-times in 1989 and 1991. On the golf course, Rypien is a two-time winner (1990 and 2014) of the American Century Championship celebrity golf tournament played in Lake Tahoe, Calif.
Tee times for the Jose Cuervo Pro-Am will begin at 7 a.m. MST on February 28. Pro-Am and tournament tickets are available online at www.cologuardclassic.com and will be available at the tournament entrance. Pro-Am tickets are $20 with free parking and shuttle transportation available at the Foothills Mall (7401 N La Cholla Blvd). A few amateur spots are still available in the Jose Cuervo Pro-Am. Those interested in playing can contact the tournament office at (800) 882-7660.
“We’re excited to welcome Trevor Hoffman, Mark Rypien and Coach Sumlin for our Jose Cuervo ProAm,” said J.J. Jewell, Cologuard Classic Tournament Chairman and member of the Tucson Conquistadores, the host organization of the tournament. “From the outstanding celebrities playing in our Pro-Am, to the talented PGA TOUR Champions golfers in our field, the entire week is really shaping up to be awesome.”
The Cologuard Classic will be played the week of February 28-March 4, 2018, with competitive rounds played Friday, March 2 through Sunday, March 4. A field of 78 PGA TOUR Champions players will vie for the $1.7 million purse with a first-place prize of $255,000.
The Tucson Conquistadores are the host organization of the Cologuard Classic. Since their inception in 1962, the Conquistadores have contributed more than $35 million to youth athletic programs in-and around Tucson.
2018 marks the first year of the Cologuard Classic, named after Wisconsin-based Exact Sciences’ noninvasive at-home colon cancer screening test for average risk individuals 50 years or older, and the fourth year the Conquistadores have partnered with the PGA TOUR Champions. To coincide with the kickoff of National Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month, tournament week will feature numerous events to raise awareness for the disease. On Wednesday morning, Exact Sciences representatives, PGA TOUR Champions players, and colon cancer survivors will ring the NASDAQ opening bell from Omni Tucson National. Survivors will be among those participating in the Pro-Am on Wednesday and Thursday. The tournament’s second round on Saturday, March 3, is “Dress in Blue Day.” Players and fans are encouraged to wear blue to raise awareness for colon cancer. The first 10,000 fans on Saturday will receive a free colon cancer awareness star pin.
Tournament champions over the first three years include: Marco Dawson in 2015, Woody Austin in 2016 and Tom Lehman in 2017. The 2018 Cologuard Classic will be broadcast on Golf Channel, Friday – Sunday (March 2-4). For tickets and more information on the Cologuard Classic, visit www.cologuardclassic.com.
About Cologuard: Cologuard was approved by the FDA in August 2014 and results from Exact Sciences' prospective 90-site, point in-time, 10,000-patient pivotal trial were published in the New England Journal of Medicine in March 2014. Cologuard is included in the American Cancer Society's (2014) colorectal cancer screening guidelines and the recommendations of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (2016) and National Comprehensive Cancer Network (2016). Cologuard is indicated to screen adults of either sex, 50 years or older, who are at average risk for colorectal cancer. Cologuard is not for everyone and is not a replacement for diagnostic colonoscopy or surveillance colonoscopy in high-risk individuals. False positives and false negatives do occur. Any positive test result should be followed by a diagnostic colonoscopy. Following a negative result, patients should continue participating in a screening program at an interval and with a method appropriate for the individual patient. Cologuard performance when used for repeat testing has not been evaluated or established. For more information about Cologuard, visit www.cologuardtest.com. Rx Only.
Tournament Media Contact: Rob Myers, Rob@rmprgroup.com, 602-317-6131
