FUTURES Tour Event Returns To Canada In June

LAKELAND, Fla., January 26, 2005 -- The FUTURES Golf Tour will return to New Brunswick, Canada in June for the 2nd annual Heather Wilbur Scholarship Scramble. The event, held in memory of the late FUTURES Golf Tour member, will return to Wilbur's hometown of Moncton and will be played on her former home course, Country Meadows Golf Club.

"This event immortalizes the memory of Heather Wilbur, and at the same time, brings a great summer activity to Moncton," said Zayra F. Calderon, president and chief executive officer of the FUTURES Golf Tour. "The 2004 tournament had a great impact on our players, who are still talking about the hospitality of the Maritime people. As we move ahead to the 2005 season, we are equally excited to bring our young professionals to Moncton again to share and learn about this great community."

Presented by the Irving Group Moncton Companies, the scramble will be held June 29-July 1. The event will feature two days of pro-ams with local amateurs, followed by a one-day, 18-hole stroke-play tournament for the professionals only.

Each day of the pro-am will offer the chance for 32 teams of four amateurs to compete alongside 21 current and former professionals from the FUTURES Golf Tour, as well as club professionals from the Atlantic Canadian PGA. Each pro-am tournament will start at 1 p.m., on June 29 and June 30.

The 18-hole professional competition will be held Friday, July 1, at 11 a.m. New Brunswick native Carrie Vaughan, a former FUTURES Tour member, will compete in the professional event alongside current members for designated prize money. Vaughan played on the FUTURES Tour for three seasons from 2000 to 2002 with her childhood amateur golf pal, Heather Wilbur, who also competed on the FUTURES Tour during the same three seasons. Wilbur lost an 11-month battle against leukemia in October 2003.

Irving Group Moncton Companies, whose interests include Irving Oil, Midland Transport & Courier, Cavendish Farms, Acadian Lines, Irving Tissue and Cavendish Agri Services, is sponsoring the event that offers four annual scholarships of $1,000 in memory of Wilbur, Moncton's most famous golfer. Four recipients will be rewarded for combined achievements in academics and golf. Scholarships will be awarded to: a junior girl from the province of New Brunswick; a junior boy or girl who plays golf at Country Meadows Golf Club; a junior boy or girl from the Greater Moncton area; and a descendant of a PGA professional in Atlantic Canada.

"We see great possibilities in converting this event into an official stop on the FUTURES Tour schedule, bringing in 144 professional players for a three-day tournament," added Calderon. "Accomplishing this would certainly make Heather Wilbur's dream come true."

Celebrating 25 competitive seasons in 2005, the FUTURES Golf Tour has remained committed to developing the skills and dreams of women golfers, establishing role models for youth and creating LPGA stars of tomorrow. With more than 240 alumnae as current members of the LPGA Tour, former FUTURES Tour players have won a total of 283 LPGA titles, including 30 major championships through 2004. Designated as "the official developmental tour of the LPGA," the FUTURES Golf Tour has become the largest international developmental tour and the second largest women's golf tour in the world. At season's end each year, the top five players on the Tour's Money List earn automatic LPGA Tour exemptions for the following year. Throughout its first quarter century, membership has increased from approximately 150 North American players to more than 300 players from 27 different nations. The Tour now conducts 18 tournaments in 13 states and has raised more than $3.2 million for charitable organizations since 1989. For more information, please visit www.futurestour.com.

Contact: Lisa D. Mickey, FUTURES Golf Tour, director of communications, 863-709-9100, Ext. 2 or lisa@futurestour.com.