SAN DIEGO, CA--(Marketwire - May 6, 2010) - Ranked as one of the top courses in California, Barona Creek Golf Club at Barona Resort & Casino has been selected as the San Diego host facility for the United States Golf Association's (USGA) 2010 U.S. Open first stage qualifying event on May 10, 2010
The day following the U.S. Open qualifier, Barona Creek will offer local golfers an opportunity to play the course from the exact same challenging pin placements the professionals faced in the qualifier. This unique golfing opportunity will continue through May 18.
"This will be a fun opportunity for local golfers to play Barona Creek and experience a U.S. Open qualifier," said Don King, executive director of golf operations at Barona Creek Golf Club. "The entire course setup for the Open will offer a memorable and demanding level of play for all levels."
Green fees for the special U.S. Open pins event are $120 from Monday-Friday and $160 on Saturday and Sunday. Twilight rates after 11:00 a.m. are $80 from Monday-Friday and $100 on Saturday and Sunday.
Participation in a U.S. Open Qualifier is the first in a series of events leading to the 2010 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach scheduled for June 14-20. This year, local qualifiers will be held at approximately 40 locations across the United States, with thousands of golfers expected to take part. There will be 90 players in the qualifier at Barona Creek with the top three and two alternates advancing to the next level. Those who make it through sectional qualifying will join the final field of 156 golfers for the U.S. Open, along with all the golfers who were exempt from any qualifying, including the biggest names in golf.
This tournament is one of many prestigious championship events that have been held at Barona Creek including the Nationwide Tour Championship, the Southern California PGA Section Professional Championship, the Barona Collegiate Cup and LPGA Futures Tour.
Recently, Barona Creek Golf Club was named fourth in Golfweek magazine's "Best of California Course" list behind only Pebble Beach, Spyglass Hill and Pasatiempo. The publication also named Barona Creek as the third best resort course in California; number 25 on its list of resort properties nationwide; and fifth on its casino course list.
Barona Creek is a 7,448-yard par 72 golf course with more than 114 multi-fingered bunkers and a series of lakes and ponds connected to the area's naturally fed streams. The course offers multiple sets of tees to accommodate players of all abilities. It features more than 170 mature native oak trees transplanted from other regions of the Barona Indian Reservation.
The course has also been recognized for its environmental efforts by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and San Diego Earthworks. Barona's state-of-the art water reclamation and wastewater treatment facilities allow the Tribe to save and reuse nearly every drop of water runoff at its Barona Resort & Casino and Barona Creek Golf Club. The property currently uses 100 percent of the reclaimed water to irrigate the golf course and surrounding landscape. The course has also won the prestigious Bronze Signature Sanctuary Certification from Audubon International for its conservation, environmental quality and land management efforts.
About Barona Resort & Casino
For the last two years in a row, Barona Resort & Casino has won the J.D. Power and Associates Award for the "Highest in Satisfaction in the Southern California Indian Casino Gaming Experience" in the J.D. Power and Associates Southern California Indian Gaming Casino Satisfaction Study.
Barona Resort & Casino blends the best of San Diego's leading resorts with the gaming excitement of Las Vegas. Barona is San Diego's leading destination resort featuring 400 guest rooms and suites, all with beautiful views of the Barona Valley, a variety of award-winning dining options, the AmBience Day Spa, a full-service events center and the 18-hole championship Barona Creek Golf Club, rated the 3rd best resort course in California by Golfweek magazine.
Barona Resort & Casino received the highest numerical score in the proprietary J.D. Power and Associates 2008-2009 Indian Gaming Casino Studies SM-Southern California Region. The 2009 study, which only surveys casinos with a minimum of 1,000 slot machines, is based on 4,452 responses from gaming players who visited an Indian casino in Southern California between December 2008 and May 2009. Proprietary study results are based on experiences and perceptions of consumers surveyed in May 2009. Your experiences may vary. Visit jdpower.com.
For Barona Resort & Casino reservations and information, visit www.barona.com, or call toll free 888-7-BARONA (722-7662).
You can also join Barona Resort & Casino on Facebook, Twitter and MySpace at: www.barona.com/facebook, www.barona.com/twitter and www.barona.com/myspace
Contact Information:
Media Contacts:
Rick Schloss
(619) 308-4387
Kelly Jacobs Speer
(619) 933-5013
