August 22, 2007–The Las Vegas PGA Tour event, this year called the FRYS.com Open Benefiting Shriners Hospitals for Children, has launched a new website in promotion of the 25th anniversary of the Las Vegas golf event. The address is thefrysopen.com, and features ticket information, history and other information about the tournament that will be played October 11-14 at Las Vegas golf courses TPC Summerlin and TPC Canyons. There is also a story about 18-year old Katie Walker, this year's tournament ambassador, who has been a patient at Shriners Hospitals since she was about one year old.
The defending champion of the tournament is Troy Matteson, a former NCAA champion while playing at Georgia Tech, who won his first event ever on the PGA Tour last year at the FRYS.com Open. Other past champions include Tiger Woods, Jim Furyk (three times), Fuzzy Zoeller, Greg Norman and Paul Azinger.
The tournament is now organized by a new host sponsor, the Shriners, who replaced the Las Vegas Founders who created the event 25 years ago and made the tournament the first PGA Tour event ever with a million-dollar purse.
There are several new wrinkles planned for this Las Vegas golf event including "the Hill", a VIP viewing area open to all patrons that overlooks holes 16-18 at the TPC Summerlin, and other special food areas that will feature some of Las Vegas' top chefs and restaurants.